This is it. I am about to send THREE kids off to school this year. One in 4th grade, one in 1st grade.. and then my little Pre-K munchkin. The older kids have done this school gig numerous times.. they know what they’re getting themselves into and have their routines down pretty well. Same school. Same friends.
My 4 year old, though. This is all new to him. The anxiety is creeping in already and school hasn’t even started yet! He is our Sensory Processing munchkin. Severe Hyper Sensory Avoider. So with all the chaos and newness that is about to consume his life, I knew I needed to find something he can control.. FOOD.
While he is only going to school 1/2 days, his schedule lands him there during prime lunch time hours. They only get a snack time, so I need to insure that he is going to have a quality snack that gives him all the nutrition of a lunch.. but portioned to be consumed during a snack time versus a full lunch period. I also need them to be familiar to him, healthy but fun, and lets face it… easy for me to pack, as I am now packing lunches for 3 kids!
Enter Stonyfield Kids. A fabulous staple for lunches. It’s organic. It’s not full of food coloring and artificial flavors. It comes in fun forms (squeezers, pouches and cups.. each of my kids has a favorite!) and they love the flavor. It gives me a good place to start the lunch packing. Then I can build around it. Obviously the older boys have larger lunches for their growing appetites.. but for my little guy, I know I don’t have to build too much..
1/2 a bagel with cream cheese is his favorite “sandwich” – He doesn’t like sandwiches.. and everything has to be open-faced. One of his little quirks.. so this works wonderfully. The bagels also don’t crumb up as much as bread does, so his sensory issues aren’t in overdrive over crumbs.
Fruit is always an addition. His favorites are grapes, blueberries and strawberries.. so it is bound to be one of those.
Next, we give a special “treat” — an organic fruit snack of some sort. And perhaps some Annie’s animal cookies or bunny crackers to round it all out.
The meal is nothing big. It doesn’t take a whole lot of extra effort or time in our busy life, and its healthy and in line with his sensory demands (or pickiness.. pick your terminology! HAHA) We will switch things around frequently. I like to keep things balanced, and the multiple options from Stonyfield help allow that to be possible while still maintaining a familiar staple in his lunch box.
What did your child’s lunch box look like? Do you have picky kids are any special dietary needs that you must follow for your kids?
Note: I am a compensated StonyfieldFarm YoGetter Ambassador. This post was sponsored by Stonyfield. All opinions expressed are my own.
