Home packed lunch ideas for kids

[MSSANDRA]

Now that is CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[turtlegirl25]

My girls love homemade lunchables.

• 6 Ritz Crackers
• 1 Deli cheese slice cut into 6 equal pieces
• Turkey or Ham slices cut into 6 circles or squares

Much better than the store bought kind!

 

[Order66]

My kids love to take nachos. I make up a pound of taco meat....or make double on taco night. I give them a ziplock container of plain nachos, baggie with shredded taco cheese, and some black olives for one of them. Warm up the meat in the morning and put it in a thermos. At lunch time they just pour everything over the nachos.

regards

 

[MSSANDRA]

My girls love homemade lunchables.

• 6 Ritz Crackers
• 1 Deli cheese slice cut into 6 equal pieces
• Turkey or Ham slices cut into 6 circles or squares

Much better than the store bought kind!

I do homemade lunchables too but mostly for the money thing, I know so many people that will not buy lunchable because of how "bad" they are for you, but send the sliced deli meat and cheese and crackers they put into a container themselves. Is there really any difference?

 

[HLAuburn]

Great ideas here.

Along the same topic....after reading the article about lunches not being kept cold and the bacteria making kids sick, I'm on a mission to find a good freezer pack for DD's lunchboxes.

Are all freezer packs created equally? Are there any kinds that stay frozen longer than others? I don't really like the huge plastic ones because they way a ton...there has to be something better out there.

By they way, the bento box ideas are SO cute!

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

We bought the huge box of individual packaged mayonnaise from Sam's club last year. My kids put their on the sandwiches at school. Keeps the bread from getting too soggy and helps with the growth of ick factor.

My youngest loves to make his own tuna. He will take the foil pouches and two packs of mayo and a spoon. Not sure if this will continue this year or not.


Thank you for all the suggestions and links. We have not been happy with the school lunch offerings for the last two years. Before that, the lunches were awesome. Now, not so much. More processed food and less of everything. For example [because this one is my favorite], they used to have Italian dunkers. First it was bread mozzarella sticks and a large container of thick spaghetti sauce. Then it went to cheese stuffed bread sticks [these were still pretty good] and same size thinner sauce. Finally, hot dog buns halved with cheese melted on top and sauce poured into the plate. Ewww.

 

[labdogs42]

I'm wondering if that Packit lunch bag works as well as they say it does on tv? Or maybe a mini Palymate hard sided cooler would work? Although that's kind of big. Not sure about all this. My DS hasn't ever seemed to get sick from his packed lunch, so I guess I'll just be happy with that for now!

My son is on a kick of loving chicken wraps for lunch. I grill a bunch of boneless chicken breasts on Sunday and i use them for wraps and a couple of dinners throughout the week. It has been working great! You can also use the Perdue ShortCuts chicken from the store, but that costs a lot more. Here's how I make mine:

1 10" flour tortilla
ranch dressing and bbq sauce on the tortilla
3 slices of chicken breast
sprinkle of shredded colby jack cheese
lettuce

roll it up, cut in half and it is ready to go! I out mine in one of those plastic sandwich boxes to go in the lunch box. It fits perfectly.

 

[Swimalie]

I'm wondering if that Packit lunch bag works as well as they say it does on tv? Or maybe a mini Palymate hard sided cooler would work? Although that's kind of big. Not sure about all this. My DS hasn't ever seemed to get sick from his packed lunch, so I guess I'll just be happy with that for now!

We bought some for this year. I plan on testing out how long they stay cold before school starts in a few weeks. I can tell you that we had a Land's End lunch box last school year with a larger ice pack in it (it was 5 inches long but liquid. Rubbermaid brand? I bought it at Target) and it would come back still frozen so I know it kept the items cold enough for lunch. But the lunch box ripped so we got the Pack-its.

I love the Finneas and Ferb sandwiches!

An idea my son loves is peanut butter rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla.

 

[andylcq]

My son also love:
sandwiches
meat and cheese roll ups
mac and cheese in thermos
fruit snacks
graham crackers
pudding
carrot sticks

 

[andylcq]

My son also love:
sandwiches
meat and cheese roll ups
mac and cheese in thermos
fruit snacks
graham crackers
pudding
carrot sticks

 

[disney*mom*82]

My two older children are going into Middle School and High school, they have much more choices at school and rather me not pack their lunches, which isnt horrible, their school lunch is only $1.70, so I dont know how much I will even pack for them.

Now, my hours changed at work and my DD3 will be going to the pre-k lab onsite at the college I work at 2 days a week. They offer an option for parents to buy the lunch, I dont know the price yet, but Ive heard it is high, or we can pack it. DD3 is a vegetarian and really not a big eater, so Im sure Ill end up packing her lunch. Any ideas on what to pack her will be great. I love these threads each year, they give some great ideas.

My ideas so far

PB and J
soup
Veggie patty
pizza bagels
mac and cheese
frozen yogurt tubes
cup of peanut butter
baked beans
salad
taco shell with melted cheese
fresh fruit
goldfish
popcorn

I LOVE the bento boxes, Ive seen them become pretty popular over the last few years, maybe that is something we will give a try. My mornings are crazy and very rushed, so I dont have a ton of time in the morning, rather pack it the night before.

Keep the ideas comming!

 

[Hellothemouse]

We bought some for this year. I plan on testing out how long they stay cold before school starts in a few weeks. I can tell you that we had a Land's End lunch box last school year with a larger ice pack in it (it was 5 inches long but liquid. Rubbermaid brand? I bought it at Target) and it would come back still frozen so I know it kept the items cold enough for lunch. But the lunch box ripped so we got the Pack-its.

I love the Finneas and Ferb sandwiches!

An idea my son loves is peanut butter rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla.

Let us know how the Packit systems works! I was thinking of getting some too

 

[eatatmidnight]

These are some things that have worked well for us.

Granola bar and Cup of yogurt (I put them in the freezer when I get home
from the store and place the frozen yogurt
in lunchbox.)

Cheese Sticks and Salami/Pepperoni (Boar's Head is good. I bring it home,
put 3-4 slices in sandwich bag,
place in freezer. I also freeze
the cheese stick.)

 

[MSSANDRA]

My two older children are going into Middle School and High school, they have much more choices at school and rather me not pack their lunches, which isnt horrible, their school lunch is only $1.70, so I dont know how much I will even pack for them.

Now, my hours changed at work and my DD3 will be going to the pre-k lab onsite at the college I work at 2 days a week. They offer an option for parents to buy the lunch, I dont know the price yet, but Ive heard it is high, or we can pack it. DD3 is a vegetarian and really not a big eater, so Im sure Ill end up packing her lunch. Any ideas on what to pack her will be great. I love these threads each year, they give some great ideas.

My ideas so far

PB and J
soup
Veggie patty
pizza bagels
mac and cheese
frozen yogurt tubes
cup of peanut butter
baked beans
salad
taco shell with melted cheese
fresh fruit
goldfish
popcorn

I LOVE the bento boxes, Ive seen them become pretty popular over the last few years, maybe that is something we will give a try. My mornings are crazy and very rushed, so I dont have a ton of time in the morning, rather pack it the night before.

Keep the ideas comming!

Most preschool are now peanut free so you might want to check this before planning too much on peanut butter.
Looks life your little ones eats very healthy...good job.

 

[lovehoney]

most days some combination of below:

PB&j or turkey sandwich on double fiber bread
whole wheat tortilla with ff refried beans and cheese
goldfish
baby carrots and ranch dressing
yogurt or jello
fruit
cookies when we have them

Sometimes I will make a batch of pepperoni rolls. DS7 loves them!

pepperoni rolls
Thaw frozen rolls (like rhodes brand)
flatten roll and place 1/2 slice of provolone cheese and 5 slices of pepperoni (turkey pepperoni works too). Roll to make a torpedo shape, seal edges by pinching. Let rise and then bake according to package. Serve with marinara sauce. optional - Before baking brush olive oil on top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and garlic salt.

You can also make sausage rolls this way by adding a li'l smokie sausage or ham and cheese rolls.

 

[dizneychik]

Subbing!!

 

[pannm]

How many of you have kids that cannot bring Peanut items (such as peanut butter) to your schools? This started last year for us, no peanut items allowed at school what so ever!!! The parent will get a note sent home for the first warning, then after that, their lunch will be thrown and they will send you a bill or take money out of their lunch account so the kid can buy a school lunch that day...very firm on that rule here.

I am not againsed it anymore, since I was at Bible School last summer and was one of the teachers/leaders and saw how horrible a reaction one kid had- he was 1 room AWAY and smelled it and we had to call 911! Horrible and now I understand WHY they have that rule...some parents tried to buck the system last year and still send it, but the school really cracked down on it...lots of mad parents who got a bill more than once! Rules are Rules!!!

My kids LOVE tortilla roll ups and these 'ham and cheese' melt rollups I make with puff pastry or bread dough, roll meat and cheese up, cut them in 'wheels', bake them, they are great eaten cool or warm.

I have taken food safety classes and am well informed of safety rules. The 'rule of thumb' is that food can normally be left out for 3-4 hours before going bad. MOST food goes into school with cold packs or in a thermous, which extends that time to 5-8 hours (depending on the quality of cold pack or thermous). A lot of those shows do help out a lot when it comes to educating us on how to store foods properly, but some of them go overboard. MOST parents send food to school because of the health factor...most lunches from home are still FAR better than what can be purchased at school. School food it EXTREMELY Processed.

we do A LOT of wraps, salads, sandwiches, soups/chili, casseroles/stews (leftovers), and my kids LOVE when I pack them a bagel with yogurt (I freeze the yogurt and pack it frozen...it's ready when they have lunch and still very cold),

At my kids school, we are welcome to join them for lunch and I do once and a while. Those days I pack a home-made meal and bring enough for both of us to eat. They think that's a big treat for them.

 

[Swimalie]

Let us know how the Packit systems works! I was thinking of getting some too

I took it out of the freezer around 9:30 and put in a cheese stick and a tomato (it just happened to be on the counter) and set the Pack-It. We had been out all day so I didn't get to check on it every few hours like I had hoped. I checked on it at 5pm and the cheese stick was warm. No way would it be edible. The tomato felt slightly cool, however. But that was only 6.5 hours and it says it will go for 10 hours. I will be adding an ice pack to it when I pack lunches for school.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Target has some lunch containers with ice packs that fit into the lids. I bought one that is sandwich size and a smaller one for fruit. I also plan on putting an ice pack in the lunch box. That should keep things cold.

It would be a major problem if they banned peanut butter because that is the only thing my oldest son will eat at school. He hates school lunches.

 

[Celidh]

How many of you have kids that cannot bring Peanut items (such as peanut butter) to your schools? This started last year for us, no peanut items allowed at school what so ever!!! The parent will get a note sent home for the first warning, then after that, their lunch will be thrown and they will send you a bill or take money out of their lunch account so the kid can buy a school lunch that day...very firm on that rule here.

I am not againsed it anymore, since I was at Bible School last summer and was one of the teachers/leaders and saw how horrible a reaction one kid had- he was 1 room AWAY and smelled it and we had to call 911! Horrible and now I understand WHY they have that rule...some parents tried to buck the system last year and still send it, but the school really cracked down on it...lots of mad parents who got a bill more than once! Rules are Rules!!!

My kids LOVE tortilla roll ups and these 'ham and cheese' melt rollups I make with puff pastry or bread dough, roll meat and cheese up, cut them in 'wheels', bake them, they are great eaten cool or warm.

I have taken food safety classes and am well informed of safety rules. The 'rule of thumb' is that food can normally be left out for 3-4 hours before going bad. MOST food goes into school with cold packs or in a thermous, which extends that time to 5-8 hours (depending on the quality of cold pack or thermous). A lot of those shows do help out a lot when it comes to educating us on how to store foods properly, but some of them go overboard. MOST parents send food to school because of the health factor...most lunches from home are still FAR better than what can be purchased at school. School food it EXTREMELY Processed.

we do A LOT of wraps, salads, sandwiches, soups/chili, casseroles/stews (leftovers), and my kids LOVE when I pack them a bagel with yogurt (I freeze the yogurt and pack it frozen...it's ready when they have lunch and still very cold),

At my kids school, we are welcome to join them for lunch and I do once and a while. Those days I pack a home-made meal and bring enough for both of us to eat. They think that's a big treat for them.

My kids have been in peanut free schools. Yes its a pain sometimes, especially if your child lives off pb, but if your child is the one who could die because someone else had peanut butter in another room, well, to me it`s worth the effort.

As far as food safety, I learned the same thing you did (20 years in the restaurant industry) but the one thing to take into account when using the 3-4 hour rule is that is total time at room temperature. that means that if the product sat out at the factory for a while, then at the store, then in your car on the way home, that has to be factored in as well.

That said, even though I think we should be cautious, lets face it, people have been taking boxed lunches for years. Most of us have pretty good systems that can handle a bit of bacteria. I put an ice pack in my kids lunch but if I forget, I`m not too upset about it.

As far as lunches goes, my daughter doesn`t like sandwiches. She likes stuff in her thermos, sometimes leftovers from supper or the really bad chefboyardee She also likes to take cereal in a dish and I let her buy milk at school. sometimes she will have veggies and dip and some crackers with a cheese string. My oldest often takes wraps, usually chicken or ground beef with taco seasoning. I put cheese on them and he heats them at school.

Younger ds, well he has food issues. I think he had bologna sandwiches for almost a whole year two years ago. Last year he branched out to other sandwich meat. He likes them with cheddar on a hamburger bun and heats them up when he is allowed. The only fruit he will take is the little apple sauces, not the flavoured ones, just plain apple sauce unsweetened (the unsweetened part is my rule). I have also put wieners in their thermos and sent the buns separate. This is good for ds as he likes his plain so I don`t have to worry about condiments.

I might try to make some sort of pinwheel thing this year with meat and cheese in it in place of sandwiches. I figure this would be fairly easy if I buy pre-made dough, like Pillsbury. I know it`s not that great for them but better than not eating. Maybe make pizza ones too.

Keep the ideas coming.