Separate Units Follow-Up

What came home from school

After I let her snack on it at home

With today's portion of the experiment complete, it's time to document the results:

As you can see, she did not eat much of her lunch at school,

as the photo on the left shows how much came home.

I asked her a few questions, and here is how it went:
Mommy: So Lily, why didn't you eat your lunch today?
Lily: I didn't have time to eat my sandwich.
Mommy: What about this container of fruit and veggies?
Lily: I just didn't feel like it.
Mommy: Did you eat anything else at school today? For example something from the breakfast program?
Lily: Mmmawm!  I don't eat their food!  That food is for people who don't eat breakfast at home, and I EAT breakfast at home!
Mommy: (sensing Lily is getting tired of the interrogation) Well, if you'd like an after school snack, you can finish your lunch :)

Lily groans, but accepts her fate, and picks at the lunch for a minute, then plays with her toys and continues to pick for about 2 hours, (about an hour before supper). (I wanted to let her take as much as she would eat - without me prodding her, to see what got left behind)

The photo on the right is what was left after 2 hours when I put the containers away.

So what has today's experiment taught me about her preferences?
-She prefers to eat her sandwich first at lunch time, and eats a small snack at recess.
-She has limited time to eat, so she needs filling food that can be eaten quickly.
-I suspect she is not focusing on the task at hand during lunch time, (they have 30 minutes to eat), and she will need something to help her focus.

Factors I already know about Lily's lunching habits:
-If it can be spilled, it will be.
-Sprinkles = yucky
-Yoghurt not in original brand container = confusing/yucky
-Lunch must contain sandwich if possible. No Sandwich = Confusion on where to start, and lunch gets hardly touched.
-Sticky = Yucky (unless it's jam in a sandwich)
-Things dipped in other things are confusing/gross (example: yoghurt covered raisins, chocolate dipped strawberries, salad dressing covered veggies).

The thing is, if I'm right there with her, she'll eat!  But I can't go to school with her and sit with her at lunch time, (As much as I would love to).  Part of me is saying, "if she's actually hungry, she'll eat," but the other part of me is saying, "If she doesn't eat at lunch, she might go 7 hours with hardly any fuel for her constantly active body!"  At her Booster shot/check-up in August, the doctor reported that Lils is in the 95th percentile for height, but only the 32nd percentile for weight, so I do worry that she's not eating enough :(

Other Parents!

Do you struggle with this too?

I'd love to hear your stories, and how you're handling it!