Packing Lunches - Newton,IA

Chickpea mostly wants leftovers of whatever was served for dinner the night before. She doesn't mind that it is cold. If I make soup, I put it in a thermos. Occasionally, she asks for a sandwich or entree salad. When I have time and energy, I make a bento box with lots of little things she loves or I wrap slices of deli meats around cheese sticks with a bit of spinach dip to make it stick.

My older daughter was packing her own lunch by the end of middle school if I recall correctly. Her school had a microwave, which helped.

The only I found consistently didn't work was sending cold chinese in cornstarch based sauces. It became viscous.

Grab a copy of the school lunch menu. He wasn't unhappy with the selection, just the preparation. See what items work for him. Ask what he would like. PBJ, Ham & Cheese, sloppy joes, a thermos of mac & chese, quesadillas, chili, meatloaf, veg, cheese and crackers, cold pizza, etc are all good selections. by kid likes nutella and jam on whole wheat waffles, mini weiners and cut corn, spaghetti with marinara and ricotta, chicken and rice pilaf.

Best,
F. B.

I vow every year to come up with creative school lunches, but it's so hard! Love Fanged Bunny and Mamazita's suggestions. It does help to plan for lunch while you are making dinner the night before. Just gives you the extra time to put something together or know if you will want to use leftovers. Things that can be prepped earlier are helpful, unless you are a super efficient morning person! I am not, so even something like making carrot sticks is WAY too much effort for the morning! :-) I do things like that the night before.

Let him pack it. My fourth grader knows if she wants to pack a lunch she is going to either make it or help make it.
She likes wraps. Pb&j, pb& banana. Leftovers from dinner (say shredded chicken and cheese with salsa).
Quesadillas (cheese).
I try to keep a lot of fruit cups on hand.
Some scambled eggs and ham on an English muffin.
English muffin pizza.

I used to pack our daughters lunches, and then she began packing her own. She did this the night before. If I made her lunch I did it in the morning.

We would discuss the weeks lunches and breakfasts on Sundays (she still hates breakfast) Because Sunday is my grocery shopping day.

Here are the things she liked

Bagel plain and toasted
Fresh fruit smoothies. I purchased and them frozen the freshest fruits and used apple juice and yogurt to blend with. Sometimes, I purchased the frozen berries from Costco.. They were delicious. but big bags.

Rolled up lunch meat
Salad with pieces of grilled chicken ( I grilled a ton of them at a time then froze them.)

Chicken tacos (that grilled chicken again)
Left overs... All sorts of strange things.
Cheese, cracker and fruit
Sushi
Chinese Dumplings
Pretzels with peanut butter to dip.
Sandwiches but in small rolls
Lettuce rollups( Like Lettuce tacos)
Cold leftover pizza
Cold left over fried chicken
Peanut butter and crackers

Raw cut up vegetables - every day
A piece of fresh fruit or fresh fruit salad - Every day

We also sent her with different types of nut butters over the years..

Our daughter likes crunchy things so many days there was a little something in our own baggies- Pretzels, popcorn, Tortilla chips, Potato chips.. Many times if she did not eat this at lunch, she ate them in the car on the way home.

I try to do two protein, one carb, one fruit, one veggie as a general rule. If I have time to bring my son to the store with me, I let him pick one or two of each for the week. Otherwise, I have some standard go-to things. He is in K, so he probably eats less than your son, but you can up portion sizes easily.

Proteins- Hard boiled egg, string cheese or cheese slices, yogurt, "fake meat" like Tofurkey, hummus, peanut butter or other seed/nut/soy butter, nuts

Carb- tortilla, bread, crackers, pretzels, granola bar

Sometimes it a sandwich or wrap and sides, sometimes just all of the separate components.
I really just developed the guidelines for myself so when I am running around frantic at 6am trying to pack a lunch, I will come up with something healthy that he will eat at least partially. Packing lunch at night is best, but sometimes a girl has to watch Glee on Netflix until 11pm and forgets...

In addition to the usual sandwiches and wraps, almost anything can be served cool or at room temperature, or if you get a good thermos you can send things that will stay slightly warm.
Just send whatever he likes to eat: rice, pasta, burritos, leftovers (fried chicken, pizza, soup/stew, meatballs, stir fry, you name it) fruit, vege/ranch dip, nuts, hard boiled eggs, cheese/crackers, hummus, sushi, granola/energy bars, really the possibilities are endless.

You can get a wide-mouth thermos for soup, pasta, etc. Fill it with hot water for about half an hoiur before putting the food in, and it will stay warm.
My daughter took mostly sandwiches (ham and chese, pbj, tuna salad), cheese and crackers, raw vegetables, fruit, chips, pretzels, or crackers, and whatever she wanted to drink - milk, fruit juice,soda, water. I sent milk with her because the school served only skim and she liked whole.

My son loves waffle sandwiches (just frozen wheat waffles with peanut butter and jelly) sliced apples with peanut butter or applesauce and yogurt. He likes pretzels too so he can dip those in his yogurt. I ask if he wants something different but that is what he wants every day.

At that age my kids made their own lunches, if they did not want the hot lunch. Anything can go for lunch. However, a 4th grader I imagine, does not want to deal with insulated bags, thermoses, etc. if it is brown bag only, then sandwiches of all kind.

My 4th grade son packs his own lunch and has for over a year. He always packs a PB&J (sometimes honey instead of jelly). I figured he would get sick of it, but he hasn't yet.

Sometimes he takes goldfish with it, sometimes a banana, or cheese. It varies. I leave for school (I'm a teacher) before he does, so I don't know what all he packs until I ask him when I pick him up at the end of the day.

He likes feeling independent, and if he packs it I figure he's more likely to eat it. He's not a big eater.

wraps (they can be eaten cold, put in carved chicken even from a
rotissserie etc)
salami, cheese & crackers
soup in a thermos w/oyster crackers
carrots & Ranch
burritos (my mom used to warm the tortilla on a pan on stove, warm the
meat, put in tortilla, little bit of shredded cheese & double wrap in foil)

My kids didn't like sandwiches so they always had "snack" items to eat. Things like: lunch meat in a baggie, cheese slices or sticks, gogurts, fruit cups, fresh fruit, nuts, granola bars, chips, cookies, crackers, chicken nuggets (they didn't mind that they were cold), juice boxes, etc. It was always 4-5 different things so they always felt like they were eating something different. Ask him what he likes, the point is to pack something you KNOW he will eat. Good luck.

My kids love leftovers. Buy a GOOD thermos and send them warm anything in that. Or cold too!

My kids like to skip sandwiches a lot and bring a veggie with a peanut butter cup. They get their protein that way. Or they'll just bring some ham slices. I also buy them Protein bars and they like those as well.

I suggest to take him shopping and see what he likes. Make sure he knows he needs a balanced meal and let him splurge sometimes. Good luck!

One of my kids is perfectly happy taking the same basic items in his cold lunch over and over, but I try to mix it up at least a little. He is not at all fond of taking hot items.

Today it is a PB sandwich, an apple, a string cheese, a yogurt, juice and a rice krispie bar. He also likes carrots, milk, Baby Bel and other cheeses, summer sausage, sugar snap peas, bananas, grapes, raw broccolli.

Treats might be a couple Oreos, fruit snacks, pudding cup, snack-pack of chips, a fun size miniature candy bar. Once I put a handful of holiday shaped marshmallows in there. He thought that was funny. Just 1 treat per lunch though.

My kids have to pack their own lunches. I give them a list of what I have and what they can mix and match. They pick out a fruit, a veggie, a grain, and a protein. They mix and match what they want from my list. They won't starve themselves and given the opportunity, they do pack pretty good lunches. They learn what and how much they'll eat. I find many web-sites useful like the following.

http://www.superhealthykids.com/
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/
http://www.parenting.com/tags/kids-lunch-ideas
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/15-kid-approved...
http://www.laptoplunches.com/bento-menus/

Hope that helps :-D I find some of those a little too "complicated" for my two. They just like simple things - like yogurt, an apple, pistachios, carrots....

Lunches...that is funny! It reminds me of my youngest, in the 5th grade she ate cheese and lettuce sandwiches, a small banana bread and an apple EVERY DAY for the entire year. That is all she wanted. I thought maybe she needed more variety, I bought it and she made the same lunch every day. Now she eats leftovers, and she doesn't even care if they are warmed up or not.

I realized kids like routine. As long as it is a healthy choice, let them eat it daily (I would ditch the doritos as they are full of MSG and other not so great stuff). I will PM you a link to the healthy chips we eat.

Bottom line, don't fret too much. He is old enough to do some of his own research for lunch recipes. Offer him other choices but if he sticks with the same thing, don't worry.

B.

We have a good thermos and my son likes having soup, pasta, spaghetti. He always gets a fruit and/or veggie. Anything from cut up carrots with parmesan to dip them in to applesauce cups. He likes tortillas. He likes it when I put in a pickle. He likes peanut butter and honey sandwich.

I tried different holders to try to keep things warm, but nothing really stayed hot so we gave up on that. I pack my kids a cold lunch every day because the food they serve at school it not as nutritious as I pack and at $4.30 a lunch, it is not cheap either for two kids.
For the "main item" it varies by kid. My oldest pretty much only wants a peanut butter and honey sandwich every day, so that is usually what I pack for him. My youngest loves cottage cheese and peaches or pineapple chunks, so most days he gets that. I vary it up sometimes with ham and cheese sandwiches (not often since the ham and cheese are both processed) or by doing apple slices and peanut butter for a dip. (to make the apples not turn brown simply dip them in a bowl of cold salt water, it does not affect the taste and keeps them looking fresh).

For sides I buy a lot of single serve fruits in cups, like mandarin oranges and apple sauce, or we do fresh fruit like a banana or apple slices. I give them an extra protein like a cheese stick or greek yogurt or smoothie, and then one junkier thing like a heresy kiss or a fruit roll up. For drinks they either get water, real juice, or chocolate almond milk. I don't try to change it up every day, but I usually buy some different items for each week for sides. The main items stay the same because that is what the kids like, but I alway tell them that if they want a change just to let me know.

Warm food--- get a good Stanley thermos if you think he will be careful with it. (They have a glass insulator, or used to, and cost about $25 or so, but I love mine.) or a standard Thermos brand, which is pretty good. You'll fill it with boiling water about 10 minutes before you want to put the hot food in. Soups and stews, mac-n-cheese, pasta dishes do okay.

You can also pack carrot sticks with a small container of sun/nut butter, or celery if he prefers. Does he like salad? A container of that with a small container of dressing will work. Cheese slices and crackers (make his own sandwiches), hummus and veg, cheese quesadilla, hard-boiled eggs, a handful of nuts (providing his school doesn't have regs around this), raisins - the options are really pretty endless.

I would actually teach him how to choose one item from each group: protein, veg, fruit, nuts, starch/bread and one treat (chips OR cookie) to help him create his own balanced meals. You may need to make a chart for him, but this is a good age to learn. Have him pack the majority of it the night before and then add in the hot/cold options necessary (get a refreezable block for the sandwiches, so the mayo doesn't spoil, too.).

Get his input. What does he like that's quick, doesn't need a lot of fuss or refrigeration, and that he can reasonably eat in about 20 minutes or so. We get milks for DD so that she doesn't have to go through a line. Is there a special milk only line? I look for sales. Safeway often has the Horizon ones on sale. If you want something warm, get a Thermos. That brand is good for hot or cold. Get a decent insulated lunch bag and a small ice pack.

I pack nearly the same thing every day for DD...because it works. So if wants turkey for a week, then let him. At his age, he can also help pack his lunch. Keep drinks, snacks and fruit where he can get them and he can pick one each. My DD is 5 and will help me with her lunches. DD will eat bread and ham but not as a sandwich. She likes yogurt, but not gogurt. Etc. We also do dried fruit, crackers and string cheese.

And label EVERYTHING. Mabel's Labels are nearly indestructible and you can PM me for a $10 off $50 order. I won't need any anytime soon ad am willing to share before it expires.

I usually pack a sandwich, strawberries, veggie straws or raw carrots, yogurt, and a fruit roll from trader joes with water to drink. Sometimes I will pack a cookie if I have made any (which lately isn't that often since I'm trying to be good). If I pack them soup, then I just make sure it's really hot and then I put it in a thermus for them

Not sure if this was mentioned, but a small Thermos brand thermos is awesome for keeping soups and pastas warm for lunchtime. At first I boiled the soup thinking it may be warm for lunch. Boy I was wrong he couldn't eat it because it was so hot, 5 hours after I packed his lunch. I also used to make sandwiches with tortillas to change it up, and sometimes sent leftover pizza too. Cheese and crackers and grapes were good too.

My daughter usually takes a turkey and cheese sandwich with some raw veggies, fruit, and maybe a small dessert. She also likes to take Mac & Cheese and has taken soup as well. She will sometimes take applesauce as well. We bought a small Thermos that works great for the Mac & Cheese and soup. I heat up the hot stuff more than I normally would and put it into the Thermos right before she leaves for school. It has cooled down enough to eat but it is still very warm.