Kid's Packed Lunches

[Zandy595]

Tomorrow is the beginning of DS9's second week of school and I'm already having a hard time trying to figure out what to send him for lunch. He buys when there's something he likes on the menu (about 2-3 times a week). The kid won't eat sandwiches. Any good ideas?

 

[KKB]

Sounds just like my 10 year old! Lunchables are a staple...I don't love them, but at least he will eat them! I used to throw carrots & mandarin oranges in, but now w/ the braces the carrots are a no-no!
If we forget, we have sent just lunchmeat, cheese (he will eat these, but not IN a sandwich! go figure!), pretzels or crackers, oranges, juice box--usually frozen to keep everything cold.
Not much help...but gotta get a few calories in them!
Kris

 

[dreams91]

There is a very long thread about this on the budget board. They have lots of ideas....

 

[Stephres]

I found a small thermos at Wal Mart and put cooked mac & cheese in there. It's better when it's not as hot (right now it's 95+ degrees), so I usually wait until it gets a little cooler to send hot stuff.

 

[Zandy595]

DS said mac & cheese sounds good to him. Now I need to go out and get a thermos.

It's in the 90's here too, but DS likes hot lunches anyway.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Chili dog (chili and hot dog in a thermos - you can cut the dog to make it fit)

Frito chili pie (chili and cheese in thermos, small bag of fritos)

Fruit and cheese kabobs

Roll-ups (meat and cheese rolled up in flour tortillas)

Peanut butter and crackers

Cheese and crackers

Fruit with cream cheese/marshmallow creme dip

Pizza Sticks (bread sticks split lengthwise to resemble a hot dog bun, filled with pepperoni and string cheese and a bit of tomoto sauce and microwaved lightly)

Pigs in a blanket (canned biscuits flattened and wrapped around little smokies and baked)

Leftover pizza

Spaghetti or ravioli in a thermos with a slice of French bread

Leftover casserole in a thermos

Tuna salad in a thermos, served with crackers

I have a really good fruit salad that kids like. Let me know if you want me to post the recipe.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but I'm always looking for ideas. Anyone have a link to the thread on the Budget board? I'd be interested in it.

 

[lewdyan1]

I have a really good fruit salad that kids like. Let me know if you want me to post the recipe.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but I'm always looking for ideas. Anyone have a link to the thread on the Budget board? I'd be interested in it.

I would love the recipe! You have some great ideas! My kids also do not eat sandwichs, so I can't wait to try some of your ideas.

I also would like the link for the budget baord, I couldn't find it with the search!

 

[MerryPoppins]

Tropical Fruit Salad

2 apples, cut in chunks with peel
2 bananas
maybe 2 cups of halved grapes
1 lg can mandarin orange sections, drained
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1 can pineapple chunks, drain but reserve juice
1/2 pkg of crystal lite type orange drink mix (I use the Walmart brand or several spoonfuls of Tang)

Mix pudding and drink mix. Add pineapple juice. Mix well. Stir in oranges, pineapple, grapes and apple chunks. Stir so the apples are coated. Before serving add sliced bananas. The orange drink and the pineapple make a great dressing. It's really good! I've wondered about adding coconut. Might be an interesting change. And it's super easy to make a larger bowl. Just double or triple. The pineapple juice seems to keep the apples from getting dark. This would keep well in a thermos and kids really like it.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Did I mention that my "kids" are both in high school? But the youngest one still takes her lunch instead of buying in the cafeteria. And they get tired of the same old things day after day. So we've gotten creative over the years.

 

[Zandy595]

Here's the link to the thread on the Budget Board http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=785600

 

[bcvprincesses]

My dd loves soup. She would eat it every day if I let her. We just put it in a thermos and she says it is always still warm.

 

[PatsGirl]

MerryPoppins: Gotta admit you are the queen of box lunches! Copied em off for my fridge. Can add a few: Mac salad with shrimp or tuna and peas, beans and dogs in a thermos, send a roll and they can make their own sandwich, spaghettios in a pop-up can (room temp are great).

Brenda

 

[pingirl65]

Have the same problem with my 12 year old DD! Doesn't like sandwiches unless they are "hot" like Quiznos or Boston Market! and really does not like the food at the school cafeteria. I have resorted to PB&J (practically the only sandwich she will eat; and pasta salad, tossed salad and yogurt.

Those would be my suggestions.

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

There are some great ideas here. I'm going to have to run them past my girls to see if they would like them. My younger one is soooo picky. Most of the time last year she ate peanut butter (no jelly) sandwiches or yellow American Cheese sandwiches or yogurt.

 

[clh2]

My DD is going into 6th grade. She is a very picky eater.

Since she is getting a bit older, she will occasionally pack her own lunch (fairly healthy I might add - with enough "something fun" to keep it interesting for her.) When she packs her own lunch - she will literally count out how many carrots are in 2 servings, etc. She will try to get at least 1 fruit and 1 veggie when she packs her lunch.

Some of her favorite non-sandwich things are Ramen noodles, soft tortilla shells stuffed with lettuce and shredded cheese, cold chicken cut up - with toothpicks in it, cheese and crackers or chicken noodle soup. For sandwiches, she sometimes likes peanut butter and bananas.

The wide-neck thermos is a wonderful thing!

I won't have to deal with this for a couple of more weeks, school doesn't start here for 2 more weeks. And, since she is in middle school this year, they now have a salad bar too!

 

[Zandy595]

A poster on the other thread made me nervous about using a thermos for DS's lunch. We're going to test it this weekend. I'm going to fill the thermos at the same time I would on a school day and open it at school lunch time. I'll check the temp with a food thermometer to make sure it's above 140°.

edit: Now that I think about it, 140° would probably be too hot to eat it. I've looked at some food safety sites and they say that as long as the food doesn't go below 140° for more than two hours it's ok. So maybe I'll do two tests. LOL I'll check to see what the temp is 1 1/2 hours before lunch time and another one to check if it's too hot to eat at lunch time. You may think I'm going a little overboard, but DS will think it's fun (doing these science experiments) and I'll feel better knowing the food I'm giving him is safe.

The directions on the thermos say to use hot tap water. Wouldn't boiling water work better? What does everyone else do?

 

[Third times a charm]

The directions on the thermos say to use hot tap water. Wouldn't boiling water work better? What does everyone else do?

I pour boiling water in DD thermos and let it sit for 15 minutes or so. Then I'll put in her soup or sometimes she take Rice mixed with peas. Another child who will not eat a sandwich.

School doesn't start here for another couple weeks, so keep the ideas coming!! This is a great thread.

 

[quiltymom]

Thanks for all of the great ideas/tips. I'll have to check out the other thread!

I do the same thing with the hot thermos. I put the kid's milk thermos in the fridge overnight, so it's cool when the milk goes in. Then I add a ice cube for added coolness, along with the blue ice in the lunchbox.

The Container store has the coolest container for snacks with dips: http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=74067&PRODID=69697. I send a lot of hummus & pita chips or carrots and dip in this baby for DD -- she is the queen of dipping food!

I also got this for lunches (although I've seen them at Target for $0.50 more!): http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=74067&PRODID=60223. My son just loves this containerfor his lunches.

Another food idea I haven't done yet but read a lot about recently is to wrap luncheon meet around a stick of string cheese. I'm sure you could also add any condiments, etc., or also use it for the basis of a wrap sandwich.

I've also tried to find some fun and more healthy snacks for the kids (Trader Joe's has a lot of them!), like banana chips, pretzels stuffed with peanut butter, terra chips, pirate booty, and the like.

Keep the ideas coming!

 

[saturday97]

Quesadillas (you can add some chicken too)
Mini corn dogs (DS likes ranch to dip these in)
Mini (or cut) taquitos

All of these can go in the thermos as well.

 

[clh2]

The directions on the thermos say to use hot tap water. Wouldn't boiling water work better? What does everyone else do?

I heat my water to boiling in the microwave, (1 c. for about 3 minutes) and then put it in the thermos.

I put the cover on the thermos, and add the hot food about 5-10 minutes later - i.e. when it is convenient for me to do so while I am getting breakfast and the rest of her lunch ready.