What do you pack in your school lunches?

[FamilyCorner]

So the kids are heading back to school. What do you pack in their school lunches?

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I am the school kid here. lol It depends on the time of year as to what I pack most. When it is cold, I pack a lot of hot food in a thermos. When I am not low-carbing, I like a sandwich, a baggie of chips, and a piece of fruit. If I have to be there for several hours, I add chunks of cheese for that power boost later in the day for protein. I also enjoy a lot of main dish salads.

[Rbeccers]

When DS and I pack his lunch he has a choice of pb&j, tuna fish, or ham & cheese. Once in a while when it is really cold he likes to take a thermos with ramen noodles, mac & cheese or a hot dog with a bun on the side. We also pack along fresh carrots, celery, fruit, brownie or cookie (both homemade). We also pack an ice cold juice box (we found that if it was frozen first he couldn't drink it at lunch time as it still be too frozen to get the straw in) but I will take and freeze a partially filled store bought juice box and then fill the remainder with more juice in the morning before sending him off to school.

[boggsZ]

dd only likes pb&j so thats the main thing for her and a small bag of chips and sometimes a lunchcake and she also take pepperonie, cheese and crackers

[megray]

This week dh has made bread in the bread machine so kids have been taking fresh bread. Dd usually has a bakery bread roll with avocado spread, lettuce mix, capsicum and tomato. A biscuit (cookie) or cake, two apples, strawberries or cherry tomatoes. She is 14 and often comes home hungry!

Ds is always hungry but doesn't like much at all that goes in the lunchbox! He has carrot, kiwi fruit a pear and some snack stuff. He starts with a good breakfast and eats a healthy snack afetr school, then of course meat and veggies for tea.

[barbszy]

My daughter loves to buy school lunch, and until now that hasn't been a problem since the school had fairly healthy lunches, as school lunches go. But at her new school they only serve lunch 3 days a week. One day is pizza, one is "salad or chicken" and one is "salad or panzarotti." Those last 2 are $3 lunches. :eek: Pizza is $1 a slice which is fine.

So I guess I will be packing a lot more lunch for her this year. I'm probably going to go with a "you can buy one lunch a week and carry the rest" deal this year.

The big favorite for my Big DS was bagel with cream cheese. He also likes PB&J or tuna (on a burger roll, the bread doesn't get as soggy as sliced bread that way). We're not big lunch-meat eaters here.

I think for DD we will be trying to figure out the best way to bring stuff in a thermos.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Oh Barb, that doesn't sound like a whole lot of choices! They sure charge a lot for a lunch room with limited choices on limited days.

[barbszy]

This school does not have a full service cafeteria like we used to have. We'll have to make the best of it and get creative!

Big DS says he heard that lunches in his high school are expen$ive and lines are long. He probably will not be buying lunch much either.

DD's school does offer milk, chocolate milk, iced tea or fruit juice for $9 every 2 months. That is super reasonable (about 25 cents a day as opposed to 50 that we paid in the other school), so I'm happy to let her get her chocolate milk for lunch every day, and I won't have to worry about packing a drink.

[cat lover]

Barbszy, one of the thermos lunches my DS used to like was a hot dog and tomato soup. We put hot tomato soup in a thermos used a large trussing needle with kitchen string and put a string through the hot dogs, put it down in the hot soup with the string hanging out the top as you seal the thermos. Packed him individual mustard/ketchup packs and a bun and he made a hot dog that was hot and a cup of tomato soup for lunch, with fruit on the side and pretzels. That was his favorite "hot' lunch.

[ajrsmom]

My son loves any kind of meat (sometimes cheese too) on a bagel, bread or a hot dog bun--no condiments. PB too

With that, he takes either yogurt, berry flavored applesauce or pudding

with one of these: an apple, banana, baby carrots, cucumber and ranch dressing, graham crackers, fig newtons, fish crackers, pb crackers or pretzels.

We mix and match depending on what we have a home for that week and he will take one off of the second list for his snack too.

He has also taken Spag O's and chicken noodle soup in his little thermos. That works out good too.


I haven't done this yet this year but he did this last year......

I would fill a sandwich bag with lettuce mix, cheese, cucumber, ham and turkey, then add ranch dressing in a sm. container. He eats the salad out of the bag and then tosses it. Little mess! Make sure to pack the ice pack that day so everything stays cold.

[barbszy]

My DD is enjoying Ramen noodles in her thermos. I pour off MOST of the broth, and heat the thermos with boiling water for 5 minutes before filling it. It stays hot until lunchtime.

At her school you can send in $9 every 2 months (25 cents a day) and they will get their milk or juice, so I don't have to pack any drinks. I like that.

[ajrsmom]

My DD is enjoying Ramen noodles in her thermos. I pour off MOST of the broth, and heat the thermos with boiling water for 5 minutes before filling it. It stays hot until lunchtime.

At her school you can send in $9 every 2 months (25 cents a day) and they will get their milk or juice, so I don't have to pack any drinks. I like that.

I really wish that they did something like that for my son's drinks. I found a mini water bottle w/an bag around it that is supposed to help insulate it--it really doesn't--anyway, it was only $.99 and it fits in his lunch box. I made some Kool-Aid ice cubes so that his drink will stay cold without being watered down.


Barb, Do you undercook the Ramen noodles so that they dont get mushy or just cook them for the right amt. of time? My son would love this!!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Now ya'll are making me hungry as I LOVE ramen noodles! I especially love them when I am stressed with school. After my trip to NC I will have to treat myself. lol

[barbszy]

Tami, I make Ramen a little different than most....we have a GIANT travel coffee mug (too big for car cupholders). I break the noodles into 1/4, pour in the packet and the noodles, and fill with water. Put the lid on the mug for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, warm up the Thermos (fill with boiling water, set lid on top).

Drain off MOST of the broth (through the little drinking hole), dump the hot water out of the Thermos and IMMEDIATELY put in the Ramen with the rest of the broth. Cover the Thermos right away.

I do this at 7 AM and DD eats around 11:30. She says the noodles are "just right."

[barbszy]

Yesterday I sent DD with ramen and she said that they were "too crunchy." Go figure.

I want to mention to anyone sending a lunch with a little kid (4th grade and younger): PACK A PAPER PLATE! Just a little one, party-cake-size, will do. Little kids don't put their sandwich on top of the empty bag, they put it right on the table :eek: I've been a lunchroom volunteer for 6 years and I see it again and again. (And napkins? They don't use them either).

Luke takes a little plate in his lunchbox when we go to lunchroom. You could use a party plate or one of the plain ones--and even write a note to your child on the back.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Barb, you made me laugh when I had falshbacks of my own children at that age! My DS never needed a napkin as he had a shirt and jeans to wipe his hands on. rotfl

[cat lover]

I used to pack sandwiches in a fold over sandwich bag when they took sandwiches and they ate it out of he baggie (so they said)! So they had a way to hold it without using their unwashed hands! LOL

[cat lover]

Meal In A Mug
From Taste of Home


1 pound ground beef
2 cups water
1 can (21 ounces) pork and beans, undrained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) tomatoes with liquid, cut up
1 envelope sloppy joe mix
1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

In a large saucepan, brown ground beef and drain. Add water, pork and beans, tomatoes and sloppy joe mix. Bring to a boil and add macaroni and reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or till the macaroni is almost cooked. Pour into a thermos. This makes quite a bit, but you can rewarm it several days for lunches or if you have several lunches to make in one day this will serve several.

[happy2bg33k]

We've been leaning toward yogurt and for some reason tuna fish is a big hit this year. Go figure!

[cat lover]

This is good and a little different than the usual sandwich


Pasties

rutabaga
carrots
1 lb. round steak
potatoes
onion
pie crust

Cut round steak and vegetables into 1" cubes. Mix raw meat and vegetables together. Prepare pie crust and fold into small circles and spoon meat and vegetables onto the crust, fold over and seal edges. Place on a cookie shet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes. This are good warm or cold and make a great item to pack into a luch box.

[Bilby]

I pack mostly sandwiches but do pack salads as well, rice, pasta or just vege fingers it really depends on what's in the fridge.
We are still on summer school holidays so only have dh to pack for. He keeps drinks and snacks at work. I give him buns, cake slices and meat pies for the freezer he can take them as he wants them or has a pie if there is nothing at home.