School Hot Lunch Help

[maps]

hi all
my 5yo just started school and we've been informed that they will NOT have hot lunches---great---1 week into it and my daughter already hates pb+j!

the school is suggesting ordering pizza one day, subs the next, mcdonalds(yikes, i hope not!)

i was thinking of doing a hot dog day or mac and cheese.

i also suggested they invest in some microwaves so we can at least send in things that could be heated (the school is small)

any other suggestions? anybody else been through having no hot lunches at school?

thanks

 

[nemo1987]

if they go for the microwave then you can get some of those little kids cup things that have ravioli and things in them or those its pasta anytime things. those are really good! so they were thinking of ordering food to come to the school?? wouldnt that get expensive as well? you could also send lunchables with her. good luck with your lunch situation!
**Sarah**

 

[doxdogy]

My elementary school had cafeteria only 2x's a week. Does your daughter like leftovers that can be eaten either cold or at room temperature? It was always a treat when my mom packed leftover fried chicken in our lunch. Does your daughter like the Oscar Mayer lunchables?

 

[laurie31]

My dds attended a small private school where there was no lunchroom. Younger dd is still there. They now have a room set aside for lunch (the kids go there to eat, rather than eating at their desks like they did before) and there are 2 microwaves there. The teachers warm the food (a 2 minute limit - if everone brought frozen dinners that take 5-6 mins, there'd be no time to eat) that needs warming. My dds like to bring fruit cups, "roll-up" sandwiches - meat and cheese, or just cheese for older dd, rolled up in a tortilla, apple slices with PB for dipping, and such things that don't need warming. About half the time I send something like a hot pocket or a small personal frozen pizza (these only take 90- secs to heat, as they're thawed by lunchtime).

Two years ago, before there was a special room for lunch, the kids ate in their classrooms, and younger dd's room had no microwave. They sent a note home asking us not to send hot items as the teacher had to leave the room to warm them. We didn't know what to freak out about first - the idea that our dd couldn't have hot lunch in the winter or the idea that the teacher was leaving the class unattended while she warmed the kids' lunches She was only in Mother's Day Out then - she was THREE!! (older dd's classroom, along with most others, had a microwave).

So, instead of complaining, we fixed the problem. We bought a microwave at Sam's for her room. It was only about $45. We donated it to the school, on the condition that our dd never be without access to a hot meal while she was enrolled there. (We didn't want to buy the school a new microwave every year )

The school was very grateful and our dd can eat whatever she wants for lunch

And so yes, suggest microwaves. On any given day, only about half the kids bring things that require warming, so it's not a problem for the teacher to warm stuff, but then they aren't limited to only cold foods, which is a bigger deal in January than it is in September. Some days you just need chili!

Laurie

 

[CEDmom]

What about getting her a wide mouth thermos to put hot foods in. Some of the hots things DD takes in are mini perogies, pasta, baked beans and soup. Cold things that she likes are pasta salad, yogurt tubes, cheese sticks and cold cuts. I'll round out the meal with fruit and/or veggie and a dessert.

Also, try PB&J on other things besides plain bread. Waffles, pancakes, bagels and tortillas are a nice change.

 

[maps]

thanks for all the suggestions. i'm already finding lunches challenging and i'm dreading when my son goes next year--he is extremely pickcy!!

i think i'll definitely try to push the microwaves

 

[stacieps]

For our picky eater DD, we have started sending in cereal (in the Glad ware bowls, with milk either bought at school or in a thermos). Her sandwiches and warm items in the thermos almost always came back home almost untouched - the cereal bowl comes back empty! I usually send in a Nutrigrain bar to have with it if the cereal doesn't fill her - worked well for summer day camp and so far for the first few days of school.

 

[disykat]

Although we have lunch, my son has allergies and can't have them. We don't have microwaves. He takes stuff in a thermos occasionally, but mostly he has lunchmeat and bread,biscuits, bagels, crackers, etc. - whatever you can use to make a variety of sandwiches. He doesn't like cheese and can't eat peanut butter so we're a little limited.

You know what I've discovered? He really doesn't mind the monotony as long as I mix it up a bit by sending different fruit & vegies and either some chips or cookies etc. My younger child can order the lunch occasionally (I think it costs too much to let him every day) but usually chooses cold lunch too.

I just make sure to make him a hot lunch on weekends to break it up a bit.