Lunch box ideas for teenage boys

angchris

my 14 year old lad "doesnt do" brekfast no matter how much i try to tell him its good for him and will set him up for the day etc he`s just not interested:rolleyes: so i try to make sure his lunchbox is full of things that fill him up so its a slow burn of energy he gets but also have to be things that he wants to eat or i find it the next day rolling around in his lunchbox still! i always buy granary bread but he gets to choose the filling tuna/sweetcorn/red onion/mayo being his fav, bags of dried fruit/nuts, homemade flapjack with loads of seeds sultanas and nuts hidden in it, banana`s,kiwi, have also lately started buying organic liqourice sticks and health food type snack bars like sesame snaps, yoghurts are good too. i dont tend to put much sugary cake/biscuits/chocolate in his lunchbox as like queenie says they have a sugar slump half an hour after they have scoffed it and are "starving" again but i dont mind the odd snacksize milky way every now and then being slipped in.
having said all of the above he still comes in after school and demolishes a bowl of shreddies or weetabix before tea,he is a very active kid and loves sports so he certainly looks very healthy, i think kids are never happy unless they are eating my lad certainly eats a good twice as much as me a day:rolleyes:

katieowl_2

My 14 year old son won't take a lunch anymore - don't know what thats all about! He stopped eating it about 6 months ago and I kept finding squashed sarnies in his room, all mouldy :eek: ! Needless to say - I gave up making them. I tried a proper cooked breakfast for a bit, then he couldn't face that either, not every day, and I had to get up a half hour earlier....so he was having cereal (loads of sugar) and nothing else to last him till he got in from school.

When he gets in, he heads straight for the kitchen and practically hoovers the fridge out Surely if he was that hungry he would take food?

I've hit upon a healther breakfast (until the porridge season starts LOL) of museli with grated apple in it - I wish I could persuade him to take lunch (he doesn't buy food BTW so its not that!)

Another suggestion for a packed lunch - my kids and DH like cold home-made pizza

Regards

Kate

mhoc

ka7e wrote:

I would recommend getting as much porridge inside them at breakfast as possible! If you leave the oats to soak in milk overnight (in the fridge) it only takes a few minutes to zap in the microwave. Tart it up with stewed fruit or golden syrup, if it gets boring. It really is a good filler.
Bananas are another good source of calories without fat or extra sugar.
Try putting in some extra portions of fruit instead of the cakes - if they are really hungry they may eat them!
Lidl do cheap cartons of pure fruit juice (5 for 79p) which give a quick sugar rush!

Yes the younger is a porridge eater which is good, there is always too much so I have to eat some so that means i have to make time to eat as well.

Bananas are the ideal thing but they dont travel well and i dont think those quirky travel boxes for bananas could be condiered cool by teenage boys!

Mary

mhoc

HopeElizzy wrote:

Hi, I'm just starting to do a lunchbox for my daughter (4yo) as she started school today.........does this mean in 13 years time I'll still be doing it?:rotfl:

She only needs a small amount compared to your boys but I'm putting things like: crackers & cheese, HM raisin cookies, dried fruit, bagels with peanut butter, HM muffins, sandwiches with tuna or ham or sausage or chicken or salmon or egg and salad etc, popcorn, apples, satsumas, pears, bananas, carrots, cereal bars, chicken drumsticks, cherry tomatoes in her box.

I like the idea of peanut butter bagels. But you have to be careful with things like tuna and chicken drumsticks, even if you send them in insulated bags. Lunchbags left are superheated cloakrooms or classrooms for several hours. Also ours have to bring their rubbish home so bags full of chicken bones etc might be a bit rife by the time they are empitied!

Mary

mhoc

anniebooklover wrote:

mhoc, are you sure your sons are hungry and not just thirsty??? You didn't mention how much they drink in a day. I was told that when I felt hungry I should take a drink of water first as the body expresses thirst as hunger. Do they have plenty of water in their lunch bags? (sorry, don't mean to preach but my daughter doesn't drink nearly enough and complains of being hungry a lot. Having a drink of water makes her feel much better and she will admit that she was actually thirsty not hungry.)

Yes, this is very likely. They take bottles of water but the school especailly in the winter months is very hot, they sweat a lot and there is a lot of walking involved. The teachers are supposed to have jugs of water on their desk but I am not sure this always happens. Also no-one uses the water fountains for hygiene reasons and they avoid the loos unless they are desperate to go, despite the loos just being refurbished!

But encouraging them to take extra bottles is something I can get them to do and making sure I have water in the car when I pick them up as well.

Mary

tiff

mhoc wrote:

I like the idea of peanut butter bagels. But you have to be careful with things like tuna and chicken drumsticks, even if you send them in insulated bags. Lunchbags left are superheated cloakrooms or classrooms for several hours. Also ours have to bring their rubbish home so bags full of chicken bones etc might be a bit rife by the time they are empitied!

Mary

I use one of those mini ice packs or sometimes a full size one as one of the kids has a large lunch bag.

thriftlady_2

Cold sausages are my suggestion, maybe with a little pot of ketchup to dip.My 11 yo likes sausage and pasta salad.

Smashing

katieowl wrote:

My 14 year old son won't take a lunch anymore - don't know what thats all about! He stopped eating it about 6 months ago and I kept finding squashed sarnies in his room, all mouldy :eek: !

When he gets in, he heads straight for the kitchen and practically hoovers the fridge out Surely if he was that hungry he would take food?

If he's anything like the boys I went to school with, he's probably too busy playing football at lunchtime - can't be doing with eating - there's pride at stake here!