Packed lunch ideas

HOLsale

something i've found is that even a cold toastie can be nice

plus, you can put food in a toastie that you'd never eat in a regular sandwich

you don't need a lot of filling and if you add in a bit of cheese, you can add the bits and bobs of most leftovers to it and have a respectable sandwich...

KTFrugal

3 great kid-tested sandwich fillings:

1. Philly cheese blended in the processor with sun dried tomatoes in oil - don't fret, you only need one or two to make an impact.

2. Banana and walnut/sunflower seeds.

3. The American classic, peanut butter and jam. You can buy no salt added PB and use your own jam and convice yourself that it's OK...

Swattie

I am also a fan of healthy lunch boxes and do the plain cheese, ham on wholemeal or pita with carrot sticks, fruit etc washed down with water or a carton of natural fruit juice.

Then we discovered wraps (there are wholemeal varieties) which made a nice change.

However, I still used to get requests for chocolate biscuits, crisps, etc.

So 1 day a week I'd include a packet of crisps and another day a chocolate bar. I would change the days each week so it was always a surprise. This seemed to do the trick.

Also, if there was a school trip or a special occassion, I used to include something special.

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi There

Been reading this thread and your ideas are great!!

My daughter is 10 and quite fussy.

I normally give her a sandwich/roll with either marmite, cheese, ham or choc spread. She also has a piece of fruit, squash, crisps and raisins in a bag. Reading all your suggestions-Im now unsure whether this is a healthy packed lunch

She eats well at home and eats her 5 portions of fruit and veg a day etc, we dont have take aways and I make everything from scratch. All meals are what I call "normal" meals, roasts, chops, toad in hole, spag bol, curry, chilli, cheesy pasta, etc, etc. Normally all meals are served with potatoes and at least 2 veg, unless pasta or rice etc.

I was thinking about cooking up some chicken pieces and doing rice/pasta & chicken for her packed lunch, but unsure how I should store this, can I freeze it etc etc???? Also, was thinking about making some HM sausage rolls & quiches-but have never made these before and was wondering again-how do I make these and how should they be stored??? Also the cheese straws???

If anyone can suggest any other ideas-I would be truly grateful!!

I wouldnt say my daughter is overweight-she is 10 and has size 4 feet :eek: She is very tall for her age and weighs 6 stone 8lbs. She is developing and know she will be starting her periods soon :eek: I was 11!! She has a multi vit each day and a large glass of milk as a top up.

Am I doing OK?? Im disabled and would hate to think Im hurting my daughter in anyway or stunting her growth etc.

Thanks in advance
Penny-Pincher!!
XXX

jellyhead

hi,
because we find packed lunches difficult because my child is faddy i make sure he eats healthily at home and i don't mind too much waht he has at school. it's important to eat slow release foods though, otherwise there's a sharp rise in blood sugar then a slump and that will affect kids in school. so i'd suggest if she has choc spread on her sandwiches you swap the crisps for an extra piece of fruit, and only put crisps in if she's eating 'food' on her sandwich instead of sugar, if you see what i mean. wholemeal or granary bread is better than white, especially if it's combined with choc spread or jam, and no-added-sugar squash or some juice is better than sugary squash if you're trying to avoid a meal that's too sugary. i don't think you're doing a bad job

Penny-Pincher!!

Thanks JellyHead

She is only allowed choc spread once a week, but she has said that if I can do chicken and rice/pasta etc-she will for go the choc spread :eek:

The squash she has is sugar free and has a small glass of apple or OJ with her breakfast. At her school they are not allowed any food till luch time-I feel this isnt sufficient as breakfast to lunch is a long time. I couldnt even cope with that :eek:

Breakfast is normally either egg & soldiers, toast & fruit, cereal & yogurt, egg on toast etc etc, always has a glass of juice and fruit is available as is natural yogurt and raisins.

I do push her at breakfast as it is a long time between eating etc and dont want her brain to drain LOL!!

She is doing very well at school and am so proud of her-she is registered blind but has limited vision. We recently had her SATs results back and she is in the top 20% of the UK :A Dead Chuffed :rotfl: So do not want her to start flagging now.

Maybe Im just worrying too much..lol.

Penny-Pincher!!
xxxx

jellyhead

hi,
is she allowed nothing at all between breakfast and lunch? that doesn't sound good :-( our kids take a snack to school for morning playtime and there used to be a toast shop selling toast, juice, milk etc. (but not sweets, unsurprisingly it was unpopular and closed down, the kids are allowed to bring in sweets and chocolate so there wasn't much interest in the toast shop). how come she can't have a mid morning snack? is she allowed to drink juice or milk during morning break?

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi Jellyhead

No nothing to eat at all!! :eek: She is allowed water only from the fountain. I assumed this was normal in juniors

Penny-Pincher!!
XX

Quackers

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

I assumed this was normal in juniors

Not in my daughters school. She is in year 6. All of the children in the junior school are allowed a snack during their morning break. They are only allowed fruit/nuts/seeds etc and milk/water/fruit juice. The school has a tuck shop too and they only sell the above stuff.

jellyhead

i've not heard of a school not letting them have anything but water before. ours lets kids have anything but most seem to limit the drinks and snacks to healthy options, nothing at all sounds very harsh to me - how do the little 4 year olds in reception class cope for so long without a snack?