How to Feed a Henry

This week Henry packed 5 days of school lunches . He tried out a new recipe on M onday and had his first completely eaten lunch on F riday. In case you missed the first post in this school lunch series, you can learn more about our family's lunchbox guidelines here . DAY 1   DAY 1 - WHAT DID HENRY PACK FOR LUNCH? Cinnamon Banana Almond Butter Roll-up , cut into 5 pieces Parsnip Chips   Plum Pistachios Saltwater Taffy, licorice flavor Water DAY 1 - WHAT'S LEFT IN HENRY'S LUNCHBOX ? Half the parsnip chips A small bit of plum A few pistachios Most of the taffy, he was n o t very thrilled with the licoric e flavor *His water bottle was nearly full . Henry has decided he prefers water with a few drops of lemon juice. We fo rgot to add the lemon to today's water bottle. DAY 2   DAY 2 - WHAT DID HENRY PACK FOR LUNCH? S alami and P rovolone C heese, 2 slices each rolled up to gether Dried berry medley , cherries/blueberries/strawberries English m...

One of Henry's favorite foods is bananas. Of course, he has been asking to pack bananas in his lunchbox.  Henry has chosen dried banana chips several times, but we've discouraged him from taking fresh bananas. Fresh bananas brown easily when they sit in a lunchbox all morning, so I started thinking about how he could enjoy a banana in his school lunch. He was so excited when I suggested a banana roll-up for Monday's school lunch. I think this is one of Henry's new favorite recipes. Most of the items in Henry's lunchbox are grab and go, but this simple combination was quick and easy for Henry to make himself. Sprinkling cinnamon on the banana and wrapping it inside a tortilla helps to keep it fresh in his lunchbox. This recipe is definitely Henry approved; he ate all of it at lunch. CINNAMON BANANA ALMOND BUTTER ROLL-UP Serves 1 - 1 Banana - 1 Wheat Tortilla - Almond butter (you could use peanut butter or sunflower seed butter instead) - Cinnamon...

This was Henry's first full week of preschool. He packed 5 days of school lunches . In case you missed the first post in this school lunch series, you can learn more about our family's lunchbox guidelines here . DAY 1   DAY 1 - WHAT DID HENRY PACK FOR LUNCH? 4 Ritz Crackers 4 sli ces Pepperjack Cheese Blueberries 2 Dried Plum s (from our neighbor's tree) Cashews, in the small container Fruit Gummies Water DAY 1 - WHAT'S LEFT IN HENRY'S LUNCHBOX ? Most of the cashews *His water bottle was half empty . DAY 2 DAY 2 - WHAT DID HENRY PACK FOR LUNCH? Pancake Sandwich ( almond butter between 2 coconut pancakes ) Plum, cut into 8 pieces Donut Peach, cut in 2 halves Annie's Bunny Fruit Snack s  Water DAY 2 - WHAT'S LEFT IN HENRY'S LUNCHBOX ? Half the plum  All of the peach Half the fruit snacks * His water bottle was nearly empty DAY 3   DAY 3 - WHAT DID HENRY PACK FOR LUNCH? Biscuit with sunflower butter and homema...

Packing his lunchbox gives Henry the opportunity to practice a variety of kitchen skills. In addition to learning how to select the elements of a balanced lunch, t his week he has used scissors to cut pepperoni and a knife to slice plums . Slicing Plums   He's concentrating very hard on cutting the plum into pieces that will fit in his lunchbox.   Henry is also takin g a stronger interest in helping make breakfast in the morning by stirring pancake mix and a us ing a rolling pin and biscuit cutter to make biscuits. Making Biscuits We made an extra biscuit for his lunch. What kitchen skills are your kids practicing this week?

Henry started preschool midweek, so there are only three lunches to show from his first week. Henry packs his own lunchbox for school. In case you missed the first post in this school lunch series, you can learn more about our family's lunchbox guidelines here . DAY 1   DAY 1 - WHAT DID HENRY PACK FOR LUNCH? Korean Barbecue Pork Jerky (from Costco) Teriyaki Roasted Seaweed, hiding under the jerky PB&J Bar (from Trader Joe's) Figgy Pops Apple Cinnamon Supersnack (from Costco) Banana Chips (from Trader Joe's) Marshmallow Water DAY 1 - WHAT'S LEFT IN HENRY'S LUNCHBOX ? Half the Banana Chips All four Figgy Pops *His water bottle was nearly empty. DAY 2   DAY 2 - WHAT DID HENRY PACK FOR LUNCH? Pepperoni Stick, cut into pieces   Pepper jack Cheese Grapes Mandarin Orange, divided into segments Maple Cream Cookie   Water DAY 2 - WHAT'S LEFT IN HENRY'S LUNCHBOX ? Half the G rapes Half the Orange *His water bottle had abo...

Henry has just started preschool! It's an exciting new phase for our family. As Henry embarks on this new chapter, I thought it would be fun to document his school lunch experience. I am relaunching How to Feed a Henry with a focus on his lunchbox. Henry on his first day of school WHAT TO EXPECT Henry will be attending school five full days, which means packing five school lunches each week. My plan is to photograph Henry's lunchbox contents each day -- possibly before and after pictures to see what he actually eats. My intent is to post a photo log of the week's lunches; this will help with our family's weekly grocery planning and spark menu ideas for the following week. I may write occasional product reviews or other topics related to school lunches. Henry will be eating lunch in a noisy cafeteria with lots of kids at a public school. He will have 30 minutes for his lunch break. This may seem like sufficient time, but Henry is not known for being...