lunchbox woes!

chocdonuty

Anyone else fed up with wasting money on lunchbox items only to find most of it returning back home and so throwing away as its gone warm by hometime?
Apparantly dd is just not hungry which is understandable as shes never been a big eater and would easily go without breakfast too if I let her!
She's not a small child (well apart from height wise) so shes obviously getting enough nutrition. I just refuse to send her with nothing . So this week im sending her with a combo of fruit, yogurt and a cereal bar/breadsticks or similar.
Does anyone have any ideas for more interesting lunches that can also be eaten quickly so dd can run off and play, which I suspect may be half the problem!

HappyMJ

I'd leave the yogurt out. Too messy and slow to eat...maybe a piece of cheese instead.

chocdonuty

I usually give her frubes, no messing with a spoon then

Xaniwoop

Cheese, crackers and some fruit?

How old is your DD? If she's young enough would making it look more appealing help?

Perhaps just a selection of tiny bits to nibble on like bitesize sandwiches, cocktail sauages, raisins etc

Mojisola

chocdonuty wrote: »

I just refuse to send her with nothing .

Then it's your problem rather than your daughter's.

One of mine went through a cold winter taking one slice of bread with butter on it for his packed lunch. It was all he wanted, anything else put in came back uneaten, he wasn't underweight and he wasn't starving when he came home from school so I went along with it.

I have no doubt there was gossip about it at school, especially as I was a Governor at the time but it was his dinner and I knew he ate well for all his other meals. It was only a phase and he gradually started asking for more stuff.

pigpen

would she prefer a dish of cold pasta or rice to sandwiches? couccous/hummus with breadsticks or crackers to dip might be more appetising.

cubes or sticks of cheese with raisins, mixed fruit.

I used the little lock & lock boxes .. about 3inches across and filled them with all manner of bits.. so much more got eaten..

Fruit that needed peeling was left so I'd put strawberries, chunks of melon or pear or whatever in a tub and it usually went.

z.n

I have found putting less items in works better- too many and something always gets left because of lack of time. So sandwich and an apple works better than lots of little pots-unless it is a rainy day.

WestonDave

You are probably right about the run off and play bit - I know our eldest will quite often refuse to eat some of his food so he gets longer playtime (and then comes home ready to chew the table legs with hunger!). Not a lot you can do about it - if she's coming home and still not hungry then cut down what is put in and maybe vary it so instead of having "meal" "fruit" "yoghurt" etc every day she gets meal and fruit one day, meal and yoghurt the next and so on (waits for flaming from the five a day police!). That way you have some control on variety and nutritional balance rather than her always picking the quickest things to eat - she'll probably sit and eat for a certain period whilst her friends are also eating but wants to be away with them.

Spendless

As well as cutting back on the amount of items in the lunchbox, what about starting to include some individually wrapped items. You could at least try them another day then if uneaten -obviously depending on what it is.

LolaLemon

having been doing packed lunhes for what feels like forever (hes only in primary one, but been having a packed lunch in nursery for 3 years too) i have finally whittled it down to bento style lunches. its more a japanese thing, but the general idea is small amounts of different foods that you can nibble on. so a small tub, get some silicon cupcake cases and chop up some ham, cheese, etc and place in the cases and squash them in. have little mini crackers for them to make thier own type of lunchables. a small handfull of fruit - strawberries, blueberries, raisins etc... small sandwiches - 1 slice of bread, use a cookie cutter and cut out some shapes, fil the shapes with cheese/ham/jam etc... i aim to include at least 1 veg and 1 fruit a day along with either sandwiches or pasta. and a little treat too - a few opal fruits/ 1 or 2 squares of chocolate...
Lately when i have been asking son what he wants all he is asking for is jam sandwiches so he gets them in a sandwich bag and then an apple or banana. (i have some pics of his and my lunches on my blog if u want a look...) but search out bentos for ideas - some are crazy waaay too much time has been spent on them haha
Lunch isnt boring is a good blog for some normal ideas (or is it lunch is boring? cant remember sorry - its my friends blog)

chocdonuty

Thanks for the ideas, ill get some crackers next time im shopping as she used to like those, always seems to go in phases lol, for the last month or so shes had a ham and grated carrot wrap which she seemed to want but often got eaten on the way home rather than lunch!
Dd is 10 and in year 6 so although funny shaped food is still good at home she probably wouldnt want to show her classmates
Will have a look at bento boxes too, seem to remember looking at some a few years ago and some were a work of art!