Packing Mort's lunch has been a consistent struggle. I've toyed with letting him buy lunch, but I know that he will not eat the unfamiliar tastes that accompany familiar names. In trying to raise a child with leanings towards, fresh, organic ingredients and minimal processing, I have limited his palette towards the greater world. (We once tried to order him a pb & j at a restaurant. It was peanut butter made of many things other than peanuts, jelly made of more than fruit and white bread. He gagged.)

Mort has rejected all of the lunch items that I pack for him that he deems acceptable at home because they are the wrong temperature. On the list of items he will not eat in his packed lunch: grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, turkey sandwiches, wraps, and quesadillas. Yesterday, I packed him pb&j crackers and a slice of homemade pumpkin bread.

At dinner last night he announced out of the blue, "See! The pumpkin bread was just perfect! I could eat the whole thing!"