What do you send your primary school kids for lunch?

Question

I have a 9 year old at school who doesn't stop eating, and a 5 year old about to start who eats like a bird. School lunches will be tricky. What do your kids take?

Answer 1

Disregard Dr. Philamena. Peanut butter is a wonderfully nutritious choice if your child is not allergic. Yes, there are kids who have severe allergies (NOT 10%, however--less than 1%), Your children's school would have notified you if any classmates were among the very small population that have fatal allergies.

My son enjoys cheese and crackers, peanut butter sandwiches, pepperoni slices, yogurt, applesauce, pretzels, waffle sticks & maple syrup, goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, beef stew in a thermos, cereal bars, apples, oranges, grapes, watermelon...

Take your children shopping with you to let them pick out some nutritious snacks. They'll be more apt to eat them if they pick them out themselves!

Answer 2

I honestly think the show has over exaggerated or at least found the worst of the worst. I have worked in a school for the past three years. We are a small public school but nationally accredited for academics and the food is great, I eat it myself. Portion sizes are well controlled and the food is healthy, though on occasion (ex., the once a month birthday lunch) the kids get a reduced fat cup of ice cream. About the packed lunches, I also think that show highlights the worst of the worst. Having served lunch duty many times I have never once seen a child with a sack lunch like that. Most kids bring a sandwich (ham and cheese, turkey and cheese or pb&j), an apple or other fruits (some kids parents send the prepackaged fruits, but I've seen a lot with fresh fruit such as pineapple or orange slices), pretzels, and yogurt. Some of the kids bring capri sun pouches, but mostly they are able to go get a carton of milk from the cooler at the school. The kids have an option of Skim Milk, 2 percent or Skim chocolate. Also, in our school, when offered chips (crisps) they are baked or sun chips only. All foods are baked and when we do get the birthday lunch (usually pizza) kids are given the option of pepperoni or cheese in half or whole square slices and it is homemade, not processed. Again, I think that show has picked out the worst of the worst, though I do think that some are just that bad.

Answer 3

My kids are all about snacks. For lunch, we will pack a no-crust sandwich on wheat bread (sometimes we will use a wheat HB or HD bun). Occasionally, in the winter, they like campbell's chunky soup in a soup thermos as their lunch. But it is really all about the snacks. They usually get a 100% juice juicebox or parmalat milk box and a bottle of water. Then we pack whole fruit (clementines, apples, grapes, bananas), Dole fruit cups (one likes mixed fruit or pineapples - the other likes the manderine oranges). We also pack cheese sticks, granola bars, raisins, 100 calorie snack packs, yougart, pudding or yougart covered pretzels.

Since my kids are gone from 7:45am until 6pm, I usually pack the following:
1 water bottle for their afterschool program
1 juice or milk box for snack (they get milk at school for lunch)
3 snacks (AM, lunchtime and PM)
1 napkin
1 spoon
and I always send in a small bottle of purell incase they don't wash their hands before they eat. They are in Kindergarten and 1st grade and both are very consious that germs can make you sick - and they don't like being sick.

Good luck with your lunchtime woes.

Answer 4

My boys are real picky eaters, so I do send things I know they will eat.
Peanut butter and Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) on whole wheat because they don't like jelly.
Tang from mix but not at full strength, because its too sweet, but there are a lot of vitamins in the Tang.
Goldfish or white cheddar crackers
Fruit snacks with vitamin C, yogurt, granola bars. Sometimes fig newtons for fiber and popcorn for my youngest.
Try to stay away from chips, sodas, and candy because they have no nutritional value and they contribute to childhood obesity.

Answer 5

My son is a picky eater as well (6) so I understand what you are going through.
If he eats like a bird he will benefit in healthy snacks..
Most of the foods that the cafeteria serves at my sons school is not what he likes to eat, he begs me to pack him something..
Ask him what he likes to eat, and come up with a healthier alternative..if he wants Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich give him Apple Slices with Peanut Butter...Trailmix (Raisins, Nuts, ect)
Stringcheeses,Yogurts, Granola Bars, Applesauce packs, Carots and Ranch packs.You don't have to give him a Sandwhich to school everyday. .just ask him in the evening what he would like to eat,and pack his lunch together, Have him make it..I have found that this works well.

Answer 6

Just read other answers... most schools dont allow peanut butter or nutella and other nut derived products as many children have severe allergies. You might like to try what I do. I have a Big snack bowl. It contains fruit sticks, museli bars, bags of popcorn, rice crackers etc. each morning my daughter (who has just started kinder) chooses what she would like in her lunch box and packs it herself.
On top of this I make her a sandwich and pack her a piece of fruit everyday.
This works for me because i dont have to think about it... and she gets what she wants to eat each day. (she has to show it to me before it is packed to avoid any unforseen disasters).

Hope this helps!!!

Answer 7

This morning I sent my daughter off with a packet of frozen hamfingers (in Oz Summer conditions they'd defrost & safely eaten cold by lunch) one Peach, 2 egg tomartos, 2 small eden cheese, a small baked roll ("health bar" sase) & a slice of watermellon wraped in cling wrap. The frozen drink on top will help keep the fruit fresh by lunch.

I forgot to toss in the Snow peas & small carrot she loves to eat.

Answer 8

I let them help me pack there lunch, usually what they eat at home for lunch is what I pack. A sandwich or some cheese and crackers, grapes pudding chips, I have boys so they are always hungry

Answer 9

I personally eat (i'm in year 9 in australia) i eat a lebanese bread wrap with hommus instead of margarine, tomatoes, ham or and type of meat, with lettuce and boy! yummy!, for lunch but for recess i just eat a peach or bananas (even though they were very expensive lol!) but sometimes my mum give me left over filipino or chinese food that she had made the day before and put it in a flash or container!

Answer 10

Find some healthy things each of them like, and pack that. My children are 5 (not in Kindergarten yet) and 3 so I'm not much help.