Lets talk bag lunches

[JustVanessa]

My ds just started kindergarden and I am at a complete loss. When he went to daycare, they had a microwave so I always sent leftovers.

Now there is no microwave and anything I send has to be nut-free.

On an average day he gets:

A pea-butter and jam sandwhich
A apple
a couple slices of cheese
cucumber or green pepper slices
a nut-free granola bar

He is not complaining but I would like to give him some variation.

[Alyantavid]

We do:

pb&j english muffins or sandwiches
ham and cheese sandwich
homemade lunchables
leftovers in a thermos

cut up fruit and veggies
fruit leather
granola bars
cheese

I've gotten a few ideas here. I'll be making some things this weekend and see how they go over.

[claras_mom]

Honestly, if he isn't complaining, I wouldn't mess with it.

Oh and leftovers could be heated at home and sent in a thermos jar.

[nextcommercial]

I get all my ideas from this site, because it has pretty pictures, and i'm too lazy to read actual words when the pictures are so entertaining.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/laptop_lunches/pool/

[samstress]

what he's getting sounds pretty good, but we do all different kinds of sandwiches. veggies with hummus. beans. seasonal fruit (we're fortunate to have eight different fruit trees in our yard). i also put warmed leftovers in a thermos (it's not hot at lunchtime, but warm enough that it's fine for dd). the nut-free thing is tough. i send walnuts and almonds all the time mixed with raisins and craisins (that's one of her favorite). string cheese, cottage cheese or yogurt. as a rule i try to include three food groups with each meal.

thanks for the link nextcommercial. dd has a laptop lunch and i just got a bunch of new ideas.

[moondiapers]

THis week's main dishes for my kids have been:

PB&J sammies
meatloaf sammies
left over sourdough pizza
spaghetti
turkey and cheese sammies
dd had pasta with brocoli, cheese and chicken breast pieces in it yesterday, but ds wouldn't have like it so he had PB&J

sides have been:
grapes
bananas
trail mix
granola bars
wholemilk and egg pudding (I made the pudding at the begining of the week and put it in small jars, it was chocolate)
stuffed celery (dd likes cream cheese, ds like peanutbutter and raisins)
those little teeny oranges (mandarins or satsumas)
today they each have a cookie that I made yesterday with the daycare kids.
soft pretzels

[pianojazzgirl]

Some things dd gets in her lunch:

avocado or cucumber sushi (leftover if we have sushi the night before)
leftover cheese pizza
cheese and crackers
cream cheese sandwich or cream cheese and jam sandwich
tuna fish sandwich
lunch-kabob (I take a wooden skewer and put pieces of cucumber, carrot, cubes of bread and butter sandwich and cubes of cheese)
hummus and pita
pesto pasta salad

carrot sticks
cucumber sticks or rounds
cherry tomatoes
(sometimes with a little container of dip)

apples
apple sauce
yogourt
raisins or other dried fruit
cheddar bunnies
nut-free granola bars
the occasional cookie
muffin
grapes
berries
fruit leather

water bottle
juice box
strawberry soy milk

Or whatever else happens to be on hand that seems like it will do!

I would caution against packing the exact same thing every day just because it seems to go over ok. I've done that in the past and what can happen is that they'll eat it happily for a while and then suddenly be so fed up that they'll refuse to eat any of those foods for a long time!

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by pianojazzgirl

I would caution against packing the exact same thing every day just because it seems to go over ok. I've done that in the past and what can happen is that they'll eat it happily for a while and then suddenly be so fed up that they'll refuse to eat any of those foods for a long time!

We had the opposite problem. I sent the same thing every day, for so long, that DD1 got a fixed idea in her head that THAT was what she got for lunch. One day I didn't have the right stuff on hand, so I tried sending something else-- stuff she normally liked, in other situations. She FREAKED. She got off the bus that afternoon and YELLED at me .

[One_Girl]

I do different lunch meats, p-butter and banana sandwiches, and p-butter and honey tortillas rolled up for the sandwhich part. For fruit we do apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries, grapes, melon, and sometimes berries depending on what is on sale. For veggies we do carrots, cucumber, peas, yellow sweet peppers, jicama, or brocilli. I used to pack milk in a tupperware bottle, but I found some cheap flavored milk in boxes in the juice isle so I send that. Cold packs are about a dollar in most stores so we have several of those at home and it isn't a problem to send milk. I also send in a small chocolate for dessert and she can choose to eat it with lunch or after dinner.

[snoopy5386]

hardboiled eggs and bagels.

[boo-bearsmom]

strange that only one person mentioned bananas, the perfect to-go food...

kiwi pcs sliced into discs and then semi-disks, peel left on or off

also avocado slices on corn chips (must be packed separately and assembled at lunchtime to avoid soggy chips -- or if more ambitious, guacomole)

I agree with sushi (and its easy to make)

soup in a thermos

rice and beans (Jamaican style, with coconut milk & thyme) fine room temp

cold leftover chicken

fruit avocado, kale, (hidden) yogurt and maple syrup smoothie, frozen and thawed by lunchtime

My ds will not eat yogurt or cheese, and nuts/heatups are also disallowed for us -- this really is a common issue and challenge apparently!

[Mom2M]

We actually do a lot of leftovers. She has a laptop lunch box so it isn't really insulated or anything but if I heat stuff up before school, she says she likes it at room temp. and that it is good.
I love those pictures in that link! I try to do that kind of thing too because I have this compulsion to put different colors and shapes in every little container, lol

[staceychev]

pak

I use a Sassy On-the-Go kit and make bento style lunches (don't use the inserts anymore, but do use colorful silicone cupcake cups for dividing/separating).

Usually chicken or almond butter & jelly on Ezekiel bread, plus veggie, and fruit and sometimes a starch like mac-n-cheese (which she eats cold). I focus on having a visual and nutritional variety, in addition to taste. The way I see it, I had to up my game this year (kindy), because I'm now competing against the lunch ladies.

I like http://lunchinabox.net/ and http://justbento.com/ for visual ideas, but I really just use whatever's in the fridge and whatever familiar food DD likes eating.

Oh, and I'm a totally stressed working mom who needs to get out of the house by 7 with a 7-month old. Even though bento lunches look really nice, they're not any harder to pack than regular lunches. If I can do them, anyone can.

[childsplay]

Originally Posted by snoopy5386

hardboiled eggs and bagels.

My guys used to take hard boiled eggs. They loved them and they were so easy and healthy.
Then some little poophead made fun of DS- said his egg was stinking up the room and called him egg-fart boy.
After that none of them will take eggs anymore

Hopefully it will be forgotten at some point because its such an easy lunch to make!

[waiting2bemommy]

ds does eat leftovers but I also do regular bag lunch type things. Ususally his lunch consists of:
a protein/starch combo--either pbj sandwich, quesadilla, hummus, or cold cut meat (it is usually some type of home cooked something that I sliced/cubed, not the processed kind) or cheese sticks, cut the night before from a block of cheese. much cheaper than the prepackaged store stuff. meat or cheese comes with crackers, hummus with pita bread.

fruit-canned fruit like peaches, pineapple or mixed fruit, melon, mango or berries (I buy the big bags of frozen berries and thaw them a little atatime in a container).

veggie-- celery, carrot, or lettuce strips with ranch dip. it is always empty when i pivk him up no matter how much i send.

dairy-- a container of yogurt (I buy mega size yogurt containers and then send a little bit in a small cup for lunch) or sometimes a danimals.

treat-- fruit leather or annies fruit snacks.

so far, ds has liked his lunch, eats it all or most of it, and hasn't complained about variety being a problem.

[MJB]

My 2nd grader takes his lunch every day. We have a Goodbyn which is awesome. He will eat most leftovers cold but if it's something like soup I will send a thermos (and usually a piece of fruit, bread/crackers, maybe a small salad in a container, all in a lunch bag) instead of his goodbyn. So he takes leftovers or a sandwich as his entree, and sides include:
-carrots
-cucumbers
-leftover dinner veggies (he loved cold brussel sprouts)
-apples (he prefers them sliced as he six of his front teeth are only partially in)
-banana (a whole one fits in the Goodbyn's top compartment)
-orange slices
-frozen fruit (mangos, berries)
-nuts
-dried fruit
-yogurt
-pretzels

Occasionally I send dessert; a tiny brownie or pie slice or a square of chocolate.