BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Cooking For Kids School Lunch Ideas

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.