Brown Lunch Burn Out

My son loves "sushi green beans": edamame. They are great for lunch time, full of protein and easy to prepare. I also give him leftovers from a roasted chicken.

Maybe something "fancy", like a cold pasta salad (which is really just pasta, oil-based salad dressing and a few sliced grapes for some color). Hard-boiled eggs or those individual cheese sticks travel well for protien.

My son is also in camp, same situation, no fridge etc. I've been making ham with pickles, cheese with cucumbers sadwiches etc, I just stick a cold pack in there to keep this stuff cold.

Target has small thermoses that fit in a lunch box and it's really helped to expand the lunch options this summer. I've been packing things like Annie's ravioli, leftover spanish rice, even leftover enchiladas. Look for "food jar" - here's an example: http://www.target.com/Thermos-Flower-Food-Jar-Purple/dp/B...

There is a wonderful website blog where a mom took a picture of her son's packed lunch every day for a year or so. It's at www.veganlunchbox.com. Hit the "blog" link and scroll down the left side to see back issues of the lunches month by month. It's amazing. Everything is vegan on this site, but you can easily substitute real meats for the meat substitutes:)

I was a camp counselor for six years and my kids went to camp also. When tired of pb and j, we would have tortilla roll-ups (a flour tortilla with ham and cheese rolled inside - many other items can be used also - cold cooked chicken strips were great (like a McDonalds chicken wrap)) We would also do chicken or tuna salad with crackers. I also found recipes at www.allrecipes.com

check out www.laptoplunches.com they have those bento style lunch boxes like the ones mentioned at Container store. But u don't have to buy the lunch box. If you go to their photo gallery, they have about a hundred differnt combination of lunches. It shows a picture and if you run your mouse over it, it tells you what is in that particular lunch. Most everything is super healthy. But it can give you ALOT more options. I love seeing the diff. things, I use many of them for myself even.

There was a website a while back on her something like laptoplunches.com Maybe you can google it?

I feel your pain! Kraft foods has a website with a kids' lunch box builder:

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/YourKids/LunchboxSolutions/L...

You can pick up some ideas there. My kids like sandwich wraps, salad, fruit salad and pasta. They also get a kick out of sandwiches made with hot dog or hamburger buns. Go figure. Handi-snacks makes pudding cups that don't need to be cold. You could also include some whole wheat crackers or pretzels. My kids don't like juice boxes, so I put a bottle of water in there. Aldi has mini bottles of water that are perfect for kids.

Since you have an ice pack in her lunch box, you could also do cold pizza, fried chicken or hardboiled eggs.

Hope this helps!

K. R, here are some suggestions for brown bag lunches. Since you are keeping things cool with an ice pack of some sort, I think you have some really good options:
* cheese and crackers
* hard-boiled egg
* hummus with veggies to dip
* quesadillas (make the night before, serve cold with salsa to dip)
* pita stuffed with hummus and veggies like shredded lettuce, tomato, cucumber slices
* celery and apples dipped in pb
* a trail mix of nuts, seeds and dried fruit (great protien)
* get a thermos and make a yogurt parfait (plain or vanilla yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit layered with granola!)
* use that same thermos to pack a cold soup like gazpacho or a fruit soup (look online for a cantaloupe soup-de-lish!
* oil/vinegar based pasta salad with veggies and cheese

Good luck!

It depends on how picky your daughter is, but what about hummus and veggies. It could be a fun thing for her to dip and scoop, she'd get some protein and it would be more healthy. Another idea, cold chicken cubes or a pasta salad with chicken (I using this term loosely...chicken, pasta and a few veggies mixed together, it doesn't have to have a dressing).

If you have a cold pack in there, I wouldn't worry. I would try different sandwiches, chicken salad, egg salad, lunch meat. You can also make your own lunchables and send healthier cheese-just cut everything cracker size.

Does she like wraps? Tortillas instead of bread. You might be able to give her cold quesadillas.

I would ask her for ideas as well.

Good luck!

Has she started complaining about the lunches? Stopped eating the food? If she isn't annoyed by it then continue with what you've been serving. Some kids actually like the routine and regularity of their meals as it brings consistency and comfort to their daily routine.

If she is starting to get burnt out, why not take her grocery shopping and let her help pick out items she wants to eat and then assemble the lunches together in the kitchen? Talk about a great mother-daughter bonding moment, plus she might feel empowered by making decisions on her own and creating her own meals!

I do whole wheat waffles (with flax) mix in ground walnuts and pureed sweet potatoes ( I use organic baby food, so much easier than doing it myself) and a few chocolate chips, it's a meal in itself and the kids loves it cold or hot!

Also gogurts work perfectly if you freeze them the night before, by lunch the next day they are ready to eat!

During the school year, I used a thermos to pack warm foods like hot dogs, pasta, and even nuggets.

Hi K. Why don't you try cold cuts sandwichs or make her wraps secured well with hand-wrap or aluminum foil and put them in a small cooler with ice.

Try sunnut butter and honey. Or soy nut butter and honey. It's really close to peanut butter, but just a little change.

There is a lunch box like a bento box called the"laptop" lunch box. It's a great box for pieces of cheese, other fruits. It even comes with an idea book. My 5 year old loves it. But I think it's a fabulous option for anyone. The greenhome experts in oak park carries them in a couple of colors. The box has helped us put a good variety in my daughters lunches. Good luck

I recently discovered Flat-Out Breads. They're kind of like tortillas but healthier. Their Kidz version is oval-shaped so there's not a lot of excess tortilla. It's perfect for my six-year-old and he loves anything on there: pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese; just ham and cheese; pb&j. We also do homemade lunchable-type things using real cheese and any kind of leftover meat or just lunchmeat. I think we get tired of things before they do.

He also loves apples but hates when they turn brown so I put either lemon or orange juice on the cut-up apple and send it that way. (He prefers the orange juice as it's sweeter.)

Does your daughter like Turkey or chicken sandwiches w/cheese? After my kids got tired of peanut butter..we went that way. My 7 year old does not like cold cuts, so we put cold pizza in his lunch, since he does not mind that. Other fruits that are healthy are cut up watermelon with a plastic fork so they can throw it away..peaches, blueberies, oranges, pinapple. I cut up fresh the night before and place it in the refrigerator. Milk does come in plastic containers in the store...apple, grape or orange juice too is good.
Just a few ideas.

My kids love cold quesadillas in their lunches.

I freeze water bottles and juice boxes. I have even done Capri Suns. All slush up great as they thaw. We take a lot of picnics during the summer and these keep things cool. I even refill the water bottles and reuse. I look forward to your other responce since sandwiches are getting old.

The Container Store has these awesome containers that totally make it easier to pack a lunch. I have one that lets you pack cereal and milk (even includes the spoon in the top!) and the milk part you freeze the cup so it stays cold. I have another one that's for juice and a snack. They also have one that you can stick fruit and a dip, I do carrots and ranch dressing and apples and caramel.

I also like the single applesauce servings and yogurt. It's good if you add nuts or granola cereal to the yogurt.

I would think if your daughter loves pb & j she'd love it if you keep the sandwich consistent and change up the sides.

Also, peanut butter and banana is good and I love peanut butter and fluff sandwiches. Not exactly healthy, but fun!

lunchables are too filled with sodium and lifespan extenders. Roll a few pieces of her favorite lunchmeat and a piece of cheese. Pack it with a small ice pack and baggie up some Ranier cherries (on sale at Dominicks till Wednesday). They're naturally sweet and nutricious. Change up the fruit and lunchmeats. Leftover fried chicken or piece of pizza. Bag up pretzels or wheat thins on different days for a snack. Push the fruit and veggies. Raw veggies with ranch dip or blue cheese. Anything you can cook at home will make her happy. Don't fret, leftovers are fine.

They sell little packages with baby carrots and ranch dressing for dipping--my daughter loves it. You could just put together your own, of course, too, instead of buying it prepackaged. What about Nutragrain bars? Rice cakes?

Go to weelicious.com for some great ideas, also a pic of the blogger's daily lunches for her kids!