Healthy School Lunch Challenge-Day 2

Healthy School Lunch Challenge-Day 2, the First Week of School

Well, we are almost finished with our first week of school. Erik and Jonnie both took a healthy school lunch from home each day this week. I even offered that Erik could take the hot school lunch if he wanted on Friday, but he declined the offer. (I take that as a gold star for my lunch making ability).

So what did I pack this week?

Tuesday:

Carrots and ranch, Zweber Farms summer sausage slices, Organic Valley American Cheese singles slices, Annie’s Naturals Butter Crackers, apples from farm tree, marshmallows, and Organic Valley milk. $ 2.60*

Wednesday:

Carrots and ranch, Stonyfield YoKids Squeezer, PB&J on whole wheat, grapes from my a parents’ vineyard, and Annie’s Naturals Pizza flavored snack mix with marshmallows. $1.55*

Thursday:

Annie’s Naturals Pizza flavored snack mix, cherry tomatoes from farm’s garden, Zweber Farms summer sausage, dried pineapple, Organic Valley Cheddar cheese, and marshmallows. $1.44*

Friday: I actually blog Thursday during nap time, so Friday’s lunch hasn’t been made yet 🙂

*When calculating the price I used the current price available at Valley Natural Foods, including store special pricing. Also, if I used an item from our garden, I calculated what the cost of that item would be if I would have bought it at the store.  90+% of the items in the meals are organic and/or locally grown.

Observations:

I was packing about the right amount of food. Both Erik and Jonnie ate almost all of their food. While Erik loves carrots and dip at home, that was the one thing he had leftover of. On Thursday, I packed cherry tomatoes in hopes that he would eat more veggies.

I decided to not pack a milk Wednesday and Thursday. 1) The milk cartons are heavy and don’t fit in their lunchboxes. 2) Both kids get a milk break at school. They both drink a glass of milk at breakfast and dinner. With cheese or yogurt in their lunches, they are receiving the recommended daily value of dairy. 3) The kids don’t get a water break at school, so I thought it was more important that they got water at lunch.

My goal was to stay near the $2.00 hot school lunch cost. Sadly, when I added the milk to the lunch, the cost went over $2.00, but the water only meals stayed under $2.00. I think it is still a great idea to include an Organic Valley single serve milk in the lunchbox if you child is not getting enough milk at home.

How are you doing with the Healthy School Lunch Challenge? Tell us what you packed this week. Also, make sure to share links to your blog if you have ideas and recipes.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Organic Valley 30 Days to Cherish email series and Planetbox giveaway.

~Emily