Great 'cheap but nutritious packed lunches' hunt

Doodles82

My daughter loves egg mayo sandwiches, however, they stink by the time lunch comes around! Any suggestions?

tuxgirl

Bread makes me incredibly bloated for some reason, so I could never have sandwiches in my packed lunch.

Mum used to pack buttered crackers with some ham/cheese/little bit of jam etc in a couple of little pots so I could make my own up at lunch time, and say she'd packed ham and cheese and I really didn't want cheese, I had that little bit of control, I could just have ham.

Pasta was always good too, and I loved when she'd do a similar thing with the pasta, pasta in one little tupperware and the sauce in another so I could dip.

millymm

elizab3th wrote: »

Hi, thanks for such good tips. Does anyone know ideas how to save money feeding the family too? I'm new here, so this might be the wrong place - if so sorry, but thanks for any good ideas!!
Liz

How about doubling up dinner & next day's lunch? Tuna pasta, or veggie pesto pasta ig good for next days salad pot for lunch. And only one lot of prep!
Or a 'tart" of some kind, ready roll puff pastry, make a kind of pizza with it, tomato, olives, feta/other cheese, veggies, ham etc.... anything goes - hot for dinner, cold for next day lunch. Looks like pizza so kids should be happy

7_week_wonder

Doodles82 wrote: »

My daughter loves egg mayo sandwiches, however, they stink by the time lunch comes around! Any suggestions?

I'm not sure if you got an answer to this, or how old your daughter is. But I get round this problem by packing slices of bread (with butter, marg or whatever on them) and then I put the egg mayo in a little tupperware box that I take separately. I can then construct the sandwiches at lunchtime.

frugalfrancesca

mcallister1 wrote: »

I know that I am over excited about the food flasks, but I wanted to share the unexpected consequence I have noticed. I should have realisd really- but the number of items per lunch has gone down. Because a packed lunch needed lots of bits to make it filling whereas the flask contains a proper meal, the snack bars/crisps etc are not really needed.
This week so far they have had
Monday - chunky chicken soup with pasta
Tuesday- leftover chinese meal from my daughter's 18th- this added to the treet credibility of the flasks
Wednesday- reduced healthy eating chilli con carne ready meal
Tomorrow- spagetti bolognese from freezer.
I am amazed at how hot the food stays- my son says he has to wait for it to cool down. All they are having with it is a little dessert and a snack for break.

I am rushing out to buy one today! I work part time in a card and gift shop and im the only worker that brings lunch (the rest live near so go home) and in winter its freezing and we have no microwave!! thankyou x

mrs_moneyspinner

Lots of brilliant ideas here already- just thought I would add our current favourite - Iceland chicken strips are about £2 a bag and go a long way, we cook them the night before, them put them in a wrap with shredded lettuce and cucumber, add the goujons and some sweet and sour sauce wiped inside the wrap. Our kids aare not sandwich eaters but will consume these.

andi_pandi

My boys have a small biscuit in their lunch box most days (by small I mean a mint Viscount or a Snack ) on the condition that they eat their fruit. No fruit eaten, then no biscuit in the lunch the next day.
I find this usually works. When they tell me other children have crisps and fizzy pop and 2 kit kats every day I feel a bit mean, but I think a little bit of something sweet after their lunch is fine by me.
Afterall, I always have a bicky with my cup of tea in an afternoon. It's all about balance and educating children about everything in moderation. If you ban 'treats' completely they will just go crazy for them when they can get their hands on them when they are older.

cheeswright

one of the best food flasks for younger kids is a "bento box" aladin make al plastic ones
they work really well
add a spork attached to the handle with a carribena so they dont loose it

there are single tier and two tier ones
they come with a divider pot too so you can have salad and a roll without it going soggy

my kids even take jacket potatoes with beans in these - although I do get told off if they dont get two sporks as it makes it a bit tricky

be warned there are imitations though that seem to let the food go cold -

Occy

Doodles82 wrote: »

My daughter loves egg mayo sandwiches, however, they stink by the time lunch comes around! Any suggestions?

Simple make them the night before and freeze them take them out in the morning to defrost in time. Keeps them fresh and prevents you eating them before lunch

mcallister1

fishooX wrote: »

what about keeping it SIMPLE???
Sandwiches with cheese or ham, apples, carrot sticks?
It won't get simpler and cheaper than that, will it?

Depends whether you get nice ham, which is not cheap. Plus, eating processed meat every day is not meant to be good or you. And people have many different dietary needs... I have had stop eating cheese because it is so fattening. I had sandwiches every day for years and years and if I can avoid them now I will. So bored with them.