School Lunch Ideas - Orlando,FL

My son is in preK and he takes the same sandwich daily, PJB, I know he likes it and he eats it (half the battle) I mix up the snacks and juice and he does just fine. I think as kids we all found foods that we loved and ate them until we hated them! So long as they are eating and it is good for them go for it.

Pack what he wants for lunch. It won't hurt him to eat the same thing every day if that is what he wants. My daughter ate chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese sandwich and cheetos every day for an entire school year. She is 21 and it is still one of her favorite meals. But of course she had veggies and fruits for snacks to balance it out.

That is not necesarrily a bad thing. I have the same problem-there is a kid w/ peanut allergies and we can't
do PBJs and he sometimes doesn't like the hot-lunch. I let him decide what he eats for lunch within reason. I try to make it as healthy as possible but he may have to go through the day hungry (which is not your goal as I am well aware) to urge him to eat at the designated time regarldess of what you pack. We try Lunchables, grill cheese, cut cheese Stx in half and wrap salami around them; or any lunch meat would do. My son loves the dinosuar cut-out I occasionally use on sandwiches. A variety of fruits or fruit cups and apple sauce flavors might work. I'll pack sunchips or other chips every now and then. A thermos w/ raviolis or spaghetti may work. And on occasion oreos don't hurt either.
I wouldn't be terribly concerned about packing the same stuff all the time. As long as it is being eaten you're doing pretty good!

My kids loved finger foods especially when they could dip them. For instance: carrot sticks, cucumber slices, grape tomatoes w/ranch dressing, apple slices w/caramel sauce. What about fruit cups? Have you tried making a sandwich with flavored cream cheese, turkey or ham, thinly sliced tomato and lettuce leaf but instead of bread use a tortilla? What about string or cubed cheese with crackers and some rolled up lunch meat. Try using different shaped cookie cutters to make sandwiches.

Are you talking about lunches prepared by the school? If so, maybe your kindergartener knows the difference between home prepared fresher lunches. Lunch boxes usually offer better tasting more nutritious food. Go to our website, www.FamilyFoodExperts.com and click on recipes/Lunch and the newsletter COOL Lunch BOX menus. The more you share with us, the easier it is to help you. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Have you seen the lunches that schools serve? What's more, have you sampled them? I volunteer in the cafeteria when my daughters are at lunch and I pack my daughters lunches daily. Why? Because most children pick at the lunch that is served. Countless times, I've had to return a child's lunch because it was inedible. Yes, the schools "try" to make it healthy by incorporating food groups like fruits and vegetable but I can tell you that the children are not eating them. Pack your childrens lunches and give them what they like because that way you ensure they are eating their lunches. I've tried to "coax" children to eat their school purchased lunch. Trust me, you wouldn't want to eat the food they serve either.

make him a trail mix. cheerios or some other cereal (kashi honey sunshine is good), dried fruit, a couple mini m&m's, nuts, pretzels.
You could pop some popcorn and send some of that.
If you have a mini muffin pan, you can make lots of muffins and small things to pack in his lunchbox. You can even put meatloaf in the mini muffin pan to make little ones. Or put in a circle of pie crust dough and make some tiny apple pies. Anything works. I love that pan!
Some kind of roll-up with tortilla. you can do meat and cheese like a sandwich, or peanut butter, banana and honey.
Always put in some kind of fruit or veggie or both.
If you can keep it cold, yogurt or yogurt drinks are fave's for my kids.

As long as your kindergartner isn't complaining, and you are sending healthy foods, then don't sweat it. I have an 8 yr old, who also won't eat school lunches, except on pizza day. She has ALWAYS taken her lunch to school (4 years and counting). And yes, sometimes I like to put new things in her lunch because I am bored with the routine. Sometimes she does get bored with the routine, too. But if she were less picky to begin with, then she would have more choices, so I don't let myself feel too guilty about it. PB & J sandwiches are a staple. But, I have made Nilla wafer sandwiches too (put PB between 2 and mash them together). I include things like trail mix, jello, fruit, PB dipping cups, cheese sticks, and yes, chips. I also will swap out a prepackaged meat/cheese tray about once a week (one of the "lunchable" meals).

well i have a nephew that wont eat at skool and my sister gives him a lunch box with an apple cereal little box jello juice ND A BANANA AND HE DOES JUST FINE AND EAT HIS DINNER AT HOME

Tina,

By the time that all the moms reply to this you will have a lot of information. I got great ideas; however, a lot of what I did receive seemed really out of my league or out of my norm anyway. Some of the things I like to pack that are out of the norm (i.e., sandwiches, chips, fruit cup, etc.) are soups (he loves noodle soups and he will eat the vegi's in them as well because they taste like the soup), beenie weenies, hot dogs (cook it in the morning and put the catsup under the hotdog on the bun), cold buritos (refried beans, sour cream, shredded cheese, fresh tomatoes or a little salsa - put it in the fridge the night before and it is good to go), chicken nuggets in his soup container to keep warm with a small tupperware thing to put ranch or dipping sauce, and his absolute favorit - a pot pie (cook it in the morning and put it in the soup container to keep warm). Outside if this, I obviously try to get a fruit and some sort of vegi in there. I rarely do something sugary - he doesn't like it much anyway.

Honestly - I have found that if he likes it, I will figure out how to pack it! :-) They also have pizza on Friday's at his school, so I let him get lunch on Fridays since he loves pizza.

Good luck! You will get a lot of good information with this request - guaranteed. You just have to sift through it and see what will work for your schedule (being a working mom like you, a lot of the suggestions would not work for me and were entirely too expensive) and for your child.