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ok, so the “old-timers” (you know who you are) will likely remember the continuing saga of “what to feed hannah” who seemed to me the pickiest toddler on earth as we recovered from a mild — moderate feeding aversion. well, the girl in all of her tall and slender glory is starting montessori school in two weeks and they, um, don’t heat the lunches.
and she rarely eats real food that isn’t hot. snack food or cheese are it for room temperature/ cold…and it is a peanut-free zone. and what is the only sandwich fixing she’ll eat besides cheese? you got it — peanut butter. i am usually an adventurous eater, but i tried soy nut butter and ewwwwww. peanut butter it is not. i would hesitate to use it often anyhow because i still have a hangover from MSPI where our worst days were caused by soy.how many cheese sandwiches will it take before she goes on strike? how low can the blood sugar go (she eats a minimal breakfast, but i let her “graze” on drinking yogurt, cheese, muffins or bagels, dried fruit and sometimes noodles
) with cold lunch refusal. my husband thinks i am crazy. already i have combed the internet and local grocery stores for healthy ideas and have stocked our cabinets with tons of stuff. my hope is to pack a sandwich, a “healthy” side (dried fruit or carrots — she doesn’t eat fresh fruit), and a treat like cheese crackers or corn chips or a cookie. i have purchased a thermos type contraption to send some warm food on occasion.right, so as i said, she doesn’t eat: fresh fruit, anything with red sauce, tuna fish, red meat, lunch meats, cold anything, yogurt that isn’t drinkable, pudding (!), hard boiled eggs, quiche…you get the idea…but the sad thing is either my own compulsiveness or stress is really making me uptight. like all i can think about is: what will she eat? will she bite other children by 2:45 because she can’t have her usual fish or hot dog or ravioli…or cous cous and brocolli.
so help. any ideas? for those who have kids in peanut free schools, is sunflower butter or almond butter ok? (soy is in our school). i envision hannah eating a slice of cheese and then swiping someone’s potato chips. any feedback is great…We are starting preschool here too!
Hailey’s school also only has cold lunches. I asked the teacher what kids usually bring and she said sandwiches and lunchables. Neither of which Hailey will really eat. 
Most of her food is hot too. She does a lot of hot dogs, mac n cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc. I’m not really sure what to do. I did give her a peanut butter sandwich for lunch today (thankfully, I haven’t heard anything about her school being peanut free) and she ate a decent amount of it. I’m guessing I’ll be sending her the same things each day she’s there. You guys all had some good ideas though that I hadn’t thought of so thanks! debit342007-08-25 19:30:22I have sent a mixture of cashews, almonds, dried cherries, craisins(sp?) and raisins in a little container (which she decorated with stickers). I also do cheese cubes or sticks, rice crackers and pretzels. And we could use almond butter so I’ve sent it and a small amount of jelly in a container with a little wooden stick and she eats more than what would typically be on a sandwich.How would Hannah do with making her own? Maybe send a slice of bread and some fixings that she could put together. It might still be the same type you would make, but she may think it’s different since she made it??? Or if you cut the bread and cheese into large shapes she could stack? You could use a different type of bread, bagel etc with the same fixings. She may think it’s a different sandwich? How about crackers? Will she eat them with cheese or cream cheese? Pretzel rods are great for dipping! Cream cheese, cheese spread or a peanut free butter. What about cashew butter? YUM!I was so over the top with Kayleigh’s snacks last fall that the teacher actually wrote me a note stating that it was not necessary to send her with 8 different choices, asking that I please slim it down to 3-4.
OOPS This year she will be attending a different school that serves there own snack. So this will be a change in how we do things. I’ll miss sending her little notes inside her snack bag. I hope Hannah, Hailey and Sarah all enjoy school and meet many new friends! When does everyone start? We start on Sept 4. Good Luck to all!thanks to everyone for the well wishes and suggestions. i appreciate and had to laugh at many of the responses to my pathetic plea, especially laura’s telling me “baby carrots (these go in a plastic baggie).” and erica: you are pretty darn lucky griffin is such a great eater, i dream of a day when she’ll eat the same dinners as me and my husband (we had ratatoullie last night — i am still shocked she’ll eat brocolli)…
i think i have cleared my head a bit and feel better, but i am still worried about the no peanut butter thing…and, though i really hate putting this in writing, she still has some major texture issues — applesauce is out, yogurt on a spoon — out, pb and j (in combo, not isolation) — never…not even pudding…so explain why she’ll eat ice cream and drink shakes? its just the sliminess factor of foods, thus the no fruit unless its dried (she hates cereal in milk — barfed on the spot the last time we tried that one).so — added to the surefire list:seedscream cheese sandwicheshot dog in a thermos (hee hee — i don’t know why that makes me giggle)noodles in a thermoscontainers of nut butters, if allowed — for dipping and spoonetci think that the feeding aversion for us really got us away from healthier eating as a whole, although we do try to focus on organic and all natural foods as a family and i know enough about nutrition to ensure a balance of protein and carbs, fats, — good ones, etc.. i thank my lucky stars that she loves veggies, chicken, cheese, and fish…and will take her drinking danimals and chocolate milk…but i am sorry to say that she’d take cheez-its over baby carrots or hummus any day. although yesterday she did chose raisins for a snack…unless you’ve lived with one of these nutty eaters, there is no understanding the compulsiveness it can drive you to in ensuring balance in their intake.
i am not worried about her weight…she is extremely active and strong, however, without food, she is hyperactive followed by hysterical…here’s the positive of the struggle — i am actually pleased to report that she is a healthy 42 plus inches tall and close to 40#…she has turned into quite the swimmer (for those of you who take your kids to YMCAs — she’s an EEL now). 
the bentobox concept is a great one:i had looked into this when i first considered lunchables. last week, hannah had a friend over and i tested actual lunchables.the lunch meat inside was pretty gross. both kids ate the cheese and crackers and then asked for something else. so i then thought — hey “cheese and crackers,” and “something else, ” and added that to my list. love those gladware containers. the bento box things are a little pricey — so i’d feel guilty putting stickers on those, but will definitely decorate the gladwares. i need to check on “seeds” because pumpkin seeds go over big here…she will definitely thrive on the positive peer pressure. i know most of the moms and kids who will be in her class and we’ve already talked about the challenges of no peanuts/ hot foods for them. i know it will catch on.good luck for the new school year for all…you guys are the best — so many thanks for all of the responses. let me know how it goes for you…sorry to hijack – just wanted to say hi Stacey!! It was so good to see your post.
Hope all is well and Happy Belated Birthday to Hailey. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday, we all had babies!!
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