This summer I learned how challenging it can be to pack a simple lunch. It isn't so simple. Even though Kellan went to a summer day camp just twice a week, putting together a lunch he'd actually eat was not easy! I now have a whole new respect for moms and dads who have to pack lunch five days a week.

The one guaranteed meal he will eat is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but these days, many schools and day cares are peanut-free. So I tried cream cheese and jelly sandwiches. No dice. Kellan doesn't like lunch meat and he's iffy about cheese, other than cream cheese on a bagel, so that pretty much ruled out most other types of sandwiches. So on camp mornings, I would just stuff in a random assortment of foods - like carrots, hummus, whole grain crackers, guacamole, and a fruit - in his lunch bag and hope for the best.

I've been searching for healthy school lunch ideas and going through my cookbooks for inspiration. Just in the past couple of weeks since camp ended, Kellan has been willing to try new things. We gave him a sliver of sheep milk cheese and he sniffed it before saying it was too stinky for him. After a bit of coaxing he did have a bite! Now that the weather is cooler here, I'm going to try my trick from last fall and bake muffins with shredded vegetables, like zucchini and carrots.