Do you think the oh-my-god-he’s-eating-salad! feeling will ever wear off?
Seeing him regularly eat arugula and green pepper salads tossed with vinaigrette and feta cheese at dinner almost… almost… makes the two weeks of veggie bootcamp pain and suffering we went through in August worth it. Almost.
It really was a pretty crappy two weeks.
But every time I see him clean the plate of greens, I kind of want to gush. Not that he particularly loves the experience. But he does it, and without complaint.
And every time I stuff one of those salads in his lunch box, I expect it to come home uneaten. And every afternoon when I unpack his lunch box, I’m always a little amazed that he has eaten it. Every single time.
And no, he’s not devious enough (yet!) to throw it away and not tell me. I’ve considered that.
So it was with great pleasure that I packed him another salad today. This time just arugula tossed with balsamic vinaigrette, flaked sea salt and pepper, and topped with feta. Fingers crossed that the winning streak doesn’t end.
I also packed the last of the rosemary roasted goat, which he happily devoured yesterday. I considered turning it into goat tacos for him, but lost steam as the morning went on.
Plus, I also warmed up some leftover red beans, rice and andouille sausage and popped that in a thermos. Tacos on top of that seemed a little overkill.
And now for free lunch (box) Thursday. I seriously love today’s gear, even though it technically isn’t the sort of stuff you’d pack for school. This assortment of four lunch trays is so cool. They all are commercial quality, dishwasher safe and would be so much fun for kids, especially younger ones or any who suffer from that very serious food-must-not-touch affliction. Thank goodness Parker never cared about that.
Anyway, the rules are the same — leave a comment here by midnight tonight and Parker will pick a winner before school tomorrow. Good luck!
I hate food touching and am sort of neurotic about only eating one thing at a time (though I’m not a picky eater at all). Unfortunately, I think I’ve also passed this neuroses on to my son so these would be great to have around the house!
Isn’t it great how we sometimes seem to only pass on the things that annoy us about ourselves?
I’m so happy to see that others like to separate their food too! Like you, I’m not a picky eater, but I like food spaced apart and eaten in a certain order.
I don’t mind food touching, but I do like to save the best item on the plate for last!
My daughter used to eat tons of green stuff – now the only greens she eats are mixed into smoothies. I’m waiting (im)patiently for this phase to pass.Maybe she’d eat a bigger variety if she was filling up little boxes on a tray, though these may end up in her play kitchen…
Been there, suffered through that. Parker was the same way. He devoured veggies, including spinach and other greens. Then they became evil. This summer I forced him to eat two veggies at every lunch and dinner for two weeks — a veg boot camp. It was miserable for all involved, but now he’s eating veggies. Keep at it. She’ll come back around (though I make no promises that the journey will be pleasant!).
These are great!!! Could do some TV dinner nights.
Good thing we don’t have a TV. Parker would be all over that!
My kids would love this almost as much as they love their greens!
You are a very lucky woman.
those are so cute! they remind me of the trays we had in the Army; although the Army sticks with stainless steel, not fun colors!
These lunch trays rock! Kind of bento boxes for American size appetites.
Those trays are great! We just redid our kitchen and added an island so those would be perfect for eating at the island and for movie dinners. My kids would absolutely go crazy for them.
Love the colorful lunch trays!
My house has two boys and two girls so these would be perfect!
Thanks guys!
Thanks for the giveaway! Would love to win those.
IT’S A TRAP!!…er…tray.
Super cute! I would eat my lunch on those any day (just as long as I don’t have to actually eat the cafeteria food- and I am a teacher so I have experience with cafeteria food).
And you’ve survived the cafeteria food? Iron stomach!
I love those trays! They remind me of going to camp as a kid!
Ha! I was always too much of a wimp. Got nervous every time my parents tried to drop me off at camp…
I am totally smitten with the vintage cafeteria feel of these trays! I’m already thinking old school meatloaf and mashed potatoes would look right at home on those!
Mmmmm… Meatloaf and mashed potatoes are sounding mighty fine.
My son is going through the “I hate veggies, anything green or squishy (think squash)” stage too. It’s killing me! He used to eat up some spinach and all other flavors of vegetables. I keep hoping that he will come back to it willingly one day.
These trays look awesome. He also hates anything touching. God forbid should his breakfast sausage touch his pear!
Ha! Check out my response to Erica. I’ve totally been there and suffered through that. It gets better. The journey probably will suck, but it does get better!
I want to eat on those trays even though I’m a grown up!
Happy the boy feels better. Right back in the saddle with goat in a thermos! Brave man after a tummy-trouble-bug. You like living on the edge Dad!
I’m just a wild and crazy dorky dad…!
I have just one of those “foods must not touch” people on my crew. He would love these!
Both my boys like lots of veggies, although the 10yo doesn’t like dressing on his salads. The 6yo would rather have veggies than most meats.
Those trays would be so much fun! Neither of them are “food must not touch” kids, but I bet they would get a kick out of them.
Wow! I hear about kids like that. But my little carnivore wants nothing but meat. He tolerates everything else.
Ha ha…these are great
Well, I’m not sure if we’re beyond the food not touching issue, but I’m thinking those trays would be excellent for my 94-year old mother-in-law. It is difficult for her to see what’s what on a regular plate when everything runs together… but a tray like that would sort things out for her so she could figure out what she’s eating.
What a great idea!
I love the trays. The boys would be so happy not to use the Dora plates that keep all the food from touching.
And, I wish mine ate arugula and mixed greens. We’ve worked up from iceburg to romaine.
I’ve never really given Parker an opportunity to pick his greens. The only time we have romaine is when we have Caesar salad, probably his favorite salad variety. But I like arugula, so that’s what I buy. I also have been known to hold his meat hostage. I’ll load up his plate with veggies and tell him he can’t have his meat until he eats his vegetables. Because sometimes he’ll eat his meat, then linger painfully over the veggies. Meat blackmail!
I’m from Singapore where our school lunches were served in bowls with chopsticks. I’d love to experience eating from trays like these myself.
It would be so cool if kids in the U.S. were taught to use chopsticks at school!
Those trays look great! What kind are they? I might have to buy some for my 17th mnth old since I’m late posting for the contest!
Sadly, I don’t think you can buy them. They were product samples. Very cool, though.
They are very cool!
Love these – great idea.
I love all those compartments…now every meal can be a buffet!