Mac N Cheese

Ok, I am willing to acknowledge it - I stink at blogging.

In the mean time, here's an update on what happened in the 6 weeks since I posted last:

• Work calmed down.


• I immediately caught bronchitis.


• Everyone in the family got sick with something or other.


• Everyone got well, except for me.


• I think I might be getting over the bronchitis (finally).


• Just in time for Bronchitis' departure, Sinus Infection may have moved in.


• I'm going to tattoo NO VACANCY on my body in case any other viruses/bacteria think about stopping for awhile.

So anyhow, we have established a routine; Seth takes his lunch 3-4 times per week. On the leaderboard, homemade macaroni and cheese is at the top. This means that since I'm a poor advance planner, one day a week I wake up around 5:30 and make homemade mac n cheese. I make a ton of sauce so I can just boil fresh noodles for any other day that he takes his lunch.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

2 TBSP butter

2 TBSP flour

3/4 cup milk (more if needed to thin sauce)

1 cup cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour until a golden paste is formed. Whisk in milk until there are no lumps. Cook mixture until slightly thickened; add cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Cook until it has the consistency you'd like for your mac n cheese. You can pour it in a pan, top with additional cheese and bake (375) or broil until the cheese is melted if you like a top crust. Otherwise you can put some in a Star Wars thermos, add some fruit and crackers and call it a day.

Secret Weapons and New Treats

So my little guy has decided he loves the new lunch offered at school - yogurt, banana muffin, fruit and milk! Woot! Somehow the allure of purchasing the yogurt himself is much stronger than simply receiving a tube of the same said yogurt in his lunchbox. Whatever. I can deal with that.

In the meantime, on my quest to both improve his choices and not rely on the lunch served at cafeteria (hello, I don't think he should have a muffin EVERY day) I'm still going to battle it out.

I'm increasing my arsenal to include a cold pack in a very hip and happening design (hopefully they make Star Wars ones), adjusting "sinful" recipes to be more healthy, and doing some homemade baking on the weekends to try and anticipate what he will eat.

Yesterday was the first packed lunch so far - he had mango chunks, strawberries, the implacable Cheez-its, a smore made from square marshmallows and one of the chocolate-dipped graham wafers, and carrot sticks. He ate: 1 carrot stick, 1 marshmallow square, 1 bite of graham thin, no fruit, and the Cheez-Its. And you know how much I dislike jauntily-named foods.

Tomorrow is another packed lunch day - watch out. It's gonna get serious now.

Three Weeks of Cheez-its

Three weeks of school have passed and we're experts at almost everything by now - except school lunch. I am the mom of a certifiably picky kid. Of course, I love him dearly and don't want him to go hungry during a 7 hour day at school.

My lovingly packed lunches are returned mostly untouched except for the Cheez-Its or cookie that I packed as a treat, unless I made some fresh homemade mac n cheese that morning that I pack in a hot thermos or it happens to be the one day every week or so that the school-served lunch passes muster. Homemade mac n' cheese means waking up at 5:45 AM. I'm a dedicated parent, but waking up that early is not my idea of a good time.

Well, that's it, School Lunch. I'm taking no prisoners anymore. on this blog I'm going to post lunch - what worked, what didn't, how healthy I felt the lunch was on a Bad Mommy to Angelic Mommy scale. I'm always looking for ideas on what you feed your kids to try with mine. I'm ready to wield my culinary skillz. You will be defeated, School Lunch.