Lunchbox - Umma's dosirak

I never knew how hard a simple lunchbox would be.

Times 5.  5 days in a week.  5 lunches.  At least one serving from each food group.  Are they kidding me?  Don't I give Little Nabi her daily vitamin every night?  Isn't that enough?

Okay, I kid.  I do not endorse substituting healthy food with a regimen of vitamins... really, I don't.

When LN's preschool director skimmed over the lunch details, I gasped and asked him to go over the rules again.  One serving from each food group?  Um... what food groups?  Edamame beans are NOT vegetables?  They're protein group?  Dang.

I thought back to the brief few years of my mom's lunchboxes, or dosirak.

Hmm, I think she just put a dollop of rice, a few selections of banchan... on good days, I got fried sausage (or Spam!), bulgogi, or kimbop.  Well, we don't have a selection of banchan at home...  LN and I eat one meal a day together, if that.  I feed her breakfast, usually skipping that important meal for myself.  And I 'make' dinner.  Pasta.  Dubu doenjang chigae.  With spinach banchan.  With gim.  I broil store-bought marinated salmon filet.  I make naeng-myun. 

For some reason, I don't want to send her to school with sandwiches every day.  2 pieces of bread, a slice of ham or turkey, a slice of cheese, slap it together with some mayo acting as glue.  I could.  And I do - but I usually add the sandwiches as a side dish.

I wake up early in the morning just to fry up some eggs.  Or set the rice-cooker on timer so I can sneak downstairs first thing in the morning to cool the already-cooked rice - then, after my shower, I sneak back down to roll up some plain kimbop with sheets of seasoned seaweed/gim.  I warm up chunks of salmon.  I scoop up her tofu soup into a thermos container.  I make macaroni and cheese - not the microwave kind.  I heat up edamame beans.  I fry up some mandu.

From where is this obsession for the most perfect lunchbox coming? 

At first, I worried that the doenjang chigae would be a bit too stinky for her classmates.  So far, no complaints.  Besides, that's one item LN eats up. 

Part of me worries that LN will end up being that one kid with 'funky' lunch... and part of me couldn't care less because, right now, LN likes that 'funky' stuff.  I'm sure, she'll ask me to remove the doenjang chigae from the menu soon.

Her teacher, Asian herself, confides in me that the kids with at least one Asian parent bring the best lunch with most variety.  Damn... now that the bar has been set high... I'll have to try harder.

So.  What's in your kid's (or your) lunchbox? 

-Mama Nabi

Comments

[Mama with Marriage Tips]

Edamame beans are NOT vegetables?! I don't know that either.

[mary]

What a cute post! Your love for LN is the cause of your obsession I say!

My 16 month old will be starting daycare soon and I specifically looked for a daycare that provides meals/snacks so that I don't have to prepare it everyda. Does that make me a bad mommy? Lol...

Oh, p.s. I made spinach banchan last night and we all LOVED it. Thanks MN!

[MetroDad]

As one of those who was scarred by memories of being teased by other kids for my kimbop and kimchi bokumbop lunches, I tend to alternate what I pack for the Peanut. One day will be a bologna sandwich, the next will be vegetable kimbop, the day after will be shrimp fried rice.

I'm always trying to figure out what to pack Peanut for lunch. My favorite resource is Honglien's "Bento and Babies Blog." It's awesome.

http://bentoandbabies.blogspot.com/

[Krees]

All hail the 'funky' lunch! Sounds like you're making awesome lunches for LN. I wish you would pack some for me. Not for my son. For ME! :)

Aldus is only nine months, so his lunchbox is pretty easy still: a couple bottles of breastmilk, fruit of some sort and a slice of wheat bread topped with diet margarine. I swear, these crazy-a$$ Dutch and their desire to start cramming their kids full of bread as soon as possible...don't get me started. But that's what the doctors recommend, so that's what Aldus is getting until I can get my act together and start sending him with some protein and veggies instead.

Have you seen http://lunchinabox.net? Crazy fun!

[christina]

I don't do anything fancy in terms of bento looking lunches. But I do try to make it look neat (as in clean, does that count?). Usually I pack what we had for dinner the night before. In fact, while dinner is almost ready I just set some aside in BabyGirl's lunch box first, then what's *left* is for dinner. I try hard to make sure we have a protein, veggie, carb, and fruit so I think I'm doing alright. Most lunches are rice or pasta (on a rare occasion potato), some form of meat or tofu, and a simple veggie like sauteed chard or corn or something, and a fruit, usually whatever is in season, but bananas are always a hit with the kid. If the veggie is green it's almost guaranteed to come home again but I keep trying. I have been told that BG has one of the more healthful lunches in the class. Once in a blue moon I'll pack a hummus sandwich, or an egg sandwich, or a pbb (peanut butter-banana) sandwich with fruit. I also pack breakfast which is oatmeal, cream of wheat, or yogurt with fruit mixed in, or a slice of toast and one string cheese and some fruit, or a slice of toast with one scrambled egg and some fruit.

[Lily]

I have no idea what happened to my comment. But here is another site for lunch ideas. You're doing a great job!!!

www.laptoplunches.com

[Anne]

Just found your site while searching for a kimchi jigae recipe. As a Jewish American raised on PB&J (who now studies Chinese folklore in a PhD program :-P ), I agree that Asian-style lunchboxes tend to be much healthier and balanced than American brown bags. Inspired by my classmates, I have begun packing Japanese onigiri, sauteed meat, and pickled vegetables in a cute bento box I bought on eBay. I hope your little one appreciates your efforts for a while to come! And if LN starts to want sandwiches, carrot sticks and apples are much better sides than chips and cookies.

[Moa]

I study Korean full-time now so 2/3 of our class bring "funky lunches"!
If I'm lucky, I bring leftovers from yesterday's dinner (Korean or western). And if not, I bring cup noodles.

I think LN will look back at her childhood and feel happy you took your time to make her those lunches.