School Lunch Dilemma

[Deleted]

Here's 30 ideas from Good Housekeeping:
www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/healthy/ideas-kids-school-lunches

[jando]

Ha. I have the opposite problem. I wish they would eat school lunch so that I didn't have to pack everyday. And they ONLY eat the same things day in and day out!

[dividend]

How old are they? Boy/girl? Are they picky eaters at home?

[Deleted]

Sept 2, 2011 10:54:00 GMT -5 jando said:

Ha. I have the opposite problem. I wish they would eat school lunch so that I didn't have to pack everyday. And they ONLY eat the same things day in and day out!

DD bought her lunch on the first day of school last year and then ate PB&J every day except for 1 week (I found out that she wanted to sit with the peanut allergy kids so that's why she switched). She's already ordered a PB&J for the first day of school this year.

[saveinla]

My son used to trade his PB&J for interesting lunches - one kid's dad was a sushi chef and that boy hated sushi. My son would have me make 2 PB&J and trade it for sushi , or meatball sandwiches or other good stuff - but that was in middle and high school.

[mizbear]

One of my nieces is allergic to nuts- so PB&J is out for her (but when I was taking college classes I lived on premade PB&J and spaghettios in a thermos).

My younger niece is a little more open-minded a) because she has no food allergies and b) she would rather sleep and extra 15 minutes and someone else make her lunch. She eats salads, sandwiches, wraps...

I have an assortment of cold and hot thermos things and cool cups. One of my older niece's favorite things to do is take a yogurt (or 2 if I don't see her), a sandwich (hers are usually meat because of her allergy), an applesauce or fruit cup and some dry snack like pretzels. She then buys 2 milks usually.
The little one likes wraps (she's 10)- she likes to use ranch dressing on them usually, with lettuce, if there is leftover bacon from breakfast, tomato, onion, leftover chicken, and if there is sliced cheese in my fridge (or shredded, or something aged and expensive...)- if I have chipolte mayo she uses that instead of ranch- fold the bottom up and the sides in. Chicken BLT wrap. You can use whatever you have around though- I like putting homemade horseradish sauce, arugula, spinach, roast beef and horseradish cheddar on mine. My mom makes one with turkey, honey mustard, and sharp cheddar (always a domestic cheddar like New York, Wisconsin, Vermont, California- although she tends to use Boar's Head or a local creamery). We also make a buffalo chicken and bleu cheese wrap and the kids and I make one with turkey and guacamole.

I think the biggest thing with lunches is to look at your time, your budget, and your child- and how much time they have to eat at school. We had 30 minute lunch periods in school but never had 30 minutes to actually eat. Usually it was closer to 10-15. In high school I used the express "a la carte" lane. When I packed I had PB&J sandwiches or PB and crackers and an apple. Something simple I could scarf easily. Plus in high school- PB&J had a high trading value. Now they are almost always available here. Go figure.

[stanthedevil]

I work in a high school and the trend so far this year (with the girls at least) is the Laughing Cow wedges/mini Babybel rounds. A lot of the girls would pack a couple of those, some kind of cracker, fruit and cookies. (For all I know, they were running out afterschool to grab a Big Mac, but the dainty, healthy lunch seems to be big.)

[reeneejune]

My mom had a very good way to handle this situation. We'd take the school lunch menu and circle the days that we wanted to eat lunch at school. Then we had to come up with our own sack lunch menus - even from first grade we knew there had to be protein, fruit, vegetable, and bread. If we didn't come up with anything then we had to eat whatever mom packed, whether it was boring or not. It's a great way to teach about nutrition and food safety too - what can be packed in a lunch box and what can't.

[MittenKitten]

I only have one in school full time now. He won't eat bread so for snack time we are thinking pudding or fruit cups. For meal yogurt either in a crush cup or tube, chips, blueberries and dessert. Oh and a drink probably chocolate milk. Kid is skinny as a rail so I am not worried about calories!

He is SO picking that he will only occassionally eat school lunch. I wish I could get him to eat it more often.

[mizbear]

Until I was in high school (middle school was a little better, but you never knew if you would actually get to eat your lunch), the food on the menus sucked. When I was in high school we had an a la carte line- so I could pizza, french fries and chocolate milk everyday.
They had something called a flying saucer that was supposed to be fried bologna- but it wasn't- it was warm bologna and cheese with mayo and butter on a hamburger bun- and they wondered why kids wouldn't eat it. The hot dogs were over cooked, the hamburgers were steamed, and the chicken nuggets were chewy. There were many days I pocketed my lunch money and grabbed lunch when I got home from school. When we moved for a year and a half, I would take my lunch money and go get a cheesesteak sub or a ribeye sandwich when I got off the bus.

[jando]

Sept 4, 2011 13:57:10 GMT -5 reeneejune said:

My mom had a very good way to handle this situation. We'd take the school lunch menu and circle the days that we wanted to eat lunch at school. Then we had to come up with our own sack lunch menus - even from first grade we knew there had to be protein, fruit, vegetable, and bread. If we didn't come up with anything then we had to eat whatever mom packed, whether it was boring or not. It's a great way to teach about nutrition and food safety too - what can be packed in a lunch box and what can't.

HA! I had heard this suggestion previously, so I did just that. The kids circled exactly two days out of the month of September...then changed their mind. They won't even eat on CHICKEN NUGGET DAY!!!

I can't comprehend it.

So Kid 1 pretty much plans to eat a ham sandwich every single day from now until May and Kid 2 will at least change it up with ham or PB, and he will at least eat carrots. They'll eat fruit, thank goodness, and then they get a "snack". On Fridays, I'm letting them bring a little bag of chips as their snack item. The rest of the days, it's my choice. It's usually animal crackers, goldfish, graham crackers, etc. Something snacky, but not too sugary so they don't sugar crash. And I don't want them thinking chips or cookies are an everyday occurrence. (Woe is them...their friends get cheetos and oreos every day!!! Can you believe it? ) *Meanest Mom Ever* (And proud of it.)

[mizbear]

jando- Don't feel bad- when I was in middle school (when I was living with my parents, not my grandparents mind you)- if I packed lunch, it went into a Miller High Life soft side 6-pack beer cooler and usually consisted of chips, candy, a frozen Coke wrapped in foil so it thaw and be cold by lunch, and 2 either ham and cheese with ketchup and pickles- bought at the local deli or a PB&J if we actually had food at home or a bunch of those cheese and cracker handi-snacks!
My grandmother almost had a stroke when I moved in with them and she saw my lunchbox (it was free and I don't think it was actually intended for me to use as a lunchbox, but my father was too cheap to replace mine). She immediately went out and bought me another one. I also no longer got Coke or candy in my lunch. PB&J, apple, chips, raisins, a little debbie and juice...My grandfather got 2 PB&J and 2 little debbies

[Apple]

To feel like it's getting changed up a bit, you can also toast the sandwiches/wraps the night before (even for pb&j, just toast the bread before you make the sandwich). It gives everything a little different flavor. You can also play with the breads if they aren't really picky, put lunchmeat on rolls or a hamburger/hotdog bun instead of sliced bread.

Sometimes I slice leftover steak or chicken to use in the sandwich, or use dressings/bbq sauce instead of mayo, anything to make it different.

When DS was younger I couldn't afford Lunchables (and didn't like how processed it all was) so I'd make our own with meat, cheddar or other cheeses and crackers. Fortunately he was happy with that.

This year I've told DS I'll give him a quarter every day he makes his own lunch. School lunches are close to $3 now and in the end I'd save money. I know a quarter isn't a lot (he's 13) but it's an extra dollar + a week on his allowance. I'll review it after the first month to figure out how much I'm spending and maybe up it to 50 cents a day. He's always had an "expensive" palate and gets bored easily, doesn't like the same thing more than two days in a row--total opposite of my, I think I ate pb&j for 90% of my lunches in HS and I still eat them at least once a week (I can't send one with him though, his school is peanut-free).

[reeneejune]

jando - ah, see, I'm just barely old enough to have had one of those parents who would reply to the "I changed my mind I don't really want school lunch today" line with "Tough. You had a chance to choose and now you've got to live with it." And the schools didn't let kids "charge" lunch if they forgot their lunch money or sack lunch at home. If you didn't have your lunch money or lunch, you got graham crackers and peanut butter out of the health room cabinet and if you were lucky and the lunch lady liked you, you might get a milk. If you didn't have a lunch or money on a regular basis, they'd get you on the free lunch program, but otherwise a little bit of embarrassment and a little bit of hunger were good object lessons in taking responsibility for your actions.

[jando]

Sept 5, 2011 23:55:33 GMT -5 reeneejune said:

jando - ah, see, I'm just barely old enough to have had one of those parents who would reply to the "I changed my mind I don't really want school lunch today" line with "Tough. You had a chance to choose and now you've got to live with it." And the schools didn't let kids "charge" lunch if they forgot their lunch money or sack lunch at home. If you didn't have your lunch money or lunch, you got graham crackers and peanut butter out of the health room cabinet and if you were lucky and the lunch lady liked you, you might get a milk. If you didn't have a lunch or money on a regular basis, they'd get you on the free lunch program, but otherwise a little bit of embarrassment and a little bit of hunger were good object lessons in taking responsibility for your actions.

Haha.

Well, mine are in Kindergarten, so I'm trying to navigate them through the whole thing, and I'd prefer they eat SOMETHING, rather than nothing so that they focus during the day. On the very first day of school they planned to eat school lunch (chicken nuggets) but for some reason they both chose an alternative entree. The kid who chose the hot dog at only that. The kid who chose PB&J didnt even eat it (or anything else), because it had J. (We just do PB at home, or PB and honey). So when I picked him up from the very first day of school, he was silently crying while waiting in the pick up line because he was so hungry. Broke my heart.

So I said they could pack lunches, but they really get no say in the lunch I pack. The LAST thing I will do is argue with them every day about what goes in. I will make sure it's stuff they will eat, but if they just don't "feel like" grapes that day...tough. Grapes it is. Eat it, don't eat it, I don't care, but you can't say you don't like it.

So I'm giving a little leeway on them changing their mind from trying school lunch. I even asked them, "isn't there anything you've seen your friends eat that you want to try?" and they said no. Seems like most of their closest friends (the ones with the cheetos and oreos!) pack their lunch.

MizBear - wow, what a lunch! (and lunchbox!). I'm glad your grandma got you straightened out on lunches. But you still got a little debbie every day! Awesome! We weren't allowed to pack our lunches very often. We actually had great hot lunch in elementary and Jr/Sr high school. But on Tuna and Noodles day, we packed and got that little debbie! LOL. Still brings back memories of how gross that particular lunch was, and how I still don't eat tuna to this day. Yuck.

[mizbear]

reenee- Funny you bring up forgetting lunch money. My DB used to "lose" his lunch money a lot particularly in 2nd and 6th grade when he and I were in the same schools and he had access to me (when he got to high school I got smart). He would come to my classroom and come get my lunch money so he could eat lunch and I would not get lunch. After my grandmother caught on that I wasn't eating lunch, my mother starting giving me his lunch money and I would take his money to the teacher in the morning and pay for his lunch for all week! Or mom would go in and pay for his lunches for the week.
In high school- I let him go hungry if he lost his money ... There is a 2 year difference and when we first started school they shifted the lower grades several times, so luckily, I only had to really deal with this for 2 grades.

[swasat]

Snerd, I have had to come up with some intersting ideas for 6 year old DS school lunch. The kid will not eat the same lunch every day.

I bought a small thermos. That gives lot of options. He gets a 30 min lunch break and all these are easy to finish in that time.


Here are some of things I pack. I also play around with these recipes by adding different combinations of veggies and cheeses:

Corn muffins
Pizza muffins (let me know if you want the recipe. They came out awesome and both my kids loved them!)
Mini pita pocket sandwiches
Muffin shaped quiche (basically quiche baked in muffin cup)
Variety sandwiches
Wraps
Mac and cheese
Pasta with veggies (cold salad or hot entree)
Turkey or chicken meatballs in the thermos
Veggie noodles
Bean salad (Mixed garbanzo, pinto beans, black beans, zucchcini chunks, red bell pepper with a dash of lemon juice and salt & pepper)
Fruit kebabs


For snack I pack:

Cake muffins
Pudding cups (home made)
Fruits
Goldfish
Oatmeal-fruit bars
Pretzels

I'll add to the list as I remember more. Hope that helps!


ETA: Added some more items.

[Apple]

swasat, if you don't mind, I'd like the recipe. I'm trying to find more stuff for DS this year and anything he can help make is a bonus.

[swasat]

apple, here's the recipe for the pizza muffins:

3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
pinch of salt
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cubed pepperoni
1/2 cup pizza sauce


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) ; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.



I skip pepperoni sometimes, sometimes I add chicken and sometimes no meat and these still taste awesome. Even DH loves them

[redwagon]

Pretty sure I ate pb& fluff, raisins, and a pudding cup every day for 12 years. And guess what I packed myself for lunch today? A slightly more adult pb&J, grapes, and string cheese. So really I'm no help at all! Good luck!

[thyme4change]

My kids are taking summer sausage slices with some cheese and some crackers. I think they assemble them into sandwhiches - but I'm not sure, nor do I really care - they can eat them separately or together, whatever.

They also do ham and cheese and PB&J, etc. We always include a dairy (yougurt or cheese.) We always include a fruit or vege. And we usually throw in an extra snack of somesort. I'm not terribly excited about the way our school is handling lunch this year, but I'm hoping my kids make it through.

[lilyofcourse]

Mine didnt take a lot of lunches from home. Mostly just on field trips. But if you have a thermos those are the best things ever. There is a world of soups and pastas out there. Just get it good and hot before you put it in and by lunch it's still good and warm. Hot dogs are good in there too. Cook them and put them in some chili in the thermos.

Sandwiches with meats always worried me. So I found some small sandwich size freezer packs. Little soccer or baseballs that are about the size of sandwich meat and I would put the meat in a ziploc bag buy its self and the bread in a bag by its self and put the meat between the bread and the ice pack. the kids could put the sandwich together at lunch.

Add a veggie with some kind of dip if they like. A fruit that didnt have to be cut or peeled. Something salty, something sweet. Something creamy and something crunchy. They had a choice and they brought home what they didnt eat and most of the time if it was unopened it could be used again.

Remember if you buy it from the store shelf unrefrigerated it doesnt have to be refrigerated. Puddings and jellos and that kind of thing can just be thrown in. Yogurt can be frozen and it's thawed by lunch and ready to eat.

And for the sake of your own sanity buy plastic spoons and forks for them to use.

[bluecluessubtlety]

We went ahead and bought for September. Last year, the boy would pack and then end up charging lunch anyway. So we were paying for groceries and the lunches. I told him I'd rather just pay for the lunches up front.

But this year they went up 25¢ a day. Not a huge amount but still. So we may go back to packing in October. At least half the month. When he packs, he's fine with same thing every day - PB&J + fruit + sweet and he buys milk. I can certainly pack a lunch for far less than $3.75 a day.

[Apple]

Thanks for the recipe! I think we have all the ingredients on hand except the pepperoni so I may substitute some summer sausage. DS really likes anything "different".

[Anne_in_VA]

swasat - That looks like a pretty good recipe, but you have sauce on the ingredients list but I don't see where it's added in the directions - Did I miss something?

[swasat]

Oops! Sorry about that Anne.

The pizza sauce is for dipping. So you muffins will taste more like pizza! ;D

[formerroomate99]

My mom flat out refused to give me money for school lunches. I could do odd jobs to earn the money, but actually having to earn the money for school lunch items made them seem a lot less special. After hearing too many complaints about the peanut butter to Jelly ratio in my sandwiches, my mother went on strike making my lunches. I had to put something together with whatever happened to be in the fridge and if I couldn't find something I liked, I could just pick something else or starve. I was 7. Starvation is a good way to weed out the 'picky eater' tendencies. Being able to quickly scrounge came in handy when I was couch surfing for weeks at a time off and on when my father got sick.

[mommax4]

my DD1 packs her lunch every day and eats pretty much the same thing every day as well: lunch meat (no sandwiches for her), string or sliced cheese, yogurt, fruit, crackers/chips/pretzels, maybe a dessert like a pudding cup.

For a drink, I've been giving her V8-Fusion since she doesn't like any of the veggies I would otherwise pack, plus she gets an extra fruit serving that way as well. I buy the big jug and pour it into a sports cup (aka big-kid sippy cup) that has a freezer pack that fits inside of it to keep it cold. It works great. She has mentioned wanting to get the chocolate milk at school this year. I told her she could if she wanted, she would just have to let me know first. We keep a little money in her lunch account in case we forget someday, but so far it hasn't been a problem.

[973beachbum]

Sept 10, 2011 7:41:55 GMT -5 Lady Gaga Gaga Snerd said:

Thanks for the tips. I also found that i can buy milk is small cartons at the local grocery for 35 cents and they sell them at school for 50 cents. I just need to locate my freezer packs, i had a bunch of them in different styles but since we moved, i can' t find them. Looks like another thing to buy AGAIN that i know i already have somewhere. Ugh.

First off I am sure the cartons at school are only 4 ounces and the ones we can buy at the store are at least 8 so I think they would be worth a dollar.

I would strongly suggest everyone check on when their kids actually gets to eat lunch before worrying about ice packs. My DD ate lunch at 9:43 in the morning last year. The latest either has ever eaten lunch was 1:30 and they only get to school at 9:30. It is not like it is sitting in the sun on the beach for 5 hours. My DD is old enough now to pack her own but I would ask if things got too warm and she said no so I stopped worring about it.

If people are really worried about the ham or tuna getting too warm what I would do is just make the sandwich on frozen bread. It is just enough to keep it cool with out still being frozen 3 hours later.

And my kids absolutely refused to carry around a bunch of stuff at school like thermoses or ice packs. It really is a pain when they go out to play after lunch. The kids want something they can eat and then throw out the container not have to feel like they are cleaning up after dinner at hom and then cart it all around for an hour only to carry it back home.

[Apple]

swasat-- we made the pizza muffins last night (actually, DS made them, I just supervised). He really liked them. We had to use canadian bacon and summer sausage for the meat and spaghetti sauce (no pepperoni or pizza sauce in the house) but they were good. Probably be a new regular around the house.