Bagel Box, take two

"Mommy," my seven-year-old began quite seriously, "if you won't let me buy a bagel bag at school, at least make one that has the same stuff in it."

This is another attempt at the now infamous bagel box. Upon extended discussion, Zachary pointed out that the bagel bag at school did not include fruit, crackers, or cookies as packed in the first bagel box a few weeks ago.

"Fine," I retorted, "then you will have neither cookies nor crackers. I hope you don't starve"

So this is what we wound up with: half of a plain bagel, carrot sticks in a silicone diamond shaped cupcake form, a schmear of cream cheese, and a brownie. I felt bad not giving him anything sweet, so the brownie was a bonus. Apple juice is in the reusable box and I included a small kiddie knife and a Transformers cloth napkin.

The kiddie knife is a relic from a preschool cutlery set made by The First Years that used to go back and forth with him to school. It has a little fork and spoon also and a durable plastic covered case. I wish I had bought two of them back then, but with only one child at the time, there was no point. On a recent trip to buy a gift for a friend, I looked for them at Buy Buy Baby, but they seemed to only have the reusable disposable cutlery sets. Oh well.

Waste generated: zero

When I emptied his lunch box in the evening, I said, "Oh, wow, sweetie, I'm really sorry you got a brownie in your lunch. You weren't supposed to. I know they don't have brownies in the bagel bag, so I'll remember next time." Needless to say he chirped up, "No! I like brownies in my lunch!" I responded, "So what are you saying, then? What I pack is better than school?" Conceding defeat, he gave me one of those cartoon looks when the smart-aleck character is outwitted. Hee hee....

Score another for mommy on the bagel box: Mommy 2, Daddy 1

Bagel Box

When my son entered first grade, one of the first things he wanted to do was buy his lunch. Buying every day was not an option. However, my husband lobbied on his behalf, citing all of the ways that he is different from other kids, and in his closing arguments, went for the jugular and appealed to my desire to fit in with the other kids. Rats! I was outwitted.

Grumbling, I conceded that round to my husband and we agreed to let him buy his lunch at school once a week. Once a week, he is average, running with the pack, in the middle of the bell curve, a drone in a sea of second graders in a cafeteria. This bothers me. It goes against my very nature, my aspirations of re-engineering school lunch with healthy, economical, and environmentally friendly lunches. It blatantly relegates my desire for innovation and efficiency in midday meals, my obsession with packing things into small containers to a passing fancy. But, sigh, this is a battle not worth fighting. I would rather lose this battle and win the war. Daddy 1, Mommy 0.

A few weeks ago, he came home from school and excitedly described the Bagel Bag he had chosen for his lunch. I asked what was in it and he said it had a plain bagel, an apple, and the best part, "...a little silver container of cream cheese, you know, just like the kind they have at the store, Philadelphia. And guess what? You spread it on your bagel!" Hmmm.... I bet no one's ever thought of that before. Mind you, we live just outside of New York City, a city well-known for its superior bagels and likely the birthplace of the schmear of cream cheese . Apparently packaging matters a lot to my son, the consumer, because he usually turns his nose up at cream cheese. Anyway, rather than go into a dissertation about how he has had bagels and cream cheese before, I let him have his moment.

Last week he mentioned that he might want a bagel bag for his one day of school lunch. It's a pretty good choice, but then I gave him an option. If I made him a version of a bagel bag, he would still have his school lunch for later in the week. Why waste the free pass on something just as easily packed from home? He agreed, so this is what I made:

1/2 plain bagel (he's not a big eater and has never eaten a whole bagel), some grapes and strawberries in the silicone cupcake holder, two vanilla sandwich cookies, some wheat thins, and some cream cheese. I couldn't replicate the round silver tub, so a small square container is what he got. On the side I gave him some apple juice in a reusable juice box.

Review: He loved it. He ate most of the bagel, a few crackers, 1 cookie, some of the crackers, and most of the fruit. Waste: zero!

Chalk one up for Mommy with the winning bagel box. Mommy 1, Daddy 1, not that we're keeping score or anything.