School lunch question

[Neera]

Dd is starting KG in Sep. I am planning out various lunch ideas. One of the things I can send is rice and beans. Just wondering if you do wet lunches for your kids and what container do you use for it?

Thanks.

[meemee]

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1C1_____enUS445US446&biw=1639&bih=771&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=5w7TsCAzjz2asM:&imgrefurl=http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/assembling-a-sustainable-reusable-lunch-box-kit-for-40is-it-possible.html&docid=Nad0TmJgLTEPuM&imgurl=http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/Two-Tier-Tiffin.jpg&w=410&h=399&ei=n2QhUOTME4b42gWJx4H4CA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=643&vpy=179&dur=1550&hovh=220&hovw=228&tx=134&ty=109&sig=118115080402302133973&page=1&tbnh=117&tbnw=118&start=0&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:99

this one. however dd just lost hers so i will get her this one instead.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/happytiffin/4812693119/

or this one

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1C1_____enUS445US446&biw=1639&bih=771&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=BlY1fx0tKBIHFM:&imgrefurl=http://www.buy.com/th/thermos-thermax-food-jar.html&docid=8qo5mqaVHp1yOM&imgurl=http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/500/221719028.jpg&w=500&h=500&ei=OmUhUL-HBYrD2QXeqoGwDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=732&vpy=436&dur=1705&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=122&ty=194&sig=118115080402302133973&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=139&start=0&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:31,s:0,i:172

[MamaPrincess]

They kids have  30 minutes lunch break to.. come, seat, get organized.. eat..talk..  clean and go..

that gives them about 10 minutes of actual eating.

My child would  never eat a meal like this in the situation like that.

If you think that you can give your child a bowl of rice, creat major diversion and

he will still have it finished in 10 minutes then I would give it a go.

Each child is different.

My child is simply very easilyt to distract and once she has friends around

then eating is a challenge, let alone anything that she needs to spoon or fork.

It is relatively easy to do with thingsl like slice of pizza, sandwich or other

finger food "so to speak"... but the food food - is another story.

Kindergarten is a big t hing for them, big adjustement, and everything is new..

so they usually even bring the whole lunch back or just bearly missing some

fruits or veggies from it at the beginning so I would hold the rice for a while

untill they will get more profficient with mechanical eating :)

and get used to newness.. of huge caffeteria, etc..

I have learned quickly not to overpack for lunch, and not to overdoo

and  just keep it simple and small in the beginning.

It is easy to get carried away with all those fancy faces fruit shapes,

cut out sandwiches etc.. but do volounteer at the Kindy lunch and

you will see how absorbed kids are with everything aroudn them

and how little they focus on actual eating.

My biggest mistake was also to give little carrots.. and big thorn apart over them,

as they took so much time to munch that they easily take up all the time for the rest

so if I gave my LO sandwich and a carrots, carrots would be gone and sandwich not

so I asked why? she would say simply, by the time I was done with them we had to go.

so I kept carrots for home as I wanted her not to be hungry at school,

so I would give a sandwich  of which usually half would come back and few fruits that was all.

fruit was fast.

[Neera]

Thanks. I did realize that it would be messy for this age after I posted. I don't know how long their lunch time is. I am guessing 30-40 minutes. I have sent carrots too for a snack and realized quickly it was a bad idea.

[Neera]

Originally Posted by meemee 

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1C1_____enUS445US446&biw=1639&bih=771&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=5w7TsCAzjz2asM:&imgrefurl=http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/assembling-a-sustainable-reusable-lunch-box-kit-for-40is-it-possible.html&docid=Nad0TmJgLTEPuM&imgurl=http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/Two-Tier-Tiffin.jpg&w=410&h=399&ei=n2QhUOTME4b42gWJx4H4CA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=643&vpy=179&dur=1550&hovh=220&hovw=228&tx=134&ty=109&sig=118115080402302133973&page=1&tbnh=117&tbnw=118&start=0&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:99

this one. however dd just lost hers so i will get her this one instead.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/happytiffin/4812693119/

or this one

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1C1_____enUS445US446&biw=1639&bih=771&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=BlY1fx0tKBIHFM:&imgrefurl=http://www.buy.com/th/thermos-thermax-food-jar.html&docid=8qo5mqaVHp1yOM&imgurl=http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/500/221719028.jpg&w=500&h=500&ei=OmUhUL-HBYrD2QXeqoGwDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=732&vpy=436&dur=1705&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=122&ty=194&sig=118115080402302133973&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=139&start=0&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:31,s:0,i:172

These look good. Thanks.

[meemee]

Originally Posted by Neera 

Thanks. I did realize that it would be messy for this age after I posted. I don't know how long their lunch time is. I am guessing 30-40 minutes. I have sent carrots too for a snack and realized quickly it was a bad idea.

dunno about that. i have always sent a wet lunch with dd. from K onwards. rice and beans in one and salad in the other. i'd pack a little extra rice and beans so that after school i wouldnt have to worry about a snack. she'd eat the rest of her lunch because she would be HUUUNGRY!!!

personally i find a wet lunch is faster to eat than a dry one. dd's favourite tomato and lentil soup was inhaled in minutes. in k she usually had about 20 minutes to eat and the rest of the hour play time. 

however what you might find is other kids teasing your child if their lunch looks odd. dd stopped taking lunch for a while when she changed school in first grade. 

[pbjmama]

My kid is a big eater and an introvert so...I usually pack a sandwich, a fruit (blueberries, grapes, strawberries) a veggies (mini carrot sticks, celery, edamame), something crunchy or chewy (pirate booty, fruit leather) and a 'treat' like a couple marshmallows or a small piece of chocolate. Along with a thermos of water. If there is any food left (rare) he will ask for it as soon as he gets off the bus because he is hungry. I use the lunchbot containers. The ones I have are not leak proof but they now make some that are. At first I balked at the price but we used them almost every day of K and they are in great shape, will be buying some for my dd this year.
 

[mkksmom]

It never hurts to have a bunch of ideas, but stuff you know your child will eat quickly is best. My dd also only has 10-15 min to eat. There was not time to both eat and drink, so I sent a water bottle with her to keep at her desk. She would often not drink at all. I usually do half a sandwich, a veggie, a fruit and sometimes a treat. My dd loves the drinkable applesauce and the fruit smoothies in the pouches. I used to skip all of that stuff because i don't like the waste/packaging. I found I had to let her have some fun once in a while, so she gets those once in a while. Now, my dd will eat mac and cheese very quickly as well as egg salad in a bowl, so I did that. lots of cut up strawberries, cucumbers, But my dd had a tough time with full day K- partly because she wasn't eating or drinking enough. Lunch was too quick-- and forget about letting her buy. The lunch line was so slow. We are allowed to go in and eat lunch with the kids, and so I visited for lunch once, and the kids who bought lunch sat down about 2 minutes before they had the others start packing up. So those kids had to sit at the "Late table" to allow the aides to clean the tables and get ready for the next round. My dd won't go to the late table.

One thing I find helpful is telling my dd to please leave her trash in her lunch box so I can see what she has time to eat and what she likes and doesn't like.

[grumpybear]

I pack my son wet lunches fairly regularly and the http://www.gogreenlunchbox.com/ works really well keeping everything contained and separated.

Growing up overseas, we used the round stackable tin lunch containers that meemee posted. Those work great too.

[~cassie~]

Originally Posted by grumpybear 

I pack my son wet lunches fairly regularly and the http://www.gogreenlunchbox.com/ works really well keeping everything contained and separated.

Growing up overseas, we used the round stackable tin lunch containers that meemee posted. Those work great too.

How easy are these to take apart and put back together?  My youngest has trouble with every thing we have tried!  The teachers will help some but they have 20 kids and can't do it every single day for all of them.

[Neera]

Originally Posted by meemee 

dunno about that. i have always sent a wet lunch with dd. from K onwards. rice and beans in one and salad in the other. i'd pack a little extra rice and beans so that after school i wouldnt have to worry about a snack. she'd eat the rest of her lunch because she would be HUUUNGRY!!!

personally i find a wet lunch is faster to eat than a dry one. dd's favourite tomato and lentil soup was inhaled in minutes. in k she usually had about 20 minutes to eat and the rest of the hour play time. 

I'll hv to experiment and see how it goes.

[Neera]

Originally Posted by meemee 

however what you might find is other kids teasing your child if their lunch looks odd. dd stopped taking lunch for a while when she changed school in first grade. 

Sucks. No wonder there are more and more kids being homeschooled. I think a sandwich daily is so lacking in nutrition. I was bad with my own diet but recently have started to cook a variety of foods and unfortunately, I think she'll end up mostly with bread every single day and probably cheese. Peanut butter is out because of the shcool's nut allergy policy. She eats humus but finds it too lemony (sour) so it's mostly going to be some raw veggies with cheese.

[Neera]

Originally Posted by mkksmom 

But my dd had a tough time with full day K- partly because she wasn't eating or drinking enough. Lunch was too quick-- and forget about letting her buy. The lunch line was so slow. We are allowed to go in and eat lunch with the kids, and so I visited for lunch once, and the kids who bought lunch sat down about 2 minutes before they had the others start packing up. So those kids had to sit at the "Late table" to allow the aides to clean the tables and get ready for the next round. My dd won't go to the late table.
 

[grumpybear]

Originally Posted by ~cassie~ 

How easy are these to take apart and put back together?  My youngest has trouble with every thing we have tried!  The teachers will help some but they have 20 kids and can't do it every single day for all of them.

It's very easy. I was worried for my 5yr old too but he didnt have a hard time with it.

If you are familiar with Lock and Lock or Rubbermaid Lock-its, it functions in the same manner. THe Rubbermaid may actually be a tad bit harder to clip/lock back together.

It has 4 locks (one for each side of the rectangular container) and there's a dial in the middle that you just turn  (very easy) in order grip seal the compartments so stuff doesn't leak into the other compartments or out of the lunchbox.

[grumpybear]

By the way, PlanetBox came out with a newer model that comes in with a glass container that has a seal so it doesn't leak,.