Let's start a school lunch idea thread.

That way, when your child is saying, "Not another (fill in the blank) for lunch" you can pop on here and get some new ideas.

I will feature articles with school lunch recipes in the future, but thought this would be a good means for ongoing talks about school lunch ideas.

I'll make this a sticky, so it will stay at the top of the page, and then you won't have to scroll down to find it.

I have a page on my health and wellness site dedicated to finding
Healthy School Lunch Ideas

Basically how and what to choose to give your kids healthier options. One way to avoid complaints is to take your child grocery shopping and see what they'd like to buy for their lunch. I used to do this with my daughter and some of her choices surprised me-but she did eat them.

Ok, here's what my daughter the unbelievable fussy eater takes for lunch...

A DanActive drinkable yogurt thing (dairy & protein)
fresh strawberries cut up (fruit)
corn chips (starch)

If I pack anymore than that, she brings back the food & tells me she doesn't have enough time to eat it. From what I can figure out, they only give kids about 20 mins for lunch. Not too bad if you bring your own lunch, but if you get the hot lunch you may only have 5 mins to eat it by the time you get your food & sit down.

My daughter was never much of an eater when she was small. I packed her lunch so I could see what she was eating and she never caught on to throwing it away so I wouldn't know-lol.

You're right, they don't give kids much time to eat but also they can't force kids to eat their lunch anyway anymore-parents complain if their kids are "forced" to do anything. My sister has worked in a school cafeteria for 20 years and I worked there too for about a year as a sub. Kids throw away entire trays of food or else they choose pizza every day as their main meal.

My stepdaughter told me one time in middle school that she was very dizzy after school. I asked her what she ate and she said "Nachos and lemonade." I gave her a little lecture on proper nutrition but I imagine she went and ate the same thing the next day.

Oh, my kids are just the opposite!

I don't know if it's because they are involved in such vigourous sports (competitive cheerleading and kayaking) or because they just naturally have high metabolisms (you would never believe they were mine looking at them - tall and skinny!) but they EAT!

I would always get notes from the cafeteria saying that I owed money, when I knew I had sent in the proper amount - but it was because they were grabbing an extra apple or 2 or something else (especially once my son hit teenage years!)

But they are definietly fans of homecooking, and would much rather take their lunches than buy at school. The high school is esepcially hard to get through the line and have time to eat.

I generally try to make extra of whatever dinner, and put it up, and figure out something to make for lunch the next day...

Exmaple: Dinner - Baked chicken, macaroni & cheese, broccoli, Lunch - Tortilla chips, chopped up chicken, shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. for chicken nachos that they don't have to heat up. Plus a yogurt and some kind of fruit and a granola bar (they might eat this at lunch or during some other part of the day as a snack). They can either buy a milk or take a bottled water.

The 4 (whoops 5) year old wants to eat exactly what the other two are eating, but Pre-K here in GA deosn't allow lunches to be brought in, it must be supplied by the school. Since Pre-K is paid for by the state - I guess it is their way of making sure kids have at least one balanced meal a day. And he generally likes what they have, so no big problem. I'm sure when he starts Kindergarten next year he'll want to bag it, though.

I was involved in sports in high school and didn't eat right, I know. Once I got to college, I played sports for 2 years and we were given some training in nutrition to play and with good food in me, I did play better!

Thank you all so much! Those are wonderful ideas!

Here's another one--a deli sandwhich without the bread. Take a few slices of turkey or other meat and lay on a flat surface. Add a little cheese, maybe some cucumber slices or bell pepper cut up (or whatever else your child likes), and then roll it up like a fruit roll up. You can leave it like that, or place in a large piece of lettuce and wrap it in that.

Maybe add a dash or mustard or sauce if they like that?

I'll keep thinking of some more ideas, and please keep the ideas coming!

I always hated school lunches and its obviously a problem in schools across the country (I just happened to watch Shaq's Challenge on television) So I think this is a very important subject.. Teach them healthy eating habit while they are young.. I remember too many lunches where I just ate a Pay Day and Peanut M&Ms because the cafeteria grossed me out.. not very healthy!!

I did do a search on this topic and found this suggestion:

What are some ideas for healthy school-sack lunches?

I thought these were great suggestions: Kids are more likely to eat foods they help prepare. Get them involved in making their school lunches. Take them to the grocery store, and let them pick some new foods to try from the produce department and the canned food aisle.

A recent study published by kid marketing group Just Kid showed that most children between the ages 2 and 12 think that scooping, dipping and adding toppings make food and drinks more fun to eat. Pack snacks like a healthy salsa made with canned tomatoes, black beans and corn, or hummus, made with canned chickpeas. Serve them with cut raw vegetables, crackers or pita bread, and let kids dunk, dip and scoop away.

Creativity also helps catch kids' eyes and may encourage them to try new, nutritious foods. Try cutting sandwiches into fun shapes, make silly faces with ingredients in a wrap or fill their lunch bags with brightly colored foods.

Hi Raleigh

Thanks so much for this tip! I think that's an excellent link with practical ideas that parents can use when packing school lunches.

Thank you again for posting it!

Here i got really my kind of stuff. thanks for posting it.

I appreciate this thread. Honestly packing school lunches is something I detest doing. So my kids usually go through the lunch line at school. But for the days when I do pack, you all have given me some great ideas. And my kids may actually eat them!

Just a side rant here. Our kid's school makes such a big deal about how nutritious their lunches are.(And they are!) They also want the kids to bring a snack to eat in their classrooms during the day. But it has to be a nutritious snack. Parents can come and eat lunch with their kid, but they cannot bring outside food like McDonalds, Subway, Wendy's and the like because of the nutritional guidelines of the school. So my rant is, if they are so picky on nutrition, then WHY does the lunchroom sport TWO Slush Puppy machines and they sell unhealthy snacks to the kids! Talk about hypocrits! This is an elementary school too! My SIL is PTA president this year, so maybe we can get something done about it. It just irks me, that's all! Thanks for letting me rant a little!

I say copy the lunchables ideas. Crackers and meat and cheese for snacks.

You can also cut up vegetables and put in a little container of dressing for them to dip.

Little premade cups of fruit, yogurt, pudding, flavored applesauce, jello, etc

Brightparis! Thanks for the nice post!

Hello Collier5! I know exactly what you mean about having a healthy lunch right next to the unhealthy stuff. Go figure!

Hey Robin! I love the idea of copying the lunchables box. And probably for a lot less than you’d spend on the box! Thank you!

If anyone else has school lunch ideas, please add them to our list!

I have a page on my health & wellness website with many healthy school lunch ideas

One of my more popular pages this time of year.

Y'all are not going to believe what my kids asked me to pack in their lunch for them - sushi!

I think I may have the only children in the world (well, the US at least) that would think to ask for that.

Obviously I'm not going to be using fresh Ahi Tuna, but they love the "Bagel Roll" that our restaurant makes. And that is easy enough to make and store - just uses smoked salmon, avocado, green onions, cream cheese, rice & seaweed.

I don't see my kids trading lunches with anyone!

There are some great ideas on here. I have a 5th grader that eats so much food, I just about end up filling up an entire paper lunch bag to the top. He has a bottomless stomach, so it's hard to find hearty yet healthy lunches for him.

Have any of you ever thought of using bento boxes? They're small but surprisingly filling. Also, a lot of the stuff you put in it can be prepared ahead of time. You can get an idea of what I'm talking about by looking at some bento lunches on Flickr..http://www.flickr.com/groups/bentoboxes/
Some people go crazy and make their bento lunches a work of art, but a nice variety of food is all you really need :P

I would have loved these when I was a kid.

There are two camps of kids in regards to bringing lunches from home:

1. Kids who don't want to stick out and bring anything different. They're the ones who would rather bring a PB&J even if they didn't like it.

2. Kids who don't care what other kids think and will bring anything they like to eat.

My son fell into category 1. My daughter fell into category 2. She loved the little bento box I bought for her, complete with little chopsticks. I filled it with steamed rice, kamaboko (fishcake), teriyaki chicken bites, noodle salad, pickled cucumbers, fruit, etc. Some of the other kids were envious; others wrinkled their noses. But she just munched away happily. Some days, I filled it with leftovers from the night before and tucked in some salad and fruit.

Sometimes, I included sushi rice, but never raw fish (ahi tuna or such) because of the lack of refrigeration.

She just loved that so much.

My son, on the other hand, complained when I made shaped cut-outs from his sandwiches because it "embarrassed" him. He was in kindergarten, for pete's sake! And he disliked the taste of the Lunchables but would rather bring that because the other kids approved. Can you say esteem issues?!?! And he was the oldest child!

Thanks for the useful posts above. I really liked joanj's idea about taking your kid grocery shopping. We can expect less fussy kids when it comes to eating, if they are allowed to pick up their own food choices.

Homeremediescures,

The link in your post is broken and goes to a blank page.

If you have another link that will provide information and tips for school lunch ideas, we'd love to see it.

In the meantime, are all of the school lunch makers having a nice break from making school lunches? Granted, I guess there's still lunch that has to be made in the summer, but is it a bit more relaxed?

Hi!

I think I cut off the l at the end of the link, so it was htm instead of html. Ops--it must have been before my caffeine had a chance to kick in.

Thank you for the link. Those are great ideas for healthy snack ideas for lunches--for kids and adults.

I love the "Instead of this choose that" chart. That's very helpful!

Thank you again!

Now might be a good time to check with your child's school, and find out if there are any restrictions on food items for lunch.

For example, many schools have a 'no peanut' policy, etc.

If your child has food allergies, or you know someone who has, the The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network can help.

They offer websites for kids, teens, and adults coping with food allergies:

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network

I hope everyone is enjoying these last few weeks of summer!

Good idea to check with the school...my grandson's school has a no peanut butter policy. It is going to make it very hard..he loves his fruit and vegies and his peanutbutter.
Sundancer
www.mikessportingoods.ecrater.com

Hey Sundancer!

Many parents decide to make the after school snacks from the items that are not allowed in school lunch.

For example, if your grandson loves fruits and veggies with peanut butter, that can be his special after school snack.

Or, it might be a fun time to try out some new nut free dips--not to replace the peanut butter, but to be able to bring it to school.

The other day at the store, I ran into a Mom shopping with her kids. The Mom was making it so exciting for the kids, because they had a list of new snacks to try. In reality, it was the "nut free" list, but the Mom was making it more of a game.

They were having so much fun that I wanted to play too, lol!

Restaurant Leftovers!

If your family have a favorite restaurant or two, call and find out what their weekly specials are.

It's a great way to save money, and leftovers can be used for school lunches the next day or two.

And, even if it's not on special, usually the portion sizes are so huge that they easily allow for tasty school lunches the following day.

Of course, if your child's school has a food allergy policy, the leftovers may be better served for a work lunch or at home lunch.

Coming up soon on the Cooking for Kids site, I'll give you recipes for turning popular restaurant leftovers into tasty second meals for your kids.

What are some more school lunch ideas that you use?

Kids love pizza and I make this easy pizza bread that tastes good cold. So easy to make it the night or day before and slice for lunch the next day.

Pizza Bread
1 loaf frozen bread dough
pizza sauce
favorite pizza toppings, diced small
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet. Roll out the bread dough to a small rectangle. Spread with pizza sauce. Not too much. Less is more. You should be able to see the dough through the sauce in spots. Top with your favorite pizza toppings. Starting at one of the longer edges, roll up the dough. Pinch edges to seal. Brush with olive oil. Bake until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped.

Allow to cool. Slice to serve.

Kids love the swirled pizza bread!

My kids love breadsticks and a side of pizza sauce for dunking, too. They are pizza crazy!

Friendlygirl, that sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing!

Just a reminder to think "school or work" leftovers when it comes to holiday meal planning.

Many of us are exhausted after the holidays, and planning now will save you time later.

Even if your kids will be out of school for a few days or a week after Christmas, you can still plan for their lunches at home by using holiday leftovers.

If you need help with leftover ideas, simply post the holiday menu items that you think you'll have a large amount of leftovers, and we'll help you come up with creative "new" dishes.