Lunch for grade school

[mrsg123]

What do you send? Dd will be in full day kindergarten and I am struggling with cold food ideas for every day. Does your kid eat hot lunch from school?

[SpartanGirl]

My DD will eat the hot lunch every so often but she's pretty picky. We have a thermos that we pack in her lunchbox for hot foods though. We send rice and pasta a lot. She's not a fan of soup but that's another good option. Here's the thermos we have: www.amazon.com/Thermos-Foogo-Leak-Proof-Stainless-10-Ounce/dp/B000O3GCFU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1406150624&sr=8-3&keywords=foogo+thermos

There are a lot of blogs and pins of packed lunch ideas. I love the suggestions at 100 days of real food: www.100daysofrealfood.com/category/children-adapting/school-lunches/

[Redpoppy]

We lasted two weeks of buying some days and bringing others before just having him buy lunch daily. It is easier for me and has made him try new things. He'd say he prefers school lunch to my cooking. Square pizza is his favorite and he compares all pizza to it.

[mrsg123]

Thanks, ladies! Having her gone all day in kindy is feeling hard:(((

[livinitup]

I got a PBK lunchbox an a lot of little containers. I used a lot of simple leftovers (like pasta), lots of raw or steamed veggie, fruit, sandwiches, roll up sandwiches, quesadillas, sometimes I rolled sandwich meats.

I bought - cheese sticks, fruit cups, snacks

I just did a year of K and it was easy. Pack the night before!

[littlemermaid]

The hot lunches at our school looked like barf on a plate so we avoided them. I would put cut-up fruit or veggies in a little Tupperware, cheese sticks or cheese and crackers, applesauce cups, pudding cups. Cold-cuts sandwiches(just put an ice-pack in the lunch box), peanut butter/jelly, Nutella spread.

[hocus2]

For prek I send 1 yogurt, a fruit pouch or apple sauce and a "starchy" snack like pretzels. My kid is really limited in what she'll eat.

[jena]

A whole lot of sandwiches. But also pasta or spaghetti-os in a thermos. My kids are weird and easy child cubes of tofu, so sometimes I send that. DD loves these surprise sandwiches that I make with Hawaiian rolls:
www.food.com/recipe/secret-sandwich-lunch-box-surprise-249576

I also make homemade lunchables, basically just meat and cheese and crackers, but I cut them in little flower shapes. The scraps that are left are what I put in the surprise sandwiches.

I also use a lot of little take and toss mini-rounds to send a half cup of leftover veggies and a fruit - berries, Apple slices that were dipped in lemon water, sometimes sprinkled with cinnamon (but not sugar, nice flavor and hides any brown), or fruit cups.

ETA: I would love it if she ate the school lunch. But she doesn't like the food. She did try several meals, but honestly it all looks pretty gross and from what I've seen a lot of kids throw away a LOT of food.

[Marmee]

PB&Js mostly...lol. I rarely do hot lunch because it's $12/day for 3 kids.

[elocrates]

Every day we pack:
- water bottle
- fruit (strawberries, apples, apple sauce, peaches, pears, grapes, berries, banana, melon, etc)
- veggie (fresh or steamed/ seasoned) (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, peas, corn, sometimes spinach in a pinch)
- protein, grain (sandwich, meat and crackers, left-overs like thin sliced steak or pork chops or chicken, or pasta, or pretzels and peanut butter)
- usually a dairy option (often cheese of some sort, but sometimes cottage cheese)

He is a creature of habit and eats yogurt and dry cereal with a glass of milk for breakfast almost every day. We send a fruit for breakfast at school (he goes to before school care and the school day doesn't start until 9:20, so it is more of a mid-morning snack). If he happens to have oatmeal for breakfast, we send his yogurt with to school.

I was surprised to find that packing his lunch every day was a lot less cumbersome than I expected.

[erbear]

No hot lunch. I send a similar lunch every day: a sandwich (PB for one, turkey for the other), some veggies (corn, peas, etc.), some cut up fruit (raspberries, blueberries, grapes, cherries), a yogurt, a string cheese and a whole fruit (apple or banana).

[jeaniebueller]

DS is picky so he'll probably do hot lunch 1 day a week. On other days I'll send: a half sandwich or cheese and crackers, a piece a fruit, and a granola bar. And he'll buy milk.

[quickstepstar]

We always send a "main dish" and 2 fruit and 2 veggies with some dip (we have a bento box, so this fills all the containers.

For main dish we send a wrap with lunch meats & cheese or tuna/chicken salad usually, sometimes we make zucchini muffins, pancakes, PB&Honey sandwiches.

[MDmomof2]

My daughter buys hot lunch once a week but otherwise I send in a turkey and cheese sandwich, veggie (cherry tomatoes, carrots or cucumber), a fruit (1/2 apple) and a snack (snack pack of cookies) with a juice box. She's a creature of habit but will take leftover pasta in a thermos or a PB&J sometimes.

[lishie]

I made it packing a few weeks before I decided that it made life too crazy for me. DS now buys every day. They have a few options and he always finds something he'll eat. It's not the healthiest lunch ever, but they're not that bad and whole fruit & veggies are always available.

[cjeanette]

My kids buy the hot lunch. I packed when DS started K I packed for him. I gave in in 1st grade and haven't looked back.

[rootbeerfloat]

DS eats school lunch about half the time. Since he only takes his lunch sometimes, I don't feel the need to be more creative than sandwich, fruit, crackers/chips.

[madringal]

Lots and lots of PB&J. My kids love it, its allowed at school, so I am not trying to reinvent the wheel. I post pictures of my kids lunch on @peytonslunchbox on IG if you want some ideas though.

I would say she buys lunch once a week.

[nonsenseabound]

I almost always do hot lunch. I will review the lunch menu at the beginning of the month and mark the days where I know my daughter will not eat the lunch and make cold lunches for those days.

We include: sandwich, drink, fruit or veggie, string cheese or something similar and dessert

[mrsg123]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the ideas.

[savan]

DS buys lunch 1 day a week and I pack the rest. I aim for 1 protein, 1 veggie, 1 fruit, and 1 carb snack thing a day. (They also get a morning snack that I include in the lunch.)

The protein is often: turkey sandwich, summer sausage and cheese, chicken noodle soup, canned spaghetti and meatballs, etc.

The vegetable is usually baby carrots or mini peppers.

The fruit is whatever is in season that won't brown by lunch time.

The carb is goldfish or cheez'its or Annie's bunnies, etc.

I may also throw in a string cheese or gogurt.