Kids pack lunches (school)

Jagraf

pigpen wrote: »

I did ours the night before.

defrosted bread is even more disgusting than non-frozen bread.. it goes soggy and gross if wrapped or hard and stale if not.. I wouldnt eat it and wouldnt expect the children to either.


Make them together.. you do sandwiches, they get fruit/yoghurt/drinks.. one task each.. you could make them up while cooking dinner .. all sorted in next to no time!

Frozen sandwiches I make never ever go soggy. It depends what you put in them, obviously, and how they are prepared and wrapped and stored. I've only been doing it the last year or so.

I use really fresh bread so it's frozen while it's fresh and I don't put any soggy filling in it (I never did this when making sandwiches that had to hang around in lunch boxes anyway as they go soggy by lunchtime whether they've been frozen or not).

Out of interest how do you keep your yogurts cool til lunchtime? I always find they are warm by then unless using coolers.

Spendless

Jagraf wrote: »

Out of interest how do you keep your yogurts cool til lunchtime? I always find they are warm by then unless using coolers.

I use the tube yogurts that I freeze. These defrost by lunchtime and have the added bonus of being a 'cooler' during the warmer months.

Jagraf

Spendless wrote: »

I use the tube yogurts that I freeze. These defrost by lunchtime and have the added bonus of being a 'cooler' during the warmer months.

Ah yes I remember those x

Threebabes

Just me and my hubby take packed lunches.

He takes sandwiches made night before, I take in usually the evening meal leftovers of the night before.

I found making the lunches a chore but my 3 now either eat at home (son) or the girls eat at school. They are segregated from the school dinners if you take packet lunch.

Lunar_Eclipse

Night before here, just before I go to bed. I always feel too tired!

Usually a sandwich/wrap, salad based lunch box or deliberate leftovers (pasta bake, enchilada, frittata.) Sometimes, very occasionally, I make things especially, like a cous cous dish, potato salad & sausages etc.

Typically a protein source and cheese or yoghurt, plus fruit and/or veggies are added. Crackers, cheese & grapes are nice. DH often takes nuts which schools understandably disallow or discourage. I made chocolate brownies last night, so DD1, who has her first GCSE today (!) has a piece of this with her.

The three packed lunchers here (in Summer) are all very different. DH is happy with exactly the same lunch every day, DD2 really likes variety, and DD1 is happy with anything. Two only drink water throughout the day, the other is getting much better at that.

When the girls were much younger (4-7), they had 'treats' (I never call them that!) on school trip days only (crisps, chocolate wafer, juice etc.) At junior school age 'puddings' (DD2's words) became a daily necessity, because otherwise school dinners looked more attractive: she is observant! Now they're teenagers, they are conscious of what they eat and how it makes them feel, and often feel too full for a pudding, unless it's a favourite perhaps.

I think a carton of juice plus a treat item or more of food is too much for daily consumption for young children, especially considering this is not usually the entire daily junk (sugar) food allowance. We have a serious obesity issue in the UK, and we only have to look at the typical diet of pre-schoolers to understand why. I can recall a weekly packet of crisps being a real treat. And I'm fairly sure this was the norm in the 70's. My grandma reminds me often that everyone eats far too much these days (myself included.)

Lunar_Eclipse

Sorry, no idea what our lunches cost, but just this year I decided to buy the food I want us all to eat, regardless of the cost.

I'm fortunate to be able to do this, and I'm not talking about utter extravagance, but even something like fish twice a week is very expensive and something I avoided for years. But then I realised how important food is to how we feel, our energy levels, health and even academic performance, if we can somehow find a way to have the choice. So I've made it our one area in which to buy quality. (And I'm astounded by the difference it's made by the way!)

Rosemary7391

I typically take frozen sandwiches - make sure the bread is thinly covered in butter/spread so the filling doesn't make it soggy. A week in the freezer is fine, and it defrosts during the morning. I also take dried fruit and nuts, a stick of celery and/or fresh fruit. Sometimes carrot sticks (put them in a bag with an ice cube). I try and measure everything out into little pots the night before, so in the morning all I have to do is chop veg if I'm taking it and remove the sandwich from the freezer. As an alternative to sandwiches I've been known to take Ryvita and egg mayo, coronation chicken or even frozen pate, to spread when I'm at lunch.

TBagpuss

I agree wit hthe sugestions to freeze the sandwiches and/or get the children to make their own (under your supervision, to ensure its done)
In my epxerience frozen bread doesn't go soggy. You have to think about the fillings - don't but lettuce or other salad veg in the sandwiches if you plan to freeze them, give the any veg separately.
Other than rolls/sandwiches you could also try cold (home made) pizza, pasta/rice salads.

If you don't want to freeze sandwiches, get the childre to make their own the night before- kep in the fridge over night and they will be fine in the morning.

I don't usually freeze sandwches but I do freeze bread, and make sandwiches using frozen bread in the morning. they defrost over the course of the morning and taste nice and fresh at lunch time.

Dustyblinds

I used to make the kids packed lunches up the night before. They would have a sandwich, yogurt, crisps and a cereal bar, they usually had the cereal bar at first break. Once a week they would get pasta with cheese ham and a little bit of mayo and salad, another day would be mini cheddars or crackers, cheese and chopped ham (home made dairylea lunch able )
Now that we're all working, lunches are usually left overs, salads, pasta bake, mini quiches, frittata. We very rarely take sandwiches, in fact I would consider a sandwich and a bag of crisps a treat, as let's face it, you can't eat a sandwich without a bag of crisps can you?

Happier_Me

DD takes pack up because she will not eat school dinners and I am a little ashamed to admit that she takes whatever is easy (and probably not very MSE).

She usually takes a combination of chocolate briocche rolls:o, yogurt, breakfast bars, a variety of fruit (some packaged such as pineapple, melon, apple and grapes), raisins, cheese dippers plus a bottle of flavoured water. Occasionally she takes a sandwich made the night before or leftovers such as tuna pasta and pizza.

It is her responsibility to make it (aged 10) although I probably make it a couple of times a week.