Good idea. I don't know what the food tastes like, but my son's school menu looks like they are definitely making an effort to provide what I would consider to be basically healthy lunches. I'm not going to complain even if some of the options aren't "the best". I think they have to make it affordable, able to be made in very large quantities, and something that children are going to try to eat rather than running out of the cafeteria crying....some food that is just an "ok" choice is better than no food if the kid refuses to take a bite. I have however asked if he'd like to buy his lunch sometimes, and he said no. (It's only been one week though; I keep their monthly menu and highlight what might be a good day to purchase lunch "if" we were to purchase, and put some money in his account just in case, because you never know what might happen one morning...if I was sick or if for some reason a friend had to take him to school, I'd be more at ease if I knew he was taken care of).
My kids are in perfect health, with perfect bodies (totally opposite body shapes, but perfect for their individual shape), they don't have afternoon crashes like I did, they are very active, etc. I'm not a health nut or perfect, but I do try to give them decent options that are also easy for a 5 year old to eat in the cafeteria. Nor do I think that having something average occasionally is going to "hurt" them. So even if lunch is "ok" and not "great", the children can still eat at home 2 out of 3 meals. Breakfasts and dinners are much more varied and involved most of the time.
I do actually post my menus on the fridge every week. My 5 year old does eat ALL of his lunch, may or may not get to snack since they have the option of snacking or playing (except the first day of school, when he said "we didn't have time!" and I said "That's ok, but we've been telling you to eat more steadily. you can't take an hour to eat a sandwich. If you're hungry, you're going to have to change how fast you eat". (I also monitored and lowered the serving size a little, and I told him not to throw away his trash (ziplocs, etc), but to bring it all home, so I can keep an eye on how much and what he ate...does he need a half sandwich instead of a whole, etc. The teacher helps with that since she knows why I'm doing it). We do use reusable storage containers for some, and ziplocs for some (but reuse the ziplocs so it's not so wasteful). I send him with his Spiderman bottle (it's the kind that you push the button and the cap opens and there's a little straw) full of water for the pocket on his backpack so he can drink on that during the day (I've asked him not to drink from the water fountains to try to fend off the colds that can go through the schools, if he has water in his bottle and can bring it out).....in his lunch box I have a reusable bottle that I put about 6oz juice in, add just a little water (1 or 2 oz?), freeze in the morning before school so it's just slushy and stays cold until lunch. Juices can be anything from cran-apple, cran-cherry, apple, V8 splash, V8 fusion, etc).
Mon: Ham and Swiss on whole wheat with spinach leaves and tomato, a little kosher pickle wedge because he loves those things, and cut up green apples, with a snack of chocolate pudding that I made at home.
Tues: Roasted chicken on a whole wheat wrap with hummus, spinach, tomato, red onion (diced), red and yellow bell peppers, cut in half, and a fresh plum. Snack: dried banana chips and a handful of fresh blueberries
Wed: I used pillsbury crescent rolls, one hot dog frank, shredded cheddar cheese, and diced jalepenos to make 2 pig in the blankets for his lunch (which was his first time to eat that, and he loved it), sliced carrots, celery, and red bellpepper and a little container with a snap on lid (the kind you see at a salad bar) for a scoop of hummus to dip his veggies in. Snack: leftover chocolate pudding.
Thurs: Pbj on whole wheat, and a sliced apple (1/2 of an apple). Snack: a couple slices of dubliner cheese on water crackers. (Our "jelly" is actually mom's either fig preserves from her tree, or blackberry preserves that we picked earlier this year).
Fri: Ham and swiss (again whole wheat, spinach, tomato), and a plum. Snack: a handful of wheat pita chips with hummus to dip.
NEXT week (menus is already made because the shopping was done yesterday): he'll have cajun roastbeef sandwiches (Mon and Fri), pbj (Tues), leftover homemade chili (Wed), and leftover chicken rice casserole (with broccoli, mushrooms, celery, onion, cheese) on Thurs. He'll have orange slices, plums, fruit salad, granola bars, applesauce, butterscotch pudding, and a great trailmix of cashews, pecans, coconut shavings, and dried fruits (banana, raisins, craisins, papaya, mango, pinapple, etc) to choose from as sides and snacks. Things that are easy to pack and easy for him to serve himself since he's little. Just fuel to keep him going through his day, and keeping him active as he's taken on his regular 2 days of kung fu as well as adding a day for sparring now. He's not famished when he comes home from school, but he does have a good appetite for dinner when it's time to eat with the family. He has requested beef lo mein, and peanutbutter banana sandwiches so I told him that can be week after next (I'd already finished all the shopping when he thought of those).
