S/O: What do you put in that lunchbox?

[rubidoux]

I'm looking for new ideas because I hate sending the same stuff in too often.  I figured I'd ask here because there're such a wide range of diet types here I think.  So, I'm just looking for your favorite things to send with your child for lunch.

Here're mine:

--  bagel and cream cheese (generally trying to eat less wheat so these are few and far between, but easy and he eats them)

--  rolled up ham or turkey and cheese, sometimes cut into "coins" and skewered, sometimes like a log

--  homemade chili or bean soup (Milo loves brothy soups, but I save them for home bc I'm afraid he won't eat enough to keep him going if he spends too much time on a mostly-water soup)

--  pasta with pesto or tomato sauce, usually will throw in some meatballs and cheese for protein and give a minimal serving of the pasta

--  plain meatballs or mini-meat loaves  

--  chicken/apple sausage

--  trader joe's orange chicken (just use a tiny bit of the sauce so it's not crazy sweet)

--  hummus with tj's blue corn chips and cukes for dipping (for some reason, he's crazy over the blue tortilla chips)

--  small round tj's pizzas (these kind of give me the weebie jeebies, but they are as good or better for him than the ones they serve on fridays at school and they are 1/4 the price)

--  for veggies almost always minimal cukes or red bell pepper strips, I have such a hard time getting him to eat that I actually don't want him spending his time on veggies, he's SO CRANKY at three when I pick him up that I want every bite to be helpful in getting him through the day, iykwim

--  tangerines, grapes, melon, apples, strawberries, cherries

--  z bars (I kinda like these because they are wheat free, but they're just glorified cookies)

--  sesame sticks 

--  fritos (been getting an organic version at tj's)

--  nuts and trail mix  (sometimes I'll put a couple of yogurt pretzels or mini-pb cups from tj's in with this for a treat)

--  olives

Edited by rubidoux - 9/10/11 at 4:38pm

[Jenni1894]

Some of DS7's faves are:

PB&Jelly (of course)

PB& banana

PB&honey

mac & cheese and hot dogs in a thermos

Soup in a thermos

Pirate's booty (especially the spinach kind)

Fruit leather and dried fruit

a "lunchable" lunchmeat, crackers and cheese

PB&J graham crackers

apples and PB

pretzels

popcorn

madarin oranges

watermelon

homemade granola bars or cookie or other sweets I make

dry cereal w/banana slices and a little fork or pick to eat them with

[LaughingHyena]

Mine seem to  like the predictability of the same thing each day.

Sandwich - the like cold meat/tuna/cheese/marmite

Usually some kind of salad - cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks, carrot sticks.

Fruit - not usually apples as they often have those at snack time but anything else goes. I'll often peel and chop fruit and send it in a small pot rather than a whole piece of fruit.

Desert - small pot of yoghurt, rice pudding with jam or home made fruit muffins.

They also like cold pizza, or a slice of quiche if we have left overs.

[Imakcerka]

DH is taking over lunches and he said it's all warmed up last nights dinner from here on out.  He was grossed out when he saw the lunch menu at school and thought I didn't put enough energy foods in their lunches.  Both DD1 and 2 do not like cold food and will tolerate sandwiches. 

[whatsnextmom]

My kids have been packing their own lunches since kindergarten (not 14 and 10) and they prefer simple, quick to eat, low fuss lunches.

Main Courses rotate between- bagel and cream cheese, various sandwiches, cottage cheese and fruit, yogurt, peanut butter crackers, sliced apples and cheese, boiled eggs... if I make homemade mac and cheese and there "happens" to be any left, they'll always take that. They don't really like left-overs as a rule though. 

Sides- granola bars, crackers, tangerines, bananas, apples, grapes, strawberries (and whip cream if we have it,) baby carrots, humus, pita chips, dried fruits.... 

They always take their bottle of water and sometimes a juice box. 

[ollyoxenfree]

My dc pack their own lunches too, and usually take left-overs from the previous night's dinner in a thermos. Recently:

- Thai green curry chicken and basmati rice

- spag bol meat sauce (with penne, not spaghetti, though)

- salade nicoise (no eggs)

- sandwiches with left-over grilled chicken in a lemon thyme marinade

They usually take a piece of fruit - apples, clementines, grapes, the usual suspects that travel well (peaches, nectarines etc. tend to get bruised and mushy too easily). 

[earthmama369]

DS has a nightshade allergy and sensory issues, so that influences my choices a lot. I try to go for something soft, something crunchy, protein, and a little something sweet. DD is in a lovely stage where she'll eat most anything, which makes it easier. Their current favorites are:

-sandwich  (PB&J for DS, "deli" for DD with vegetarian turkey or real salami, mustard, mayo, and cheddar cheese)

-baby carrots, cucumbers, celery

-fruit leather

-granola bar for snack time

[Imakcerka]

I so want lunch from your houses!

[Alyantavid]

We've been in school less than a week and I've only packed for my 5 year old so far (they choose a few lunches to eat at school and I pack their lunch the rest of the time).

He's a creature of habit so it's been pretty basic: pb&j cut into whatever shape he wants, peaches, cucumbers, a brownie or some gummy bears, crackers, hardboiled eggs, and water or rice milk.

[AllisonR]

DS and DD get: 

brown rye bread with 3 of the following: ham, cheese, sliced smoked sausage, mackerel, and/or leverpostej (baked pork liver with lard and bacon bits in it. And YES, they love it. I hate it, smells like dog breath and tastes worse, but I make it for them). 

sliced carrot, cucumber, sweet red or orange pepper

raisins, nuts

banana, apple, pear or orange

[mtiger]

I still pack food for my 17yo, so she can sleep a little longer (she's picked up at 5:50am) - I get it together while she gets ready for school. That early, she also takes breakfast, which is ranges from bagel & cream cheese, grilled cheese, waffles, quesadilla. Then she takes a snack for midmorning - cheese & crackers, bagel & cream cheese (not if she's having it for breakfast), pita chips & hummus, apple & peanut butter, ham or turkey and cheese sammich. Lunch proper is usually leftovers from the night before (she can reheat). Then she has a snack on the bus home - crackers and fruit, often w/peanut butter or a sammich before practice.

[rubidoux]

I'm wishing I had a nice grilled cheese sandwich right now!

Thanks for the ideas, everyone!  I have a couple of questions about packing, though...  First, how do you pack pineapple?  Can it go in a stainless steal container?  I know you're not supposed to open a can of pineapple and then put it in the fridge, but I don't know why.  Maybe it's just an old wives tale.  Also, I wonder if anyone has a nice idea for packing apples with peanut butter.  My soon to be 8 yr old (tomorrow!) is such a creature of habit.  At home I spread the PB on the apple, he doesn't want to have to dip it.    And I guess I've got my own hang-ups because I can't stand the idea of the PB side bumping up against the container.  lol  I think the couple of times I sent it, it was a mess by the time he sat down to eat, so he didn't eat it.  He loves apples with PB, though, and it's such a great alternative to a sandwich.

[rubidoux]

Originally Posted by AllisonR 

DS and DD get: 

brown rye bread with 3 of the following: ham, cheese, sliced smoked sausage, mackerel, and/or leverpostej (baked pork liver with lard and bacon bits in it. And YES, they love it. I hate it, smells like dog breath and tastes worse, but I make it for them). 

sliced carrot, cucumber, sweet red or orange pepper

raisins, nuts

banana, apple, pear or orange

Wow!  That's amazing.  How did they ever get to taste it?    Do you make it from scratch for them or buy it made?  I love liverwurst and chopped chicken livers made with bacon.  I'm wondering if I'd like it.  Is this a nourishing traditions recipe or something from your family?

[Ruthiegirl]

We do lots of leftover lunches.  These are a few lunches I can think of from the past weeks. 

Sesame noodles with tofu and broccoli

Pasta with sauce and sometimes meatballs

Burritos -- my kids' favorite -- bean and cheese, chicken and avacado, egg and cheese, anything in a tortilla

rice and red lentil dal

chili with cheese

meatloaf and mashed potatoes

brown rice, veggie, tofu salad

hardboiled eggs 

cheese and crackers

sliced fruit

almonds, walnuts, dried cranberries, cereal

veggies and hummus

homemade granola bar or a cookie for a treat

[LiLStar]

at dd's preschool lunches go straight to the fridge upon arrival, so I can't pack anything intended to be eaten warm (and I'm not sure how dd would tolerate something cold that is usually eaten warm) she's only had 3 days so far so there hasn't been much "practice" :) 

some stuff we've included: 

sandwich, either turkey & cheese or pb&j

hardboiled egg

yogurt

carrot sticks & dip

grapes

pretzels

string cheese

sliced peaches

apple chips

she has this lunch box http://www.amazon.com/Goodbyn-Bynto-Lunchbox-Kit-Raspberry/dp/B0050O92G4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315948311&sr=8-1 and I always put the dip into one of the small compartments. Its never leaked into another section! 

 

[melissa17s]

For those of you who send warm foods, what is your rule of thumb for heating, storing, and length of time between heating and eating?  When ds was in kinder, I used to send him soup and curry.  I think I quit when I noticed he was not eating it.  He has been asking for soup again, but it has been so long since I have sent it that I am not sure how hot to send it.  Also, I pack the lunches around 7 am, and I think they eat around 12.  

Things kids eat:  Ds likes pullman sandwiches with cheddar, pickles, lettuce, and veg deli slice.  

Dd will only eat her sandwiches with butter and veg deli slice.

Some days a send pb and j

cold mac and cheese

cold rice with peppers, carrots, broccholi, veg deli slice

veg sushi

neither kids likes cold pizza :( which was favorite of mine.  

Addition foods:

lettuce, baby carrots, peppers (sweet), celery, avocado etc.

Apple, banana, mango, peach, grapes, kiwi (cut in half and sent with spoon)

savory snacks:

rice cakes, chips (potato or tortilla), garlic sticks, and crackers (cheese for ds).

Sweet snacks: 

home cookies/cupcakes/granola (rarely right now), graham crackers, cliff bars, cascadian farms granola bars, and my favorit lazy solution that the kids do not really like- dried fruit, nuts and choc chips mixed.  

We do water bottles and juice boxes.  Used to prefer Vruit, but is no longer available, so get juice.

[claras_mom]

representative sample:

leftover pasta
leftover chicken
strawberries
goldifsh crackers
juice box (though she frequently opts for milk purchased at school)

leftover pasta
yogurt
grapes
goldfish crackers
juice box

half a deli turkey sandwich
grapes
goldfish crackers
protein bar (which she tried but didn't like)

Bun, leftover hamburger patty, ketchup (all separate)
some kind of fruit
carrot sticks
goldfish crackers

Leftover pizza
apple slices
carrot sticks
goldfish crackers

The deal with the goldfish crackers is that she saves them for an afterschool snack (she doesn't like the snacks served at her after school program, though I honestly can't tell the difference).

She doesn't like peanut butter. She wants ketchup with leftover beef, turkey, or chicken. I'll throw in a cookie sometimes, if I've made them, but don't like to do that because she doesn't eat all her lunch most of the time anyway, and I don't want her eating the cookie first then claiming she doesn't have time for the protein. Can't really do cheese anymore, because she doesn't like the texture of warm cheese and not even a cold pack will keep that happening, at least to some degree. Pasta's plain; if I have sauce, I'll heat them both and pack it in a thermos.

[rubidoux]

Melissa,  I don't worry about how long the food sits in a thermos before ds gets to eat it.  I am much more conservative about those things than my mother is, but I grew up with her leaving food out all night on the stove and then eating it the next day.  I am kind of horrified about how she does stuff now, which actually seems kind of odd to me, since she was the one who taught me my normal, iykwim.  But none of us ever got sick, so five hours in a thermos seems like nothing.  

Claras Mom,  Those goldfish crackers are like crack.  lol  Both of my kids think they are the best thing ever, but they taste kinda cardboard-y to me.  They do give them out a couple a times a week at ds's school, so I don't get them.  I'd be way more tempted for cheezits, myself.  ;)  And they do this thing at his school where they make them eat the "main part" of the lunch before any treats.  My guess is that that's probably good for most of the kids most of the time, and it is good for ds now that he has actually been eating his lunch.  But last year and the year before, I would put something really yummy in there a lot just hoping he would at least eat *something*, but then he'd eat nothing and say he couldn't eat it because he didn't eat his "main part".  Ack!  And sadly, now that he's eating more I feel less of a need to send sweets, which doesn't feel fair somehow.  Tomorrow he'll get something sweet, though.  It's his eighth birthday!  

[claras_mom]

Rubidoux, between them, my husband and my kids go through an outrageous amount of goldfish, cheezits, tortilla chips...mostly dd1 and dh. We get the flavor blasted ones, so at least there's a little more to it, but I do agree with you about goldfish being sort of cardboard-y. Usually, I only have two of the three in the house, though that doesn't stop dh from stocking up if he stops at the grocery store. For dd's lunch, I use the 1/2 cup sized gladware, which is precisely one serving.

Happy Birthday to Milo!

[AllisonR]

Originally Posted by rubidoux 

Wow!  That's amazing.  How did they ever get to taste it?    Do you make it from scratch for them or buy it made?  I love liverwurst and chopped chicken livers made with bacon.  I'm wondering if I'd like it.  Is this a nourishing traditions recipe or something from your family?

I buy it made. Then just spread it on the bread. It is very popular here. As in everyone, and I mean everyone, eats it. Danish people won't touch peanut butter, they hate the taste and texture, but every many, woman and child, will eat leverpostej. I think you have to be raised on it to love it. 

I had to google mac and cheese. Seen that phrase so many times here, but did not know what it was.