What to pack for school lunches?

My kids school lunch has been weighing on my mind as we prepare for kindergarten. They are used to eating dishes that are hot (hot dogs, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, etc.). They don't eat sandwiches, which is what I remember eating in school, but maybe we need to start. I picked up a couple of books at the library today to help me out. But, I'd love to hear your ideas! So, any suggestions?? TIA.

 

Can you pack some of those hot items in a thermos to keep them warm? These are common items we pack in lunches:

hard boiled eggs
bagel and cream cheese
rolled up lunch meat
cheese and crackers
lunchables
yogurt
cheese sticks
sandwiches (mine like pb&j, turkey and cheese, ham and cheese)

I will be doing more of the hot items in thermoses this year (soup, mac and cheese, pasta, spaghettios - I know, I'm bad but we do eat them every once in awhile).

 

Mine are not big on sandwiches either. For preschool, when they stayed for lunch bunch, I packed deli meat, cheese sticks (from good old string cheese to pepper jack to cheddar), crackers, fruit, nuts, hard boiled eggs, carrot sticks, peanut butter crackers, fruit leather, edamame, yogurt sticks, pretzels. I will probably stick with the same for kinder, unless they ask for something different. I know already mine will want to eat the school lunches. I mean, chicken nuggets and pizza are a kids dream come true! :headbang:

 

Besides sandwiches (pb&j, cream cheese and jelly, egg salad)

They will also get two or three other things as a side:
yogurt, fruit snacks, string cheese, granola bar/ nutri grain bar, fruit: blueberry's, strawberry's, or other fruit,
cherry tomatoes (my one daughter likes them). gold fish, plain crackers, pretzels

Some other non sandwich things we do is left over mac and cheese or soup in a thermos.
Also tuna noodle salad (one of my daughters loves this)
peanut butter crackers
rolled up salami, bologna
cut up cheese to either eat separately or with crackers

I am sure there is some other things that I am missing. I have one daughter that would 85% of the time take pb&j, yogurt, granola bar and then something for snack time. While my other daughter was constantly changing what she wanted to eat. So it really depended on what she asked for.

 

If my DD does not take a sandwich she has a yogurt or cottage cheese. If she has a sandwich she has ham or bologna on bread (no mustard or mayo on it).

And she gets 2 other things: apple or carrots

And she can choose between chips, crackers or cookies.


That is really all she has time for and when I've packed her more she brings it home. One thing I did before she started K was pack her a lunch at home a few days and set a timer so she knew how much time she would have to eat it. She gets about 20 min. at school to eat lunch.

 

Will they eat pita and hummus, a wrap, or cheese/PB/soy butter in our case and crackers? Mine love wraps with cream cheese, soy butter, honey, jelly, or hummus. They also have a protein [chick peas, chicken, or tofu], veggies, and fruit. If they take yogurt, most of the other food comes home.

 

We tend to do sandwiches or random finger foods that include some kind of protein with a carb (like cheese and crackers); we've done yogurt too. I'll put in fruit or veggies but rarely anything sweet. It's too easy for them to eat that first and run out of time!

 

I'll let my kids pick whether to buy or take.

For Timothy when he takes, it'll be a sandwich and yogurt. Then some variety of chips, applesauce, apple slices, baby carrots, or grapes. If I make something like butternut squash bread or banana bread, I'll do that instead of a sandwich. And then a tiny bit of chocolate, like 2 hershey kisses or something like that.

Sarah is more of a yogurt and cheese stick with most any fruit, chips, and couple of hershey kisses.

Marissa

 

Oh I also forgot they will also bring in homemade jello, homemade muffins either banana or left over blueberry. My one daughter really isn't into sandwiches so it's usually a few small snack type foods that will equal a full lunch. Also the rule is you eat your sandwich (or main food) first with your yogurt (since I don't want that coming back home) and if you have time you eat your snack. If they come home with food left and the fruit snacks are gone then they don't get fruit snacks or a sweet snack or treat in the lunch for a week. For kindergarten they weren't a loud to throw out their lunch so everything came home so we could see what they ate (they were a loud to throw out yogurt containers when empty but sandwich bags came back home).

 

Most times my younger 3 take divided containers like these. I like them better than a bunch of small containers as they just get thrown in the dishwasher at night (a must in my house).

We have a variety of different ones in a few sizes. I think I might have to track down one of these http://www.popgadget.net/2008/02/hamburger_lunch.php - they are so cute.

Sometimes we do sandwiches or leftovers, but I find greatest success(as in they actually eat it all) when I pack in a snacking kind of way. Small portions of a large variety of things.

There is always:

• fruits (a few pieces each of 2 or 3 kinds)
• 3 kinds of veggies (what kinds change all the time)
• some type of meat
• a couple of slices/cubes of cheese
• a few crackers/piece of naan/sm bun
• usually yogurt
• a treat/dessert (homemade cake/cookie/muffin/pudding)
• always water to drink

 

Whatever I sent with my oldest for the last 2 years I made one request: Whatever she didn't eat came home. That way I could adjust portion sizes if necessary or even send the snack again (like crackers or chips.)

 

I've had to do lunch duty at my school the past 3 years and I see a lot of lunches. I like some of the rules I'm seeing, like bringing home what's uneaten. I see kids throw away probably a literal ton of food each week. I see some lunches that obviously had some thought put into them, and some where it looks like they went down the snack aisle at 7-11 on the way to school.

Rosalie had to be on a bland diet last year, and she took plain pasta several times. They both love yogurt & cottage cheese.

Please, please have a dry run (or 2) at home, to not only make sure the amount is appropriate but that they can feed themselves. If I were sending things with a foil top (like some applesauce, i.e.) I'd want to coach them on that, maybe even tell them to not open it ALL until they know they're going to eat it. Home-packed containers can be packed back up, but the foil-topped ones are thrown away even if only 1 bite is missing.

 

This is what I have purchased to send so far (we also have to send a snack):

Sandwiches: Almond Butter & Jelly (we're a peanut free school), turkey or ham and cheese, egg salad, chicken salad
Hard boiled eggs
Diced Rotisserie Chicken/Grilled chicken
Soup in a Thermos (during the winter when I prepare soup or chili)
Mac & Cheese or Spaghetti in a Thermos

Vegetables (celery, carrots, peppers) & Hummus or ranch dip
Fruit: apple (whole or slices), pear (whole or slices), clementines, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, mixed fruit cup
Applesauce
Tube Yogurts (freeze before packing)
String Cheese
Triscuits, Pretzels, Goldfish
Raisins

I will probably surprise them every once in a while with a cookie, rice krispie treat, etc.

Drinks: mine can purchase milk or I am sending a water bottle. I will occasionally send a juice box or water pouch.

 

I sent pasta salad yesterday for their entree. Apparently, several of the other kids noticed and were interested in what they were eating and whether they liked it.

 

My son has had the exact same lunch 4x/wk for 4 years now. :headbang: :headbang:
PB&J on wheat. 1/2 crusts cut off(aka compromise!),
1/2 plain/1/2 vanilla yogurt in a cup with a side of grape-nuts,
an apple cut up,
a luna or clif z-bar,
another fruit or veggie (which can vary)
and a treat (which can vary- cookies, crackers, beef jerky, etc)
with water.

My daughter can handle variety and eats bagels with pb or cc, PB&J, carrots with hummus, crackers and cheese, yogurt with granola or grapenuts or steel cut oats raw, etc.

I think thermos's are great if your kids will eat chili, soup, stews, etc.

 

My kids eat the same thing for lunch on a daily basis...

Zoe:

The small (pizza sized) pepperonis
bread with butter on the side
String cheese or cheese cubes
doritos
1 small chocolate bar or pudding.

Allison (she mixes it up a bit)

chicken breast (like from the can shreaded up plain), turkey or PBJ
Sunchips or Tortilla chips
pudding or brownie
grapes

 

Great ideas! I compiled a list and added some ideas we did to make it fun...
They decorated their sandwich containers and we found some great containers at The container store for salads/veggies with dip and non leak for other things. I think a lot of what was mentioned above may be on the list but we did add a few of our special ideas!

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