Today I’m in a giving mood….you’re getting an amazing parenting tip and an incredible consumer product tip all in one column!
My middle son is a picky eater. He eats what he likes (pancakes, french toast, fried eggs, hotdogs and burgers) and gags, clutches his throat and rolls around on the floor acting like I’m trying to poison him when I try to serve him something else.
From his menu selections, you can see that I was a little stumped when it was time to send him off to school with a packed lunch. What on earth to include for my child and his “selective palate” (see, there’s a PC term for everything!). For the first few weeks I tried everything, but sandwiches came home uneaten, the thermos was returned to me full of mac and cheese, and cold pizza didn’t cut it.
I had visions of my little guy wasting away to nothing, and nightmares of him never growing another inch in his life.
We’ve just passed a milestone with him days after his 9th birthday that we didn’t pass with my eldest until he was past his 10th birthday. The new shoes he bought fit me. In fact, his feet are bigger than mine. He’s a big, strapping healthy boy. So how did I do it?
Finally one day, I came upon the parenting solution of which I am most proud; I started serving him cereal for lunch. I load him up with protein at his morning and evening meals, throw a few servings of fruit and veggies in with his milk and cereal, and figure it’s a well-rounded meal. And more often than not he eats it. Yeah!!
This has worked for us for three years now, but it has not been without its problems. The thermos is heavy in his lunch bag. The cereal crumbles if I put it in a snack bag. Some days I’ve forgotten to pack a spoon.
This new product from a company called Cool Gear International solves all of these problems.
The top part has a non-toxic freezer gel built into the walls, so once you’ve left it in the freezer for at least four hours, it will keep milk cold all day.
There’s a snap-on cover for the bowl that keeps cereal dry and in its original form until it’s ready to eat.
And there’s a folding spoon that fits right into the bowl! Genius!
My guy loves the product, and at less than $10 I think I may pick up one for myself as well!
There’s a whole line of great products like this available at Solutions stores across the country. If you haven’t checked out the Solutions website yet, go. It’s like “organized living” porn, and you can easily spend hours imagining the life you could have!
So there you have it, two tips in one from Trend Watch. Bon appetit!
Sorry to say the cereal bowl is a great idea but does not work well at all. Milk leaks out (no ring) and the attachment from the top to bottom is poor design. After two uses, the top part developed a brown inside I can remove, I threw mine out already.
Fan-friggin-tastic!
I’ll be picking up 3 of these this weekend!
Cuyler also drinks almond milk so we can’t send it to school, so I may try soy as an alternate and use this is as a lunch option. He has a very “selective palate”. Pair that with a gluten and casein free diet and lunches can be a real challenge.
I love cereal just like your son! I stopped drinking cows milk and have switched to Almond Milk. Finding it at a small convenience store is next to impossible. Now I can take it with me whenever I want. Thanks for the great tip!
Love this…thanks for posting!!! I never would have thought about sending cereal for lunch!!
I love cereal just like your son! Being lactose intolerant it makes eating cereal out of my house more difficult because I substitute almond milk for cows milk. Almond milk is much harder to find in a small convenience store. Now I can take it to go whenever I like. Thanks for letting us know about this fantastic new product!
I would take this to work for me!! I never eat breakfast at home, so this would be perfect!!
OMG, i love this! my kids will be all over this!
that rocks! thanks for posting this!
I NEED this. This is the most absolute best invention for my selectively palated son.
THANK YOU!