School Meals v Packed Lunch

Zziggi

margaretclare wrote:

There are apparently more and more vegans around, and they don't eat any animal products at all - no cheese, no milk (soya milk instead).

Have a look at their site: https://www.vegansociety.com

I was surprised - it really is quite edible!

Aunty Margaret

oooops, sorry about mentioning the vegan wine - forgot, you're Muslims!

No problem, thought it was quite funny really :rotfl:
I've also notice more and more vegan around too.

Peakma

My kids are rubbish at eating thier pack lunches,they get a treat( choc, cake etc) and a packet of crisps everyday which always get eaten, and a sandwich and piece of fruit which often comes home.Idealy I would never of started this trend, but if I switch to pasta salads-which they wouldn't eat, it just won't work.
Anyway what I was just pondering then( before I go and wash out the boxes,I wish I'd done it on friday!),and thought I'd see the general opinion, is which is healthier chocolate spread on good brown bread , or cheese saandwich on white bread?

Poppy9

Have you thought about school dinners. Your school should be able to give you a menu and information into the policy of how meals are prepared etc.

I gave up on sandwiches which were never eaten. I never got into the choccie bar thing, it was always sarnie, crisps and fruit. Crisps and fruit eaten but not sarnie.

I now pay £1.50 per day for school dinners as its a better balance. Kids can choose from hot or cold meals they just say at morning register. Cold meal is choice of sandwich i.e. ham, tuna, cheese or egg, plus homemade pizza slice or sausage roll followed by pud of the day or fruit. Hot meals are all made on the premises and vary from traditonal roast dinner to curry & rice.

Fizzy drinks and sweets are banned full stop. Crisps, choccie bars and squash only allowed in lunch boxes for consumption in dining hall. School studies healthy eating with the kids throughout the school so they are more aware of eating junk in moderation. The school also installed water machines.

If they insist on staying as sandwiches ( I know who's the parent ) what about using a reward chart - they are never too old. Choccie bar only on a friday if they have eaten sarnies and fruit during week.

Other ideas for lunch box beside pasta is pieces of chicken, raw vegetables, lump of cheese etc.

Sorry don't know about choc spread on brown versus cheese in white as I have never bought sandwich spreads but the cheese sarnie sounds better.

Good luck - these kids are sent to try us:D

[Deleted User]

The only thing with a reward system for sandwiches eaten during the week, is you never know if the sarnies are going to be "binned" under someone's hedge on the way home.....that way Mum's none the wiser and treat still given!!!

I know, I used to do it....!!!!!

I still dont know if the birds/animals ever got round to eating them, but several years later when that hedge got a severe hair cut, I dread to think what they found under there.

I have to say I eat all my sarnies up now!!

I reckon cheese sarnie is better than choccie spread.

filigree_2

The lunch lady at my son's school told me he was binning his sandwiches and only eating the snacks. I think in his case the problem was that he wanted to gobble his lunch quickly and go out to play, and being a kid he chose to eat the snacks in preference to the healthier items. For a few weeks I stopped giving him snacks altogether and he soon learned that he had to eat the sandwich or go hungry!

Sometimes I take him shopping and let him have some choice in what he has for snacks or sandwich fillings. Of course I don't let him dictate the shopping list, but I reckon if he is allowed to make suggestions he is more likely to get a lunch he enjoys.

bigmuffins

Hi
My daughter is the same - asks for choc/crisps treats and doesn't eat anything else or drink! School policy is no sweets and all rubbish is taken home - eco friendly, parents can see what has/not been eaten! Also saves school money on rubbish bags! No food sharing is allowed and no hot dinners are available so all kiddies have to have packed lunches! The prob is a lot of the packed lunches contain sweets/crisps etc so my daughter wants them too! Have recently started saying that only gets crisps etc at home time if all lunch eaten! I always pack a sandwich/pasta salad, fruit and/or carrot/cucumber sticks and a dip with a juice drink or water. All good stuff but still no joy! I think they just want to go out to play asap. Am fed up with chucking food away and having a starving, cranky junk food hoover at home time! Am now going to move tea to 4pm as soon as get in so at least will have eaten proper meal and can snack without me getting stressed!

Becles

Maybe you are putting too much food in and they are filling up on the junk food rather than the healthy food?

I had the same problem so cut out all the junk and just gave them sandwiches and fruit. If there is nothing else to eat, they will eat the healthy food. We've also talked a lot about healthy eating and it's working as they now ask for healthy food instead of junk.

They do get treats now and again, but usually as a reward. Maybe try the healthy food all week and a chocolate bar on a Friday as suggested above.

For alternatives to sandwiches, mine like cubes of cheese, cooked meats and crackers. It's like a Dairylea Lunchable that I've been pestered for, but made with decent ingredients at a cheaper price which I've explained to them and they accept. They are also like pitta breads stuffed with various fillings. You could try finger foods like carrot and cucumber sticks, or cherry tomatoes too.

Counting_Pennies_2

How about bridge rolls instead. They were always so much more fun than sandwiches when I was at school. Fill them with cheese and jam, or chocolate spread at first to encourage them to eat them, and then start introducing healthier fillings.

How about just one of the goodies you put in the lunchbox that way they will be hungry enough to eat the healthier options.

There are some great Goodies bars (in the baby section of supermarkets) they are lovely and are completely no junk, you could try that instead. Or a box of raisins?

There is also a product called Humzinger which is sold in the dried fruit section of supermarkets. It is a dried fruit bar, and very tasty.

HTH

Peakma

thanks for replies, but I still can't decide which is the healthier sandwich, any opinions?

swizzle_2

I would say the cheese on white, esp if it`s best of both and not cheap value stuff. Kids need fat and calcium, choc spread is just sugar
Although choc spread once or twice a week dosn`t harm, aslong as they eat.
My son at mo has ham everyday, not ideal but he will eat it.

I used to put loads in his lunch box, but it over faced him. Also he wanted to get out to play asap.
He has crisps on a friday, but just a few, he would be full with a packet.

Today he has a ham sandwich on white milk roll,sliced cucumber, a small choc chip cookie and a yougart, plus some fresh fruit juice. He also has fruit for morning and afternoon break.

I`d try yours with a sandwich, which you know they`ll eat, plus fruit, plus a few crisps, with a treat of say cake on a friday. If there old enough ask them what they`d like in there lunch and compromise.