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School lunches for 11 yr old

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I know this has been asked and discussed before but I’ve not seen anything recently and wanted some up to date ideas please.
My daughter just started high school and has lunches. They’re approx £3.50 for a meal and drink at the school canteen.
I’m struggling to keep up with paying for everything for school and home etc on my own income. So, what nice lunches can she take with her? She’s not overly fussy and will generally eat what she’s given. As the weather is turning I’d like hot things that can go in a small hot food flask. She likes wraps and things so that’s easy enough but the hot food ideas I might struggle with.
Any tried and tested things?
It surely must workout less than £3.50 a day?!

Comments

  • quintwins
    quintwins Posts: 5,179 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I give my 12 year olds a sandwich/roll/cheese and crackers then a yogurt, piece of fruit and some sort of dessert item (cake bar at 10 for £1, chocolate mousse 6 for 80p, chocolate digestive bars 18 for £1.30 or a bag of crisps from a multipack at 10p each). Works out at less than £1 each. I have 4 who take pack lunch so it saves me a fortune. I've had no complaints.

    also if she likes wraps make her wee pinwheels, mine hate wraps)
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  • caronc
    caronc Posts: 8,533 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Goodness that soon mounts up cost wise each week. However, while you say she will eat most anything at High school peer pressure/wanting to be like her mates may well kick in. While you might want her to have hot food, would she want to spend the time eating that or would be happy with "grab and go" options like wraps or picky bits? It may well depend on what her social group are doing. If in a flask would be ok with her soups, stews and LOs are great, always in small chunks and nothing too "smelly" are good - what are her favourites? If it's "graze while chatting" a bento style box of different bits might work and she could put these together herself. Cheese & meat cubes, chopped cucumber/salad and some chopped fruit or berries/grapes with something like breadsticks or ritz type crackers could work well. Wraps are quite "in" and again she could put together her own. At 11 she might quite like the responsibility of choosing/making her own lunch (as they do with school meals) and even if you do have to buy extra bits it's still going to cost much less. I'd sit down with her and explain the cost issues and see what she comes up with.
  • lesleyb
    lesleyb Posts: 175 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper
    I use a hot food flask in the winter. I take pasta with dough balls or soup with bread sticks mainly, other days I take sandwiches or a roll or couscous.

    I have various things with pasta, chicken, meatballs, sausages and make soup.

    :)
  • VfM4meplse
    VfM4meplse Posts: 34,269 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    £3.50 a day is just too much money. Adults easily spend more on bought lunches these days (its seen as a highlight of the working day), but when I was at school decades ago packed lunches were the norm.

    In your position, I would get vegetable souping at weekends: which should cost you less than £3.50 per vat, much less a day. Cheap and far superior to shop-bought.
    Value-for-money-for-me-puhleeze!

    "No man is worth, crawling on the earth"- adapted from Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio

    Hope is not a strategy :D...A child is for life, not just 18 years....Don't get me started on the NHS, because you won't win...I love chaz-ing!
  • quintwins
    quintwins Posts: 5,179 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 24 September 2019 at 8:04PM
    I will add most kids, even in winter just bring sandwiches/rolls/wraps. warm food isn't the norm and most of my 12 year olds class has pack lunch and around half of my 10year olds, its pretty common now compared to when I was a child.
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  • rach_k
    rach_k Posts: 2,254 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I'd send her with wraps, sandwiches etc as that's probably more 'normal' but if you'd like her to have something warm too, maybe a hot chocolate, thinner soup or even a (decaf?) coffee in a flask (not an old school one, something more like a Chilly's bottle - you can get much cheaper copies that work just as well). We used to buy those at school and it was always a nice treat, especially at break time when there isn't time to eat much.
  • suki1964
    suki1964 Posts: 14,313 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    When I was at school, many moons ago, I did love my flask of soup and a sandwich but mostly we took cold food for lunch

    The other thing I remember was always being starving mid morning and eating most of my pack up with barely anything left for dinnertime

    And I used to love my friend sharing her lunch of samosas and pakoras. Cold they were but so tasty


    Nowadays I prefer protein , protein and a bit more protein for my pack up. I tend to go for eggs, cheese, fish and chicken. I keep the bread to a minimum and make fun ( as in texture and colour as well as taste ) salads using beans and grains and jazzing them up with berries and nuts

    Even my breakfast yoghurt is a skyr with frozen blueberries and a tablespoon of linseeds


    Fridge oats in a pot for mid morning would be great,Jamie Oliver has a great recipe for Bircher with chocolate , banana etc for example. Cheap and will be very filling. Egg muffins are a great pack up as are flap jacks - cheap and filling, you can make a batch at the weekends for the week

    I personally would do my best not to rely on wraps, crisps and biscuits, only using them as a treat and not a daily food
  • Eenymeeny
    Eenymeeny Posts: 2,015 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    suki1964 wrote: »
    When I was at school, many moons ago, I did love my flask of soup and a sandwich but mostly we took cold food for lunch

    The other thing I remember was always being starving mid morning and eating most of my pack up with barely anything left for dinnertime

    And I used to love my friend sharing her lunch of samosas and pakoras. Cold they were but so tasty


    Nowadays I prefer protein , protein and a bit more protein for my pack up. I tend to go for eggs, cheese, fish and chicken. I keep the bread to a minimum and make fun ( as in texture and colour as well as taste ) salads using beans and grains and jazzing them up with berries and nuts

    Even my breakfast yoghurt is a skyr with frozen blueberries and a tablespoon of linseeds


    Fridge oats in a pot for mid morning would be great,Jamie Oliver has a great recipe for Bircher with chocolate , banana etc for example. Cheap and will be very filling. Egg muffins are a great pack up as are flap jacks - cheap and filling, you can make a batch at the weekends for the week

    I personally would do my best not to rely on wraps, crisps and biscuits, only using them as a treat and not a daily food
    Thank you, lots of good ideas for my lunch at home there! (Trying to avoid carbs!):T
    The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.
    Thanks to everyone who contributes to this wonderful forum. I'm very grateful for the guidance and friendliness that I always receive from you.
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  • This lady has some great ideas for bento boxes:

    https://www.pickuplimes.com/single-post/2018/03/10/BENTO-BOX-»-a-collection-of-all-our-recipes

    Her recipes are all vegan, but you could easily adapt them for vegetarians, meat eaters etc.
  • suki1964
    suki1964 Posts: 14,313 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    If you pop into Lidl they have great salad and yogurt pots ( utensils included ) for £2.99
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