Ok moms, dads, foodies out there.
We’ve hit the middle mark of the school year and I’m stuck in a lunch rut. I feel like I’m putting the same things in my kids lunches everyday. Time to add a little punch to their lunch. Something different.
Cuyler is kind of a given with his extremely self limited eating habits. His lunch stays as is. He’s got one rule: NO MEALS.
Meaning snacks only. So he gets apple slices, gluten free pretzels, PC Organics Crunchy Corn cereal (think Corn Pops) or Chex cereal, gluten free lemon wafers and jelly/fruit snacks. He gets gluten free spaghetti on Modays from LunchLady and gluten free pizza on Wednesdays.
Meaning snacks only. So he gets apple slices, gluten free pretzels, PC Organics Crunchy Corn cereal (think Corn Pops) or Chex cereal, gluten free lemon wafers and jelly/fruit snacks. He gets gluten free spaghetti on Modays from LunchLady and gluten free pizza on Wednesdays.
Eva always gets a ham or a jam sandwich on Tuesdays and pizza on Thursdays.
Cam gets LunchLady on Mondays and pizza on Wednesdays and a ham sandwich or a frozen dinner, cooked and tossed in a thermos the rest of the week.
Cam gets LunchLady on Mondays and pizza on Wednesdays and a ham sandwich or a frozen dinner, cooked and tossed in a thermos the rest of the week.
Their snacks are my easy go-to’s: strawberries and blueberries, broccoli/carrots/cucumber with dip, apple slices, applesauce/ yougurt/pudding, granola bars.
That’s it.
That’s it.
I’m bored making their lunches. They’re probably bored eating them. I asked them for input and I got the standard shrug with the usual “I dunno…”
Give me some ideas. Help me think outside the (lunch)box. What are your kids favourite lunchbox foods?
There are a couple of good nut free “peanut butters’ out there, I bought several and did a taste teste with my kids (used the failures in muffins) as long as there is jam “i cant believe its not peanut butter” won. My kids are fans of lots of variety and finger foods only. if I put too much of any one thing nothing gets eaten but a few of alot of things usually means an empty lunch kit at the end of the day
i am also in a rut but maybe some of our rut lunches will be new for your kids: leftovers from the night before in a Thermos, frozen pizzas wrapped in tin foil so they are still kind of warm, organic chicken hotdogs in a whole wheat bun, bagels with cream cheese, wraps with jam and cream cheese
I freeze yogurt tubes to put in the kid’s lunches. They love them and they are still cold at lunch time. You could do it with regular yogurt in containers and send with a spoon.
My girls both like tomato or spinach wraps with deli tukey or chicken, sprinkled with cheese and salsa and rolled up.They both like salads(ceasar and spinach) but I would like ideas on how to get them to eat more fruit!
I find leftover pasta is just the easiest thing… especially during the winter months. When food items come back in the lunch boxes, I feel like punching things. Oy, what a waste of time and food!! Uch. I’m with you, lady. As long as they eat though, right?
I am in the same boat…except with my kids the statue of limitation of lunchtime boredom is about a month.
Here are some of my favorites:
1. Get a great Thermos and if they liked the dinner from the night before, take leftovers.
2. Cheese sliced and crackers.
3. Make your-own lunchables by using a cookie cutter with lunchmeats.
4. Veggies and dip.
5. A really healthy homemade muffin/giant cookie/loaf cake.
leftover sausage and pizza? two of my girls’ favourites… i wish i could send pb&j’s to school. there would be no problem then!
Sal – my sister is out in BC and she crosses the border to do all her groceries at Trader Joes. There isn’t one in Buffalo or the US Niagara Falls – which is a huge bummer.
I guess I’m lucky that the two will eat fruits and veggies no problem. Meats are good too.
Don’t even get me started on Cuy. No protein. No calcium…I wanna rip my hair out.
We eat a ton of quinoa in our house. All of us except Cuyler…
I gotta get these sensory issues resolved 🙁
Octobergirl is quite picky with her meals and only recently (with the help of some anti-anxiety medication for her ASD) has she begun to try new foods via food webbing (have you looked into food webbing?). I cook ALOT so Octoberboy has for lunch whatever we had for dinner, he’s not picky. Octobergirl lives mostly on cheese and bread. I get her whole wheat wraps, sprinkle cheese on them and melt then roll up and send those in her lunch bag. I have switched her to Quinoa bread and Quinoa pasta since she eats no animal products and her protein intake is limited. Quinoa has tons of protein. I also shop a lot at Trader Joe’s here in New Jersey which has lots of great prepared items that are easy to get them for lunch and are organic, gluten free,etc. They both hate fruits and vegetables but seem to like dried fruit so I’ve been going with that. It’s not easy :-/
My girls are with Cuy…Snacks only! Sandwiches never get eaten!!
I am going to try the pillsbury croissants with the ham and cheese…I think the girls will really like those. I know they aren’t gluten free…but just a suggestion! 🙂