Packing a school lunch - My daughter is about to start kindergarten. I'm not sure what to pack for her lunch.

Question

I'm afraid the sandwich thing will get old really quick. Any suggestions on how to get creative with kids' lunches?

Answer 1

My 2nd grader is really picky so he doesn't get a wide variety of foods. My middle child is in half-day KG now and I can't wait until she goes to first grade so I can pack lunches for her. She is a good eater and I'll be able to get creative for her!

Lunchables prepackaged lunches
cheese and crackers
peanut butter and crackers
crackers and pepperoni slices
cottage cheese (they make single serving sized ones!)
PB&J sandwich
turkey sandwich
salami sandwich
tuna sandwich
bagels with cream cheese or peanut butter
(sometimes you can use tortillas to make wraps instead of sandwiches...or buy pitas instead of sandwich bread)
nachos and cheese dip
pretzels with cheese dip
carrots, celery, bell peppers with dip
fresh fruits (apples, bananas, grapes)
jello or pudding for dessert
yogurt - I like to freeze the Gogurt tubes and then they thaw by lunch but are still cold.
thermos of tomato soup, potato soup, chicken soup
spaghetti in a thermos
mac and cheese in a thermos

Be sure to occasionally include a little surprise in her lunchbox like a sticker to put on her shirt or a note that says you love her or that you know she'll do great on a test or that you were proud of her at soccer last night, etc. My son just LOVES when he gets a note in his lunch.

Answer 2

If she has a 1/2 day kindergarten class, they may not have a lot of time to eat. Even in the elementary grades, lunch and recess are connected. Some kids won't eat much if it's going to cut inti their play time.

If that's the deal, then I'd give her just a few things that are quick to eat, but nutritious. Maybe a yogurt or yogurt drink, cheese, 1/2 sandwich, fruit.

Some kids are just picky. My daughter took a peanut butter sandwich, yogurt, fruit & water for 2 years with very little variation. Ugh.

Answer 3

Try some of the lunchables like packs or create your own lunchable packs for the kids to enjoy. And school lunch aint that bad for the kids really. But things like that will allow you to keep variety besides the same old sandwhich. Cheese and crackers with lunch meat, Cookies and pudding cups, yogurt squeezables, there are tuns of stuff now adays to put in kids lunch boxes. Heck even making up some mini pizzas from like can biscuits so all they go to do is heat them would be cool

Answer 4

Try fruit, string cheese, maybe some crackers, celery sticks and peanut butter, make it a fun snack lunch a couple times a week as a treat. Gosh its been so long since we packed a lunch for kids. Get you some of those 100% fruit juice things, no milk. Also some fruit cups will freeze and thaw and it will be like a frozen fruit slush.

Have fun and stay away from the packaged lunch things because they are really high in sodium and very expensive. you can make some cheaper.

Answer 5

I have an 8 year old little girl and i ask her most nights before bedtime "cece what would you like in your lunch tomorrow"? i use cookie cutters shaped like flowers and animals, i always give her fresh fruit, either string cheese or a danimal or gogurt,etc. Try to incorporate some healthy snacks and a special treat once a week. But the most special thing i put in my girl's lunch at least twice a week and iv'e been doing this for 3 years now is i write her a little note, telling her how special she is and how much i love her and hope she has a wonderful day at school,etc--she loves it and it makes her feel special and all the other kids want to know what i said--it's something i will always do. Write it for her age, using print and as she goes to 1st and 2nd grade use bigger words and after school ask "did you get my note"? What did it say? Great idea,huh?

Answer 6

When my boys were in school one of the things that really worked for us was I took the boys to the store and they helped pick out what they would be taking for lunch. We also made it a project to make the lunches that involved them that way there was no complaints in the morning before school. I also made it a point to put a small treat or note in their lunches each day so they looked forward to seeing what mom put in today. As far as sandwiches my guys loved any sandwich that was cut in interesting shapes. They also would anything that they could dip. I got some really small Rubbermaid containers and tried to included something like veggies and salad dressing, or plain cookies and a little frosting, something like that. Good Luck

Answer 7

Things in a thermos are always fun. Chili, Soup, Cereal etc -- If you do cereal just put it in a baggie and milk in the thermos she can them dump the cereal in.

Sandwiches can get old, but just switch them up a little bit. I loved when my mom would cut my sandwich with a large cookie cutter -- so I'd have shaped sandwiches. Lunchables are also fun. Throw in some veggie sticks and dip for nutrition.

School lunches can also be very good.

Answer 8

You can pack almost anything in a kids lunch nowadays. They have the fun Lunhcables now where the child can sort of create their own meal. Also when packing sandwiches, you can always use cookie cutters to cut shapes of the sandwiches.

Answer 9

Does she like tortillas? How about making wraps with her favorite lunch meat 1-2 times per week instead of sandwiches. Also when it starts to get cold out you can get one of those food thermoses to put homemade soups in that are leftover from dinners. Try to stay away from too much sugary foods, because after lunch when the sugar wears off it makes kids sleepy. Also lunchables are not a good idea. They are expensive and not healthy at all. Doctors are finding more kids with high blood pressure because of all the high sodium foods they injest.

Answer 10

Create you own lunchable, my boys really like cream cheese and meat roll-ups, heat a hot dog pretty hot in the microwave and wrap with bun in foil, buy one of kid size thermos' fill with warm chicken soup and tie a hot dog on a string put in soup with string hanging out than when she goes to open her soup she has a surprise (kids love that one), surprise her one day at lunch with a lunch you bring and eat with her. So theres 5 new ideas and yeah the sandwich thing does get old. Good Luck!