Lunch Box Madness

So last week, after Josh's little escapade with not only eating at the 'Canteen' (the cafeteria at school), but coming home without eating very much and feeling super tired and sick to his stomach, I decided it was time to think outside the box once more. Josh isn't a kid who can have PB&J every single day and survive the experience.

I now have to do my menus for each week like I once used to, otherwise I don't get anything done except wander about every day thinking about what I can make next and wasting a lot of our shopping because I'm just not sure what to do with what we've gotten that week. So, with having to do family meals on a menu, I do a separate menu with Josh's lunches at the same time.

After a lot of thought, and a little help from one of my favorite baby food books (Anabelle Karmel's Baby's First Meals is one of my favorites, and has lots of ideas for a little older kids as well), I came up with a pretty spiffy lunch outline for the week. I thought I'd share and see if anyone else out there has any other ideas for me to use!

Monday: (Labor Day! No school today!! Thus the reason I'm updating my blog...)

Tuesday: Cold pasta salad (bowtie pasta with olive oil and italian herbs, olives, and a side of parmesan cheese),
miniature chicken shishkabobs (chicken cubes, cheese cubes and cubed green bell pepper on toothpicks)
Corn bread
Craisins
Popcorn
(Reason: We had chicken for dinner yesterday, so I'll cube the leftover chicken for the shishkabobs. Today being Labor Day, I'll make a pasta salad for our get-together, and use some for Josh's lunch tomorrow. I made corn bread the other day, so he gets leftovers, but he likes cornbread, so it should work. And Craisins and popcorn are easy fixes.)


Wednesday: Chicken chunks (from a Tyson's Can)
Crackers and cheese slices
Chips
Quinoa (leftovers from dinner the night before, but again, he likes quinoa, so that's another plus! for those of you who don't know anything about quinoa, it's a South American grain--sort of tastes like a mix between Couscous and brown rice. I love it! You can get it at health stores and some regular stores, depending on their level of stock. I have a fantastic recipe for anyone wanting to try it out!)
Pears (canned)

Thursday: Beef Teriyaki Skewers (beef, zucchini and bell pepper marinated then broiled--we're having a stir fry the night before, so I'll set aside some of the beef and make these on the side. Should take me about 5 minutes altogether.)
Fried rice (rice with carrots, peas and green beans. Again, it's leftovers.)
Applesauce


Friday: Pita bread Sandwiches (I have planned to make pita bread with Claire on Thursday, so I get a good lunch and a fun project all in one! :))
Popcorn
Dried fruit (I'm not sure what kind yet)
Hard-boiled egg (yes, he's allergic to eggs, but it appears that the white part is usually ok, so we'll take a chance and see if it works. He actually requested this, so I hope it's ok!)

I thought it all sounded pretty gourmet, and Josh seemed pretty excited about it. I hope he eats! He gets pretty cranky when he doesn't eat, and I don't wish that on anyone!