school lunches for a picky child

[gardenmommy]

So, my oldest is in school for the first time this year. He is a picky eater anyway (some sensory issues), but is even more so lately. He's 12, so you would think he'd like to participate some in what goes into his lunches, but no, I can't get him to help out at all. Ok, I guess that's not entirely true, as he does tell me what sort of sugary, junk type food he'd like, lol.

Anyway, I'm looking for some ideas for what to put into his lunch box. I can put an ice thingy in to keep it cold, and he has a microwave in his room to reheat (although I'm not sure he'd eat anything like that, he's so picky).

If you have experience with lunches for picky kids, or ideas, I'd welcome them! Thanks.

[34me]

Unfortunately even picky eaters are diferrent in how they are picky . My ds is 14 and will only eat what we call pre-chewed food. Nothing goes into his mouth that is the least bit chewy. He has eaten pb and nutella every day he's been in school. Not healthy in the least and I'm truly thankful he's never been in a nut free school.

[Cascadian]

My DD was a very picky eater (but not because of sensory issues) so we made the decision to give her WHATEVER she would eat for lunch...including stuff that wasn't fabulously healthy, just so she would EAT. After trying to instill only the 'healthy' stuff that she would NOT eat, she would come home exhausted, irritable, low energy, so we loosened up a bit. We included things like hotdogs (separate from the buns so they wouldn't get soggy), miniature muffins, cheese/crackers/ham, pita pizzas, meatballs...whatever we have a 100% chance of her eating at home.

Another great thing you might try is the simple, fun art of bento - google bento or kawaii bento for ideas and immediately look in the images section to see what I mean. You basically have fun with the food, dress it up, have cookie cutters for fruit and veg, make characters, etc. out of the mashed potatoes, whatever. In Japan they found that kids get distracted and excited by the art and eat. You can buy cheap bento stuff online or local Japanese stores if you have any around. I bought a lot of stuff - my girls had a blast, and were the envy of their friends

[gardenmommy]

Thank you! I figured I would start by asking him what he *would* like to see in his lunch. He asked for a salad, so that's what he's taking tomorrow.

He has the option of a hot lunch, and based on the menu, he asked for that on the first day of classes. However, when he got home, we found out that he had skipped lunch because he didn't want to go get it (they send the kids to the cafeteria to get it, and then they go back to their desks for lunch). I felt SO badly that he had gone all day (almost 12 hours) without eating or drinking anything. He said it was ok, he wasn't hungry, but I can't imagine he wasn't even a *little* bit hungry or thirsty, kwim? Today was much better, and he said he did eat at least part of what I packed him for lunch.

And, although I want him to eat "healthy" food, mostly, I really want him to eat. I'd be happy for him to have pizza and lunchables if I thought he would eat it. He didn't use to be so picky, but for whatever reason, he is getting pickier as he gets older.

[bjorker]

dd is very picky as well, and starting school this year. I got her a laptop lunches set and have been filling it with simple kid-friendly foods (for some reason this is easier with laptop lunches, b/c of the little compartments I guess). Pretzels, carrots, grapes, yoghurt, some dried fruits, a small handful of popcorn... just small amounts of simple foods. I can't just give her a salad of any type or a prepared meal because she just will not eat those types of things. For her, small quantities of a variety if simple foods is key. I can get her to eat a wider variety of foods (though not by much) if I give her something "fun" to go with it, IE veggies with dressing. She'll only eat carrots without the dressing, and sometimes cauliflower, but with dressing she'll eat broccoli, cucumbers (sometimes), and more of it. So I try and give her a high-quality dressing so she'll eat more healthy stuff.

It might be different for a 12-year old, though. dd is only 5.

[gardenmommy]

Thanks! I checked out www.laptoplunches.com. I'm thinking that maybe DS might like a bento lunchbox, even if I didn't get all creative with it. Plus, I really like the reusable aspect of it, because I really dislike using disposable stuff every day.

Today's salad was a big hit, and yesterday he liked the cheese and crackers I packed for him.

Is there a guide to serving size somewhere I can find online? I'd like to make sure I'm in the ballpark for how much I pack for him.

Thanks for all your help!

[greeny]

I have a REALLY picky 7-year old! I also pack things that aren't as healthy as I'd like just so she'll eat something during the day.

Her new fave is peanut butter and chocolate sandwiches. Okay, I know that's awful! But she's getting protein (really hard to get her to eat protein), and we're shredding up only one square of Hershey's chocolate per sandwich, so it's not TOO bad. We cut off the crusts for her.

She loves Pirate Booty (not "healthy," but not horrible either), so we include that sometimes.

Cheese and crackers (packed separately). But she doesn't like how the cheese consistency changes when it's not straight out of the fridge, so this doesn't work anymore. *sigh*

Baby carrots, though she doesn't really like them unless they're straight out of the fridge too. So sometimes we include an ice pack to keep them cooler.

Granola bars. I've been making homemade ones using this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Playgro...rs/Detail.aspx I use a little less sugar and honey and no raisins (she hates raisins).

[sanguine_speed]

This sounds like my oldest dd too. School lunches are always hard. We've resisted the temptation to pack just whatever junk food she'll eat because I really don't think dye-laden, trans-fat-filled, salt-infused, preservative-saturated junk food is better than her not eating. I think she'd feel worse eating ding-dongs and fruit roll-ups than eating nothing.
Now, if a child really will.eat.nothing at home or anywhere else that is not junk food, then that's a special case that each family has to work out probably with professional help over time.
I pack a variety of foods that I know my child will eat at home at least sometimes. And like many other picky eaters, what she'll eat does change day-to-day. This means I pack a lot of food, a lot of different types of food, so that there is a better chance that she'll eat something. Unfortunately it means a lot of waste, but that's what it's come down to. I will pack something like this: soup in a thermos, cheese and crackers, applesauce, a sandwich, a muffin, orange slices, yogurt, a banana and dinner leftovers in another thermos. We use a big lunch bag. She is almost always able to find something to eat, without having to resort to junk food to fill her belly.

[gardenmommy]

That's pretty much what I did, packed several small packages of different foods. Some of it was eaten, some came home. I guess it may be a matter of trial and error to figure out what he likes in his lunch. I wish he wasn't so picky!

[Bettercare]

Hi there.....Since you said ur child is very picky about what he eats....would you just list some food items that he likes..

After that may be based on those one could suggest a recipe for your child....coz as far as picky kids are concerned....its really difficult

[gardenmommy]

He likes:

Turkey
Cheese
Crackers
Salads
Grapes
Apples (but not in his lunch)
GoGurts (although we have the organic version)
Cereal (specifically Cascadian Farms Cinnamon Crunch, and Honey nut cheerios)
Baked potatoes
Fajitas
Chili
Hummus
Carrots
Cucumbers
Tomatoes (but only on sandwiches or in a salad)
Pizza
Applesauce (but only homemade, not anything from the store)


He will eat PB&J, but it is def. not his favorite. More like, "ok, I'm starving and you made it for me, so I can force it down".

So, there is a lot he will eat, it is just hard to think about how to get it in a lunchbox form, kwim? What has been working well for him for the last week or two is a small packet of cheese, one of crackers, one of turkey, and maybe one or two other items, such as banana bread, yogurt, or cookies. I've stuck a PB&J in there a couple of times because it was an easy thing to do. He didn't complain too much, thankfully!

I'm def. open to more ideas. Thanks!

[junipermuse]

Would he eat a little pizza made on an english muffin. I make these for dd sometimes and she likes them. I cook them in the toaster oven.

[blizzard_babe]

At 12, I was packing my own lunches. My parents tired of us (my younger sister and me) complaining about both hot lunch food and whatever they sent for sack lunch, so they just gave it over to us (with guidelines, and they'd spot-check to make sure our meals met those guidelines). It was a part of what we did the night before. Backpack packed and ready by the front door, lunch in the fridge, dog fed, go to bed.

I think a bento or Laptop Lunches would be great for this. Each compartment has its designated food category. "Hmm, veggies go here. What do I feel like tomorrow? Aha! Baby carrots. OK, now this spot is for my 'main dish.' I think a turkey sandwich sounds good. Some kind of dessert goes here. Mom! Are there any chocolate chip cookies left? I want one for my dessert. Hmm, fruit goes here. Hello, bunch of grapes."

My parents would make sure there were plenty of fixins for lunches, so unless it was a long time since they'd been to the store or we were being especially difficult/lazy, it wasn't an issue. Pick a food from each category. Take to school. Eat, or not... but we quickly figured out that not eating a lunch we had packed ourselves was (a) a waste of our effort and (b) a surefire way to be miserable for the rest of the day.