My little foodies

Today was the first day of a summer camp that required me to pack a lunch for the boys. There are six total weeks of lunch-making in my future.

In general, I don't "do" lunch. While HISD lunches are not great fare, I am glad to have my kids eat school lunch if it means I don't have to make it for them.

And what gets me more than anything is the complaining about lunches I make. My view is that if I'm going to sacrifice my time to make you a meal, there will be no complaints. My view is not my kids' view, unfortunately.

So this year I told the boys to make a list of acceptable lunch items. I promised to put three items in every lunch, and that at least one item will be from their respective lists. And in exchange, I extracted a "no complaints" guarantee.

Here were their lists:

Joe - red beans and rice, edamame and garbanzo bean salad, spaghetti, ravioli, carrots and celery with hummus, grapes (purple or green), blueberries, apples (cut up), kiwi, lentils, almonds, and pineapple tidbits

Charlie - gazpacho, PB&J sandwich, chickpea soup, spaghetti, penne pasta, pasta salad, edamame and garbanzo bean salad, grapes, peaches, mandarin oranges, salad, celery, apples, applesauce, kiwi, yogurt, diced pears, mixed fruit, pineapple

Not bad, huh? So far, no complaints either.