Packing lunch for your kids

[grinandbearit]

Hey guys, so I wanted to know what kind of lunches you pack for school, especially for little ones. My kid is in pre-K, and I'm running out of ideas for what to pack him for lunch. I bought one of those lunch boxes with a thermos, and I pack some spaghetti for him every once in a while, along with a rotating ham and cheese sandwich and fruit snacks ect. The school offers a hot lunch, but it's $7 a pop and not very lactose-friendly. My kid is a bit sensitive to milk, so mac and cheese or quesadillas are off the table unless we're home. Also, my kid's school is nut-free, so no PB&J. So, input, fellas, what are some options?

 

[pastorajacquelinegarcia]

@grinandbearit Sunbutter is the go-to alternative to peanut butter, so SB&J works just fine for nut-free situations. Around here they sell these little lunchbox sized apples, and if your kid can peel an orange, those little tangerines are always good. Grape tomatoes and carrot sticks are also useful.

But yea, the basic formula is a half sandwich, a cheese stick (which you'd not want), a fruit, and a veg. Sometimes a cracker or something as well.

 

[grinandbearit]

@pastorajacquelinegarcia Ive never tried sunbutter, is it same texture? Is it made from sunflower oils?

 

[pastorajacquelinegarcia]

@grinandbearit It's a little bit looser than traditional PB, but still plenty spreadable. The flavor is pretty close too.

Yea, it's ground up sunflower seeds, basically.

 

[skiparoo]

@grinandbearit I thinks it’s terrible but my kids like it. It’s everywhere in daycares and they get used to it. I believe it’s made from sunflower oil.

 

[winggo]

@grinandbearit Frequently, we just send portions of Sunday's leftovers.

We cook a lot of hispanic food, so beans and rice mixed with a meat dish is pretty typical for an "entrée". Also, stuff like pasta (preferred shape is rotini) is normal. Curry, stir fry, etc. Any of that stuff can be eaten cold just fine.

Sides usually include some sort of steamed veg (broccoli and carrots are staples) and fruit/berries. Sometimes I'll put in like a chickpea dish with tomatoes and cucumbers. And whatever the most recent preferred snackie is (veggie straws are the current obsession). Boiled eggs are great if your kid will eat them.

But the hang-up about food needing to be hot can be overcome. Just make it normal to eat that stuff cold. About the only thing that needs to be hot is soup.

 

[grinandbearit]

@winggo I was just going to ask how do you keep it hot untill lunch. My kids dosent like cold food unless its fruita or ice cream, i have tried so ad some grilled chicken and rice to his thermos.

 

[winggo]

@grinandbearit We've just always eaten cold leftovers. Something that was normal in my childhood and I have done my entire adult life, so I never thought twice about it with my kid.

 

[willbgrant]

@grinandbearit My kids classroom is also nut free, here’s what I sent with her today (she goes from 8:30ish to 5ish): half an apple (sliced), some raspberries, salami slices, grapes, small amount of raisins, string cheese, goldfish crackers, juice box

I would pack sandwiches, but she just won’t eat them so we go with the salami and sometimes some pepperoni along with other fruits and veggies.

 

[grinandbearit]

@willbgrant I swaped the regular slice bread with Hawaiian small rolls and he eats the sandwich that way since the bread is sweat, if not he will pick the ham and cheddar out the bread and eat it by its self. Ive packed some greek yogurt which i freeze for about an hour before we leave the house and put in his food thermos. He eats that all the time.

 

[willbgrant]

@grinandbearit Really good suggestion on the hawaiian rolls, I’ll give that a shot. I don’t know why it’s never occurred to me to overcool or barely freeze something like yogurt to keep it cool! Thanks for the tips!

 

[skiparoo]

@grinandbearit We do sunbutter and jelly sandwich, some berries, sliced cucumber and carrots, and some raisins or craisins.

 

[daddyell]

@grinandbearit We use one of those little bento box lunch containers to do a homemade “lunchable” with a protein (usually turkey or chicken) or leftovers from last nights dinner, fruit (berries, apple, or clementine) and veg (carrots, cucumber, or broccoli). It’s nice cause you can switch it up and use whatever’s on hand. I’ll also include crackers, pretzels, or whole grain toast but it’s tricky to keep it from getting soggy if you put it in the box. Wrapping it in a paper towel and putting it in one of the compartments by itself seems to work pretty well but I’ve started just leaving it out sometimes.

 

[masterpeter]

@grinandbearit I do a lot of one pan rice dishes. Cook whatever protein you want, we do mainly with ground beef

Add veggies in and good then add spices. Add 2 cups of jasmin rice, and 4 cups of stock. (Jasmin rices is 3 cups liquid to 2 cups rice) but with the other ingredients we need 4 cups total liquid.

Cook till done then pack up. My boy loves it.

If interested I can get you a more in depth break down

 

[grinandbearit]

@masterpeter We make him some jasmin rice, with a bit of butter, ham, and brocoli and he digs it. I just havent tried sending it to school withm him because ik not sure how long the food will stay warm. I guess i got an experiment to do.

 

[masterpeter]

@grinandbearit Can they reheat it? Or is that too much for the school to do

 

[grinandbearit]

@masterpeter School dosent reheat food, they do provide the hot lunches they make which i do sometimes buy for him but at 7 bucks each meal it gets pricy since i already pay for the tuition since its a private school. ist limited so maybe like chicken nuggets or pizza usualy fridays since he only does half day its ok for him to eat.

 

[tara5509]

@grinandbearit Have you warmed the thermos up before putting hot food in? If you put hot water in, seal it for a few minutes, pour the water out (we reuse for the next day) and then add the hot food, food is legit hot at lunchtime.

Also, we used to do all of the small picky things. Baby carrots and cucumbers with hummus or tzatziki, tiny sandwiches, blueberries, grapes, apples, cheese cubes, pretzels, etc. Ours liked lunchable style meals with lots of little options, so that worked for us and we could cycle all kinds of things in and out.

 

[grinandbearit]

@tara5509 I do. I actually boil some water and let it sit for about 30 minutes with the lid on while I pack my lunch for work. Then, I warm up some food for my son about 10-15 minutes before we leave and put it in his thermos. When I add yogurt or cold fruits, I put it in the freezer for about an hour, then fill it up with the cold food. I think from the comments we are all kinda limited to the food we can send them off with, the only variables are the snacks.

 

[tara5509]

@grinandbearit Agreed. Between what the kid will eat and what the school will allow, there are only so many choices. I wouldn’t worry too much as long as the kid is generally getting enough good stuff in.