School Lunches

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

Okay, this is my sons first year of school and so I am lost! What do I send in his lunchbox? I need some good ideas for healthy, fun, well balanced meals that do not need to be heated and will do fine in an insulated lunch box and/or thermos. Any ideas other than the sandwich, chips, and an apple? LOL

My is not allowed to have juice daily, he doesn't have ANYTHING with artificial sweeteners (including splenda). We try to eat mainly organic but we don't freak out if he eats pesticides now and then. He isn't that much of a picky eater but Im so used to being able to make MEALS for lunch with him at home that I don't know where to begin with him at school LOLOL.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I've been packing lunches for many years since my kids are picky and don't want to buy their lunch (except on pizza day!). I usually give them each a sandwich, crackers, juice and yogurt or a yogurt drink.

For a 5 year old, they key is to send things that are easy to open and eat. You can send cheese cubes, small slices of meat, cut up fruit, etc. Just make sure it's something that is fully prepared for him to pick up and eat. I work in a preschool classroom and we once had a mom send a kid with a with a whole mango. He just sat and stared at it until one of us noticed he wasn't eating and helped him. Young kids will tend not to eat something if it's too difficult to open or bite into.

For cold items, blue ice blocks work well. You can get the small ones in the lunchbox section. Just refreeze it each night at pop it into the lunchbox in the morning. During the first few weeks of school, ask you son how he liked his lunch. You will probably settle on a few items that he liked having at school and then you can rotate those. My kids usually want nearly the same lunch everyday so it's become very easy to prepare.

 

[mncherokee]

You will probably need to get a list to your child's teacher so that treats brought into the classroom don't go against what you want him to be eating (unless you are ok with random treats once and awhile).

I know as moms we all want to have variety and well balanced meals for our kids. Most kids like to eat the same items over and over. (my lunch growing up was peanut butter sandwich, chips, apples, milk... almost every day)

I would suggest that you and your son sit down together and come up with a list of healthy items you can put into his lunches. He will love to be included in this process and you can be assured that the items you pick out will be eaten once at school (rather than end up in the trash... I sub in the schools and see it happen).

Good luck! Hope you can find some fun healthy food that he loves!

 

[lntsmom]

He takes a peanutbutter sandwich about once a week. What he prefers are soups and pastas. He loves ravioli...I got the Mickey kind to send the first week this year. He also loves chicken noodle soup, vegetable beef soup, spaghetti, and chili.

This year I plan to send French Dip sandwiches once every couple of weeks as they are a new favorite.

I also send meatloaf in a thermos.

Once or twice I've sent cold pizza, which he loves. Sometimes I send cheese in the thermos and include crackers so he can have one of his favorite snacks for lunch. He loves biscuits, so a few times I've sent bicuits with jelly.

As for sides, he likes bananas. I've sent yogurt in the thermos a few times. He likes pretzels, and of course I send chips with sandwiches. He also likes those little carrots, so sometimes I send those and a little dip.

I wish he'd eat salads, but he won't, so I don't waste my money and time sending them.

I will admit I send a dessert every day. This is a personal choice- made because when I was a kid my lunch every day was either half a sandwich, a hard boiled egg, or soup and an apple. I always envied the kids who had a cookie in there, too. So, yes, I send a small treat each day.

The reality is, they don't give kids a lot of time to eat, so even with just sending three items, my son usually ends up bringing the dessert home. But, it's there if he wants it!

BTW...I admire your diligence as far as food is concerned, but part of going to school is being exposed to new people and ideas. Try to prepare yourself for the day that he comes homes and brags about having traded your healthy entree to his best buddy for a Lunchables. It happens.

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

Thanks ladies. I dont mind him eating junk foods now and then but I def. dont want it happening daily. So long as his class isn't having a party every week, Im good LOL. I want to offer the most nutritious stuff but if he trades now and then, it won't kill him LOL. I've gotten some really good ideas from you all. Thanks. My husbands family has a lot of morbidly obese people, a lot of diabetes, and a ton of heart disease so I want to be sure we get him on the right track from the beginning and the occasional junk is fine.

Thanks!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

Just to warn you, my kids classrooms do seem to have parties every week. Also the teachers give the kids candy for turning in homework. This starts in kindergarden. After talking to some teachers, they will send home notes asking parents to send healthier choices for birthday treats and parties. Also, my son has told me he traded his carrot sticks for a brownie before. I just wondered what kind of child gave up his brownie for carrots.

 

[carj]

Just to warn you, my kids classrooms do seem to have parties every week. Also the teachers give the kids candy for turning in homework. This starts in kindergarden. After talking to some teachers, they will send home notes asking parents to send healthier choices for birthday treats and parties. Also, my son has told me he traded his carrot sticks for a brownie before. I just wondered what kind of child gave up his brownie for carrots.

We are only allowed a certain number of "free" food days. I think that it is 4 per year and we can definitely not give out candy at school. This is a fairly recent development, like in the last 4-5 years. I think that this is a federal mandate, but maybe it is just Texas??

My son likes to eat the same thing every day. He doesn't care that it is boring! He has a peanut butter sandwich, grapes or a banana and some kind of crackers. (Usually Cheez Its or Saltines)

 

[happymommy]

Most kids that age don't need too much variety - keeping it simple is usually a good idea.

They also don't tend to eat a ton of food at lunch - so it is important to send good nutritious food that is an amount they'll actually consume.

For a beverage, you can send a little bottle of water, or our local organic market has organic milk boxes. One of my son's classmate (back a few years) used to bring that green drink, I forget the name, it's one of those super foods things - you know the veggie drink. He actually drank that every day - the other kids did NOT make fun of him, as one may think they may do. Organic cottage cheese containers are good calcium and protein sources. I agree with the cheese or meat cubes as well.

My son has food allergies, so it used to be a challenge when he brought his lunch at first. He always used to bring (at the age your son is) two little PB&J's that I made with a circle cutter that sealed the sides. They were so cute little sandwiches! He literally ate those every day for at least a year, then a fruit bowl (no cheese, he's milk allergic) and maybe pretzels. The circle cutter I think was Pampered Chef. It finally broke, after using it 100 times or more!

They do tend to have parties with treats too often in those younger grades in my opinion. I had to send special treats for my son to have when they had parties. I found our local organic store had tons of dairy and egg free treats, so see what your local market has as far as packable stuff.

It is a bit of trial and error. We used to do hot foods in a thermos, but sometimes it was more work and mess than it was worth. They don't usually have a long time to eat, so it's important that they can open it and eat it themselves.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

We are only allowed a certain number of "free" food days. I think that it is 4 per year and we can definitely not give out candy at school. This is a fairly recent development, like in the last 4-5 years. I think that this is a federal mandate, but maybe it is just Texas??

I guess Michigan is different. Our teachers give "homework treats" Its usually starburst, skittles, gummy worms, etc. They also have zero the hero days when they get circle shaped candy. Then it seems their is a child celebrating his or her birthday weekly with some kind of treat. That's not even counting holiday parties. It seems to never end.

They really don't have long to eat lunch. In the beginning my son would bring home 1/2 his lunch each day. I finally realized to send less food.

 

[lntsmom]

Just to warn you, my kids classrooms do seem to have parties every week. Also the teachers give the kids candy for turning in homework. This starts in kindergarden. After talking to some teachers, they will send home notes asking parents to send healthier choices for birthday treats and parties. Also, my son has told me he traded his carrot sticks for a brownie before. I just wondered what kind of child gave up his brownie for carrots.

Hm...schools here don't allow kids to bring birthday treats at all. They are allowed to bring gift bags or such, but no food.

After grade school, no birthday celebration of any kind (balloons, flowers, etc.) are allowed.

If this is an issue at your school, join the PTA and be very vocal about asking for a change in policy.

I'm a true Disney fan...what I always encouraged my parents to do (when teaching elementary) was to donate to our "unbirthday" party. I'd pick a time when there were no birthdays for a couple of weeks and we'd have a class party. I'd say that we watched Alice In Wonderland, but I don't need the Disney police after me, so I won't.

Of course, that was the old days. Too many kids can't have any celebrations at all now due to religious beliefs, so parties and celebrations of any kind are going the way of the dodo.

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

haha I think my 5 yr old will throw a complete tantrum rolling on the floor if they tell him its time to stop eating LOL - he takes forever and gets pissed when he is told hes done before he is LOL. This should be "fun". Im hoping he will adjust well and fast to school because of his peers

 

[emma'smom]

Ahh..good thread. This is the first year that my younger dd will be taking a lunch too. So now I have dd6 and dd3 on the lunch box brigade. My goal is to hit each major food group in each lunch. They get organic milk or filtered water at school, so this is what we have done in the past:

sunbutter and jelly sandwiches (school is peanut free)
cheese sandwiches (on whole wheat)
turkey sandwiches (on whole wheat)
cheese sticks
cheese cubes/crackers
laughing cow spreadable cheese/crackers
veggies (like baby carrots or celery) and a container of ranch dressing (just a little rubbermaid that I pour some into from a bottle--not prepackaged)
piece of fruit- apple, peach, plum, banana, strawberries, blueberries, etc
cherry tomatoes
snow peas
sunflower seeds
granola
dried fruit

yogurt (snack size cups of dannon strawberry)
applesauce (prepackaged--so much easier)
mandarin oranges (also prepackaged)
peaches (only occasionally---since these are often packed in syrup)

fruitbars (like for breakfast)
hardboiled eggs (not often, because I wouldn't think to boil them in time)
cereal


leftovers--This year, with two, I may be proactive and pour soups/main courses into thermoses as I serve dinner (instead of hoping they'll be leftover).

These have been our "go to" items. Now dd3 has been in daycare her whole life and is used to eating much less healthily (the DC served things like tater tots and manwiches on a regular basis). She'll have to get used to it.

This is a great thread---I'm always looking for great new healthy lunch ideas.

P.S. My dd6's friend brought beets all the time.....so whatever works for ya!

 

[vcunning]

I also send meatloaf in a thermos.

Yep, we've done mac and cheese in a thermos (of course, with a side of ketchup - yuck).

It's also important to understand how much time your kid has for lunch. Mine has 21 minutes. But he needs to buy his milk first. So there isn't much time.