What's for Lunch?

Hey there
It's a new month and it almost feels like the school 'routine' mentioned in my last blog is normal again. The kids always bring home the school menus for the month and we sit down and review and talk about what their choices are, what they will pick, or whether we need to fix a lunch from home to take. With Cody it's a review of all offered and which days will require 'X-tra' from home. Oh to have the metabolism of a soon to be 14 yr old boy...........
Anyway, I know that I always struggle to come up with enough things that I think are healthy, that are easy to send along, quick and easy to eat, and are things that they like well enough to gobble up.
I noticed this interesting article which I thought held some good advice, that I thought that I would share:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26352602/
We have a food service in our school district, which I am not the biggest fan of, but I do think about how hard it is for me to come up with quick and easy different things that are inexpensive, etc etc and realize this might be the best bet for the district. I just wish that my kids ate a broader range of foods, so that they would love all the choices, etc.
My little salad eater, Jenna, picked the salads that are offered as a daily choice, she like the regular chef salad, but has also discovered that salad with stuff on top as she says are great as well, she likes the Popcorn Chicken Salad, the Smoked Turkey Salad and some of the others. Where I have seen my boys take a bag of dry cereal or unfortunately chips to the living room to snack on, THANK GOD, Jenna will do the same with the bags of salad that you can now buy in the stores. In fact she will generally eat an entire bag in just a couple of days if given the opportunity!
Well besides school and lunch there's lots going on around here. In the last week we've frozen almost 80 quarts of corn from our patch. I am planning to can grape juice concentrate this evening, waiting for the grapes to get into the shade before picking (and hoping my allergy meds kick in soon as well) Today Gladys is getting her knee replaced at Boone Hospital, should be there 2 or 3 days to any who are intersted in knowing that. We travelled to Springfield MO Friday to attend the funeral of her brother Dallas Jaeger. It was a neat service, both of his sons spoke and I was very impressed with the poise they showed, not sure that in their shoes, I could have held it together to get all shared that they did. Last Friday night was also the first HS Football game for Centralia, which they won 65 to 0 to Louisana, MO. Cody went with the guys who annouce it on the radio and had a great time. Our friend James Fashing who is doing the photos for Farm and Ranch Living came out Saturday morning and got several shots of lots of things that happen around here. He's coming back this evening for the 'posed' portrait to send in with our diary entries.
Cody will be 14 on Friday, with him being born on Labor Day, all day yesterday in my mind felt like his birthday. He's old enough that he no longer wants any sort of public acknowledgement of the day, so I won't be taking treats to school anything so embarrassing. I did conveniently mention it to the radio guys and they have already mentioned harrassing him next week during this last weeks radiocast.......... Gotta hold up my role as embarrassing parent, you know!
Better get back to my list of to-do's, the list seems long today........
From Tulip~
KH