Ideas for Lunches - Carrollton,TX

I just received this today and hopefully it should help out. It is a link from the magazine web site parent.com.

http://www.parents.com/recipes/cooking/kid-friendly-food/...

Good luck!

laptoplunches.com has the BEST ideas ever for lunches. You can do hot/cold, just get a good thermos and for cold I like the Fit'n'Fresh containers too, I got them at Target by the lunchboxes, they work really well.

We have 2 articles about lunches...

1. On our summer camp guide, we included ideas for lunches:
http://www.familyeguide.com/index5.php?id=5&sid=63

2. In this week's newsletter we included ideas for fun lunches:
http://tinyurl.com/lamrf4

Good Luck!
www.familyeguide.com Free guide to affordable family activities in Lewisville, Flower Mound, Highland Village, and the surrounding communities.

I don't really know what to make for my kindergartner either. I did sit down with her yesterday and together we made a list of things she would like to have in her lunch. It is not extensive at all, but, it is what she likes so I am hoping it will be a start for her. Some things we included were ham sandwiches, macaroni & cheese (in a soup thermos), cartons of apple sauce, fruit or jello, grapes, strawberries, baby carrots, fresh broccoli, and "inside out sandwiches"-- a log style pretzel frosted with cream cheese and a slice of ham wrapped around it. Sounds like you have a tough job, dear one. Best of luck to you and your granddaughter as she starts kindergarten-- she is blessed to have you!

Warmly,
A.

Almond butter & jelly on whole wheat (since they do not allow PB in school, I buy almond butter at Costco)

Annie's mac & cheese, I make it first thing in the morning, then put it in a little BPA free thermos.

my son also loves crackers, cheese & turkey (I fill a small container with organic whole wheat crakers, colby jack & monterey cheese, with Hormel turkey (all natural no nitrates/nitrites)

turkey & cheese sandwhich on whole wheat bread (I sometimes cream an avocado and use that instead of mayo)

those are just some that popped in my head, I always include either fresh fruit cut up in a little zip lock bag or organic applesauce containers.

My son is a very picky eater. I always pack either pb&j or a package of peanut butter crackers, a bag of chips, a fruit of some kind (apple slices, oranges, grapes, strawberries, pears, applesauce, etc.), a dessert of some kind (cookie, granola bar, rice krispy treat, etc.), and something else like veggie sticks or some nuts or something. I always put in capri sun and a gel pack as well. In kinder, my son had snack so I would put a bag of crackers in a tupperware container for that. Cheese its were his favorites. This year, I bought one of those containers you can put hot food in. My sister had one and would heat ravioli. It supposedly stays hot for up to 5 hours in there. With that, I may substitute the sandwich with mac and cheese or spaghetti. I haven't used it before since it was about $15 and he had a tendency to put everything in the trash the first couple weeks of kindergarten. He even trashed the gel pack the first couple days. :) He did good in first grade bringing home the pieces I told him to, so we'll try the expensive container this year! I hope she has a great first day!

I have 3 that will be going to school this year(one in kindergarten) and we always pack a lunch. I include a sandwich(pb&j most often) and then some crackers(fish crackers, grahm crackers or ritz crackers)some fruit(sliced apple, applesauce, sliced orange or a furit cup) veggie(carrot sticks or cauliflower)and a small treat(handfull of m&m's, a couple cookies or a pudding or jello snack) then I will either send a juice box or give them some money for milk. I have tried water bottles but they never put the lid back on right and thier lunch box and back pack end up soaked!
I know this sounds like a large lunch, but if they have snack time(mine do) they just eat their crackers for snack. I have also gotten some small snack containers to put thier snacks in so they are not left with wasting a bunch of food.
Everyonce in a while I will give them money at the begining of the week and let them have "hot" lunch, but they usually just choose to have the sandwich that the school offers!
It takes a little more time to do the lunches, but my kids love to help out making thier own. It also helps to have all your lunch stuff in one place. A friend of mine keeps hers together in a box in the fridge, I keep mine in the pantry.
Good Luck!
~C.

My sons favorite in preschool was chicken nuggets... buy the precooked frozen chicken breast nuggets, warm or micro in the morning, wrap in foil, pop into lunch box.... he hated sandwiches at that age... sometimes I would use a divided container, put peanut butter in one section and crackers in the other, he would dip the cracker in the PNB... he was a very picky eater at that age. I would also always include a frozen yogurt stick, I get the organic ones at Target. I think they are Stoneybrook farms?

I also used to work at a preschool, here is a list of non-traditional things I have seen, we also had a no peanut butter policy, due to food allergies...

1. Cut up hot dog - no bun, just little rounds of wiener

2. turkey and cheese in a flour tortilla, rolled up and sliced in little rounds, could also use any meat and/or cream cheese.

3. spiral noodles mixed with veggies

4. Cream cheese and pretzels to dip it in

5. Grilled cheese sandwich, cooked in the morning, cut into 4 pieces and wrapped in foil...

The kids didn't mind the food not being hot - like the hot dog, chicken nuggets and grilled cheese....

GOOD LUCK :)
D.

HI T., We are in the same situation with the lunch issue. No cafeteria, no microwave. My little girl is starting 6th grade this year and this is as many years for no cafeteria choices. We do a lot of small snack bags of raw carrots, or other veggies with ranch dressing. Sandwiches and even just the thin sliced lunch meats with no bread but with the veggies. My daughter has a tendency to burn herself out on something if she finds something new but I do try to look for new products and new ideas. This year we bought a insulated thermos for soups and we are going to try the ramen noodles because that's one of her favorites. Hope this helps. J. G., mother of a 11 year old daughter that is really blossoming into a beautiful young lady, inside and out and a real joy.

Most kids are perfectly happy with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (on wheat bread, if they'll eat it), or grilled cheese, or lunchmeat and cheese. Maybe cut them into triangles or use cookie cutters for fun shapes. I throw in a juice box or thermos with their favorite drink inside. You really don't need to include an ice pack unless you have milk in the lunch. There are plenty of healthy sides in handy lunch sizes: Yogos, fruit chews, goldfish, crackers, animal crackers, etc. I also include one fruit or veggie (banana, baggie with baby carrots, grapes, etc.). And I like to draw a picture on their napkin for fun. Good luck with the year!

I sat down with my daughter when she started Kindergarten and asked her what she would like in her lunch each day. So I put those meals on a rotation and made them for about 4 weeks. Then she started complaining, "I really just want peanut butter and jelly, Mom." I thought, "Surely, she wants variety. Surely, she likes these cute, fun lunches that I make."
No, she didn't. She really just wanted PBJ for THREE MONTHS. Then finally, she wanted cheese. That lasted for one month. Then she wanted PBJ back. Sometimes, she would ask for pizza if we had it the night before.
So, maybe you should just ask her what she likes and just give her that until she's sick of it. Kids are so boring! =)
I would also suggest opening the containers are much as you can without opening it so much that it will spill out. When I ate lunch with my daughter in her cafeteria, a lot of kids waited for almost 5 minutes before the lunch room volunteer could get around to all of the Kinders to open their packages.
Also, those fruit cups and applesauce containers can be opened easily, but the kids usually made a mess opening them. So I started buying the BIG bottles of applesauce and canned fruit and putting them in washable tupperware. Better for the earth, too!
Don't send her with spaghetti or ravioli because they are messy and they'll stain her clothes and mouth.
I also send an antibacterial hand wipe to school with her each day and a napkin.
Some things she might like are:
- bagels with cream cheese - those mini ones are a great size
- yogurt
- a variety of side dishes that change a lot even if her main dish remains the same
- mandarin oranges (my kids are addicted to those!)
- carrots with ranch dip
- a slice of pizza leftover from the night before
- corn dog warmed at home and then eaten room temp

Good luck!
You're such a good Gramma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well the good thing is that now day's you can buy so many healthy foods pre-packaged.
Like, cut apples, little bags of veggie's, and stuff like that, don't just have to be sandwhich's anymore!

Good luck and hat's off to ya!

I substitute teach often and I will certainly say....children have NO access to microwaves, etc at our school.

That said, if you want to send a hot meal, get a good thermos. MANY children bring soup, spagettios, noodles.

I see a wide range of foods sent to school. There are a few who bring cereal and milk.

Veggies and dip, crackers and pb, pb/j sandwiches. I have a child who does not care for sandwiches. When she took her lunch, she liked spagettio's, noodles of any kind, and sometimes she would take an assortment of her favorite granola bars and fruit.

I don't know about your school but at ours, they have the option to buy ice cream at the end of lunch. A lot of children love this, about $1 or so for ice cream treat from machine.

Keep in mind that they don't have a long time to eat (the kids LOVE so chat) so don't pack more than necesssary.

One of the sweeter things I see often is a little love note or happy face on napkins to remind them that mom loves them.

Good luck...the time flies. My "baby" starts high school this year!!

As a nutritionist, I can't send my kids to school with pre-packaged junk like Lunchables, which is not a slam on anyone who does this, just my personal choice for my kids. I'm also a single, working mom so I am super busy and don't have a lot of time for making gourmet lunches, so I find a balance. I send my 3 and 5 yo to school with easy, simple foods that don't take much time to prepare but are totally healthy. I always include 1 fruit and 1 vegetable like apple slices with a small container of almond butter and cucumber slices with a little sprinkle of sea salt to make them yummier. I often include a thermos with beans and brown rice or sometimes scrambled eggs with veggies like an omelette but I make it in my blender (so much easier than chopping). I also make things like tuna or salmon salad by just putting the can of fish in my food processor with vegan mayo (not because we're vegan just because we don't do dairy) and pack that with some rice crackers for dipping. Organic fruit rolls ups are also a big hit and they don't have sugar like the regular ones. I often put rice pasta with veggies and beans in the thermos and a side of fruit. You can get whole food bars at the health food store too, not the sugary protein bars but the ones that are all food like fruits and nuts. those are easy to throw in the lunch box. Baby carrots, tomato slices, and lots of other veggies can be easily put in little tupperware containers. I get fresh turkey slices from the deli counter and roll them up with veggies and mustard inside. Just be sure to include an ice pack if you do something that spoils easily like meat. Hope these ideas help you make healthy lunches for your little one! If you want more ideas just email me at ____@____.com

~C.

The one thing my daughter did like in kindgergarten and I haven't seen posted here are the Lunchables. But she liked the pizza kind and I thought it was kind of messy for her to do by herself. So I made the pizzas for her in the morning and I heated them in the microwave. That way it's just like eating a regular pizza instead of all the stuff falling off the top. She asked for these quite often! Good luck!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mslil65/sets/72157601755804789/
this site- sooo many great ideas!

By far the favorite lunches of my three girls was pb&j's and/or cheese sandwiches. Sometimes I would cut the sandwiches into special shapes with cookie cutters so the girls would have a some sort of surprise in their lunch. Also, if you are strapped for time, you can purchase the frozen pb&j sandwhiches that are individually wrapped and just toss them in the lunch box each morning. By the time lunch rolls around, they are thawed and ready to eat.

I would also let my girls pick out their "side" dishes for their lunches. I grocery shop every two weeks, so they would pick out what they wanted those two weeks (within reason). That took some of the pressure off of me in trying to decide.

Something else you can do that is better than the food is include a love note or some sort of note of encouragement in your daughter's lunch each day. My girls loved when I did this and it became something they looked forward to.

Good luck to you in sending your daughter to the big K!