Let’s Talk About Kids Lunches

[Northendzone]

Both my kids eat thier lunch at school and I am looking for some fresh ideas on what to offer them.

If there are 200school days in a year, I swear my son would eat ham sausage 180 days and not complain.

My daughter is seemingly in a bun and butter for lunch phase.

Neither one of them eat fish. My wife and I feel like we are in a food loop that is seemingly not very different from week to week.

What are some things you give your kids for school lunch?

[BigNumbers]

Nothing valuable to add as my wife packs the kids lunches... I just remember, as a kid, pining for:

[photon]

Watch out for those Lunchables, many of them are sky high in sodium (like most of a kid's daily intake in one meal, sometimes even most of an adult's)

[81MC]

Let’s talk about “let’s talk about”. It’s implied a forum thread will contain discussion about the topic. “Let’s talk about” is needless.

[Wormius]

Sandwiches. You can switch up a lot of things in that respect. I try to make them novel. Couple of times cut up some hot dogs and put them in grilled cheese sandwiches. Otherwise, sometimes send them with pasta or fried rice in that we make at home. Sometimes Pizza Pops as an emergency. We don’t pack and drinks except water. For snacks, we used to freeze yogurt tubes and send them, but they don’t seem keen on that anymore. Mostly sandwiches though because they are convenient, can put them vegetables on and they are generally easy and fast to eat since they would rather spend their time playing than eating.

[MacDaddy77]

We use bento boxes and rotate the kids lunches

They will get in any given week any of the following mains and always a fruit and veggie for lunch, yogurt/apple sauce and goldfish or something for snack

Mains

1. Sandwiches
2. Wraps
3. Snacky lunch in bento (salami, crackers and cheese)
4. Pita pizza

Kids also have a thermos so on winter weeks they will get a soup or Alphagetti to switch it up

[troutman]

Originally Posted by 81mc

let’s talk about “let’s talk about”. It’s implied a forum thread will contain discussion about the topic. “let’s talk about” is needless.

+ 1000

[Peanut]

My daughter is basically existing on cheese-strings and crackers at this point. And milk. The rest of her lunch comes back untouched in her lunchbox 80% of the time.

Sandwiches? Nah. Leftover pizza? Nah. Pasta? Nah. Granola bars? No thank you. Yogurt? Oh hell no. I think she would probably be happy with a butter & jam bun everyday but that’s basically a dessert. Sigh.

[KTrain]

We have small thermos that keep hot stuff hot till lunch time so I’ll often microwave leftover chilli or hamburger soup, throw it in the thermos and they’re good to go.

My kids don’t get access to a microwave until grade 7 so options are limited.

[activeStick]

During elementary school, I lived close to home, so I'd walk home for lunch every day and get a nice, hot, home cooked lunch. I remember after some time, a couple of close friends that lived further from their homes would come with me and my mom would feed all of us.

In junior high, I lived further and packed Western style lunches (sandwiches, etc) but I never enjoyed it as much as a Chinese lunch, so after a while, my parents started packing Chinese food for me to heat up which I loved. I remember hearing from other parents that they tried doing the same with their kids, but they'd get embarrassed when non-Asian kids would tease them for bringing Asian food, but I rarely experienced that so didn't even give it a second thought. The rare times I ever heard anything, I just looked at their plain sandwiches and was just happy I had what I brought instead!

[Bunk]

Leftovers are the best. Kill two birds with one stone while cooking dinner anyway.

[afc wimbledon]

get a little thermos pot, gives you the option of soup, leftovers, burritos etc

[jeffporfirio]

Our kids usually take sandwiches (grilled cheese, ham, and yes Nutella!), leftover pizza or homemade salads.

[puffnstuff]

Sandwiches everyday gets old quick. Try soft tortillas, with leftover chicken, shredded cheese, lettuce, peppers, cucumbers. Or pita shells filled wiith the same. Much easier to stuff those with different flavors compared to two slices of bread and some random meat.

[#-3]

Originally Posted by photon

Watch out for those Lunchables, many of them are sky high in sodium (like most of a kid's daily intake in one meal, sometimes even most of an adult's)

Allot of salt yes.

But lets not demonize specific foods, salt, especially ionized salt is a pretty important part of our diet.

While its easy to eat to much, its probably more important to give kids a healthy understanding of food. The idea that cutting out salt or sugar or fat or carbs..... is a cure all, healthy that is not. Let them eat a lunchable, just not every day.

[Titan]

We get the pulled chicken from the deli at sobeys and put that on a wrap with caesar dressing. Lots of chicken noodle soup and very often leftovers warmed up and put in a thermos. My Favourite Day Of The Week is the fun lunch where they order in some fast food. That is my Christmas morning.

[OMG!WTF!]

I think the only way I would give my kid a Lunchable is if my house blew up and we spent the night in a van and the van was parked in the lot of a 7-11 in the Auslander part of a city with a dark soul and I had to give all the bananas and Kashi bars I got from the last grocery store to guys with bottles on their fingers. Then as morning's merciful dawn came and I went to the 7-11 and it had been entirely looted in the purge except of course for the Lunchables, then I'd buy one of those handy and delicious salt bombs.

[rbochan]

They eat what you provide them. Or they go hungry.

Feed them well.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by jeffporfirio

Our kids usually take sandwiches (grilled cheese, ham, and yes Nutella!), leftover pizza or homemade salads.

Nutella? Doesn't that get kyboshed with the allergy restrictions?

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by rbochan

They eat what you provide them. Or they go hungry.

Feed them well.

I think the OP is asking for different ideas on what to provide them. And different ways to feed them well. Not platitudes.