Daycare battles and food issues

Current Book: Dead witch walking, Kim Harrison  Current Baking: Muffins, cookies and pudding

Ok, after a bit (?) of a hiatus here, I'm going to allow myself a rant or two.

To give some background on this, Sprogs daycare, while exemplary in most things, have become lunchbox Nazis to the point where they reject things that are on their suggested lunches list. I understand that the common opinion is that sugar turns small children into whirling dervishes, small demons of energy that will quickly burn out, become cranky, and fight.

There have been many studies now that show this is not the case, and it is our perception that changes, not the kids' sudden energy levels. Yes, if you load a three year old up on pop and pixie sticks, it's bad. No nutrition, instant shot of energy because there is no fiber or vitamins or other food products to slow down the process.  But seriously, people, PUDDING? Real Fruit Gummies, where the second through fifth ingredients are fruit? YOGURT? I've had a few battles, and homemade pudding and yogurt are remaining on the menu but the fruit snacks of most ilk are now gone. He gets fruit leather, which usually manages to mysteriously get buried at the bottom of his lunch kit and eaten as an after-school snack. I bake more then most, and it irritates me that my home made muffins and cookies are side-eyed when they're a helluva lot healthier then the average Lunchable.

Now, they're asking us to 'minimize our environmental impact', which in theory is a great idea but means that all the nifty prepackaged yogurt, fruit leather, cheese sticks, fruit cups, etc now must be repackaged before sending them to daycare. We should be able to save some cash and time at home by just buying the bigger containers and spooning it into the washables but that adds on more prep time and cleaning time as well.

So, off onto the interwebs I went, looking for inspiration...
I found all these cutely themed lunches with scrapbook quality notes, artistically arranged sandwiches and fruit, mini bento boxes, and crackers with smiley faces drawn on them. I found fruit kabobs, train shaped cheese and meat concoctions, and woe betide you if the sandwich is actually sandwich shaped.

Seriously, do these moms not have lives? Where the hell do they find the time for all this? Or is this actually what it takes to have my child eat a lunch I pack for him that follows all their restrictions?
I found a few really awesome suggestions that I plan on implementing. Reaching back into the dusty cobwebs of my own school days, I seem  to remember my dad doing a lot of them when he made lunches way back when. I'll let you know how they turn out :)