Toddler Lunches: Week 6

I DID IT! Six weeks of lunches - DUN-Z0!!! You better believe I did a happy dance on Thursday night when I packed Kale's last lunch. Despite my enthusiasm in weeks 1 & 2, by week 5 I was dreading the nightly duty and by week 6 I was wondering if I could just pay one of the other mom's to double up on their own kids lunch to share with Kale.

I know, I know. Some of you have been doing this for your kids for YEARS. Heck, some of you have been doing this for yourselves for DECADES! You all deserve a big round of applause. In fact, you should stop reading this and do your own little happy dance to celebrate your awesomeness. Seriously, I salute you.

Packing lunches is just not my thing. I can't remember the last time I packed myself a lunch that didn't consist of grabbing a tupperware of leftovers out of the fridge. In fact, it's quite likely that I've never packed myself a proper lunch. For a brief second, after packing Kale's last lunch, I thought to myself, "hey, now you have time to make your own lunches." And then I thought "hellz, no. I'll stick to granola bars and latte's."

What I learned about packing lunches for Kale:

• Don't bother getting too fancy - the hands down favourites were always pasta salad or cheese, meat & crackers
• Don't forget to unpack and rinse out the dishes as soon as you get home (especially on Friday)
• Don't think that just because he eats something at school, he's going to eat the same thing at home (and vice versa)
• Making lunches that work around other kids allergies can be tough - but not as tough as being a parent that has to send their kid off to school knowing that another parents mistake could kill their kid. 

Also, for those of you squirming in your seats for the past 6 weeks at the thought of me feeding my son deli meats, please know that I pay an arm and a leg for meat that is nitrate free. Which, who knows, probably doesn't make a difference. I'm no Michael Pollan, but I try to do my best. 

Thanks for everyone's encouragement along the way. Bon appetit.