Hi! I'm looking for "lunch" suggestions?

Question

My daughter will start Kindergarten in two weeks and she wants me to pack her a lunch instead of her eating in the cafeteria. I wondered if you guys may have some suggestions on things to pack for her. I know she will become bored quickly with the traditional sandwhich and chips!! Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

Lunchables are easy, but sooo full of sodium, which a little girl her age really doesn't need. personally I think that whatever you make her, she'll either love (b/c you're her mom and she loves you) or trade with someone else b/c that's what kids do.

Answer 2

P & B sandwich is a nice healthy choice
The lunchables now come with tacos, hot dogs, mini subs etc
You could also pack a pasta salad, meat, cheese and crackers
cereal bars with fruit roll ups
the little cups of sliced apples with dipping sauce
I'd just go to the grocery store when I had time between now and then and look at all that is offered. They really have lots to pick from.

Bagels can have pretty much anything placed on them. Salami and pepperoni are good choices and any type of fruit or veggie is healthy and fun.

One last thing, wraps are really popular and fun!! You could put the meat & cheese on a wrap and add whatever else you wanted and roll it up. :)

Answer 3

After having 5 kids - I did the math, and soon realized that buying hot lunches were was more cost-effective than cold lunches! But, kids love to bring their own lunches to school, in their favorite character boxes.

But, I did buy an excellent book called the Healthy Lunchbox. It's a really great book, gives a new take on school lunches, and real healthy plans for children.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0895261375/sr=1-2/qid=1154309061/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-3141580-4700833?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471346640/sr=1-3/qid=1154309061/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-3141580-4700833?ie=UTF8&s=books

I do have one very picky child who doesn't like to eat a lot of hot lunches. She does eat a lot of sandwiches, and very few different kinds. I resulted into cutting off the crusts, and getting big metal cookie cutters to cut them into different shapes. If you've got one that likes a variety of foods, she'll still be getting a lot of different stuff every day.

Veggies are an awesome thing to pack, instead of chips. Baby carrots are best. Ants on a log is really messy to eat at school, she'll come home in a peanut butter shirt! Leave chips in for a friday treat. Do rollups too - with tortillas. You can make any sandwich with a tortilla roll. Don't put mayo in the sandwiches, they don't keep cold at all in a lunchbox. Make sure the juice that you're giving her is not a fruit drink - I always buy Minute Maid orange juice box for morning snack, and make sure the apple & grape juices for lunch are 100% juice. Treetop is great. I've bought my kids those chocolate milk boxes, and all of them have thought that they're pretty gross. Get a small thermos for soup in the winter, if you put it in hot in the morning, it'll cool off to warm by lunch. Chicken noodle or vegetable is best, not cream soups.

Instead of packing cookies and hohos - put in applesauce single servings or fruit bowls. They now have fruit parfait bowls too - a peaches & cream is good, but I personally like apple cinnamon parfait.

Yeah..even moms eat the fruit bowls & peanut butter banana sandwiches! So says my unborn twins' cravings, anyways!

Answer 4

Lunchables
cheese and crackers
peanut butter and crackers
pb&j sandwich
tuna sandwich
turkey sandwich
salami sandwich
(sometimes make sandwiches with tortillas or pita bread for variety)
bagel with cream cheese
bagel with peanut butter
thermos of tomato soup
chicken soup
potato soup
cheese soup
mac and cheese
spaghetti
Spaghetti-o's
apples
bananas
grapes
applesauce
cottage cheese (some stores carry single serving sizes)
yogurt (I freeze the tubes of Go-gurt.....it stays cold and is mostly thawed by lunch)
cheese sticks
pretzels
chips
crackers
sliced bell peppers - different colors for variety
celery and carrots
(maybe dip for the veggies)
fruit roll ups
granola bars
small salad in one container, second smaller container with dressing she can pour on
Jello
pudding
thermos of hot water with a hot dog in it then bun in a ziplock bag

Be sure to occasionally include a little note or a sticker that she can put on her shirt.....my son loves that kind of stuff!

Answer 5

I loveeee lunchables they are awesome. Also, try to pack her little notes that say "i love you & thinking of you" My mom always did that and i loved it. There are not a lot of options as far as foods go that dont need to be chilled or heated. Instead of bread, use bagels. Make pizza bagels by melting cheese, and peporonies (i cant spell that sorry) and a little bit of sauce ( A LITTLE) lol. Put it in a baggie and it will be good at room temp. Cut out bologna and cheese sandwiches with cookie cutters to mix it up too. Another favorite was to take buddig beef slices (thin) and put a little cream cheese and rolling them up. Good luck!

Answer 6

Any interesting variation on the sandwich is the wrap. The simplest way to do a wrap is to use tortillas and spreadable or flat fillings. After rolling the wrap, you might want to consider slicing it into segments. Since wraps are fun to make, I suggest that you get your daughter involved in the preparation. This will better insure that she likes all the ingredients and she will have the pride of making her own lunch, just like a big girl.

Answer 7

You can make sandwiches out of almost anything: PB&J, turkey, chicken, hot dogs, roast beef, meatloaf, cheese, tuna, egg salad, chicken salad, etc. However, my mom used to take tupperware and put cheese, crackers, and lunch meat cut up like a lunchable (before there were lunchables). I loved making my own creation. You can try quesadillas or hard boiled eggs. My mom used to once in a while surprise us with a silly sandwich like peanut butter and m&ms or PB and chocolate frosting or PB and sugar. I know it's not healthy but it was fun to get a surprise once in a while. Cut up fruits and veggies to dip into different sauces are fun too. Good luck!

Answer 8

i would stick with the sandwiches - you can always alter the fillings and the shapes that you cut them for a variation if you wish. you can also try using different breads on different days too for variety (or even two breads on one sandwich for special occasions!)

a drink - either water or some fruit juice (with none of those Enumbers if you can find some like that)

then include a savory and a sweet snack

for my son it may include a cheese string and a cereal bar - both healthy eating

other ideas can be

apple
banana
pear
yogurt
breadstick
chicken drumstick
boiled egg
cheese
celery stick

all far healthier than chips

Answer 9

When my son went to kindergarten I packed different things daily. One day would be his favorite PB&J sandwich with a fresh piece of fruit. Then one day would be yogurt with a different fruit. when I did the grocery shopping for the week I let him pick a few thing that were good for him, he had fun doing that and always ate all of his lunch. Good Luck

Answer 10

Cheese or Nuts or cubes of coldcuts
Alternate different types of crackers
Various fruit or the fruit juices in a box that don't need refrigeration
Add regular sandwiches to the mix every once in a while
Cut up veggies and salad dressing packets she may like.
Cookies, pudding or crackers with jelly for dessert
Mix it up!

Answer 11

I know you know this, but try to send a balanced meal. Baby carrots with individual ranch dressing packs, apple slices (shake a little lemon juice with them in the ziplock bag to keep them from turning brown), grape tomatos, any type of meat/cheese sandwiches cut into shapes with cookie cutters (i.e. ham and cheddar, turkey and american, etc.), uncrustables peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (in the freezer section), raisins, apple sauce (remember to pack a spoon), string cheese, grapes, whole wheat crackers, ALWAYS a little something sweet for desert. Invest in ziplock bags and make your own "individual packs" from bags of chips, cookies, baby carrots, etc. rather than buying them pre-made. This is much less expensive. You can also make your own "lunchable" type meat, cheese and cracker lunches much cheaper on your own.

Things that don't pack well - bananas, sandwiches with mayonnaise, peanut butter and jelly with too much jelly (gets soggy), anything that needs to be heated up to taste good. Also, don't send anything to drink that is red or purple unless you just enjoy replacing your daughter's clothes.

Remember to pack napkins, utensils, etc. and try to package things in such a way that she can open them herself because there isn't always an adult available to help in a timely manner and the lunch time in school is traditionally quite short. This is another reason ziplock bags come in handy. Boxed juices rather than capri-sun type drinks are also easier for kids to open.

Good luck!!

Also, google "lunch box recipes" to get all sorts of ideas.