I Need Lunch Kit Help...Please

[bethkay]

Hi,

I use to always buy a school lunch for the kids, but I need to save some this year.

Any suggestions on what to pack that's good and healthy?

And how to pack to ensure that it doesn't go bad? What needs to stay cold and what doesn't?

I don't want them to get food posion!

Thanks for any tips!
Beth

[Watercolor Ponies]

If you are worried about stuff getting too warm, you could get one of those flat re-useable freezer things and pop it into dc's lunch box. That will keep it cold enough in there until lunch time. You can pick one up at Target or surprisingly I find the small lunchbox sized ones a lot at sporting goods stores, like, ****s or Gander Mountain. hth!

[Julesmom23girls]

I am kind of in the same boat. My Dd starts kindergarten soon and because she goes half days we have to send a "snack" everyday for her. so I will be watching for ideas.

One thing I can suggest is to freeze half a bottle of water overnight then fill it the rest of the way in the morning. Then you can use this to keep cold stuff cold and they have cold water to drink for lunch. My sis does this for my niece.

[Sarah]

Ok I'm packing up a lunch box for the first time ever tonight
I grabbed some little cartons of milk I'm going to freeze and use those instead of gel packs.
I figure that way Ian will get nice cold milk and it'll keep the rest of the lunch cold without having to give up the space,Ian has a huge appetite.

[Sarah]

Opps I totally missed the part about what's healthy

So tomorrow Ian is getting naked nuggets(grilled pieces of chicken breast)with soy sauce and honey dipping stuff
Carrot and Celery Sticks with ranch dip
Apple slices
chocolate milk
Oreos(not healthy,but it's ok)
2 mini tootsie rolls

Wednesday he's getting
couscous and tuna
a pita
veggie puffs
applesauce
2 mini tootsie rolls

and thursday and friday are too far away for me to think about

[TwinKristi]

I pack a PBJ sandwhich or bagel & cream cheese w/ a fruit, veggie & a couple snacks like granola bars, yogurt, string cheese or crackers. I also pack a Capri-Sun for my older boys. I usually make their lunch in the morning so things stay cool until their lunch 4hrs later. My 4yr old will start Preschool on the 9/5 and I don't know if he even needs a snack... I better look into that. My boys are big eaters and eat at school and then usually snack when they finish their homework and then have dinner a few hours later. I don't know HOW they stay so skinny! LOL

[bethkay]

Thanks for the tips! Please keep 'em coming.

Thanks everyone! I tried to pack them meatloaf tonight for lunch tomorrow and my kids informed me they would not eat it.

I'll have to think up something else.

Now if you send soup, does that have to stay cold? Or do you send it warm? Cause who wants cold soup?

[fostermomcchr]

Get the kids to help and they are more likely to eat what is packed. My oldest always buys lunch, but that is how HS kids are, my youngest takes his lunch. Since he doesn't like sandwiches, he takes cheese bars and crackers, goldfish, dry cereal, peanut butter cracker sandwiches and other quick snacks. I have waterbottles in the freezer that are 1/2 full so he can add water in the morning and it stays cold all day. I have also frozen juice boxes and capri suns, this way the cheese stays cold. When my oldest was little, I would make tortilla wraps with cream cheese or PBJ and cut into rolls, sub sandwiches out of dinner rolls, chunks of cheese, lunch meats and crackers for him to spear with pretzel rods. For fruit, if you soak them, in sprite or 7-up for 5 min the fruit won't turn yellow and get mushie and the flavor will not be affected like with lemon juice. Enjoy the years your little ones will pack, once they get older you have to take out a 2nd mortgage just to pay the lunch bill at the high school-my teen eats 2 lunches everyday!

[bethkay]

Great tips! Thanks so much.

Those ideas do sound kid friendly. They would like something like that.

What does a highschool lunch cost these days. My kids school lunch cost $2.50

[stephdpn]

Originally Posted by fostermomcchr Enjoy the years your little ones will pack, once they get older you have to take out a 2nd mortgage just to pay the lunch bill at the high school-my teen eats 2 lunches everyday!

This made me smile! In high school, lunch cost 1.20, my dad would give me $2 every morning, but my football player brother ALWAYS got $5!! He was a big eater, too! My mom used to make 2 meatloafs at a time, one for him, one for the rest of us!

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread! For lunches, I send sandwiches, wraps, tuna and crackers, string cheese or cut up cheese blocks, pretzels (we try to steer clear of chips) or goldfish, carrot sticks, raw broccoli, cauliflower, bananas, grapes, apples, and some small sweet treat, like a couple of butter cookies or fig newtons. I try to give us each a sandwich (protein), some sort of dairy like yogurt or cheese, a serving of fruit or veggie - sometimes both, something salty/crunchy - pretzels or goldfish, and a small sweet treat. For drinks, Dh and I usually buy sodas with ice for lunch, but DD and DS get fruit juice or crystal lite. I buy lots of snacky stuff at the dollar tree - my kids like their crackers and cookies and stuff just as well as the name/store brands.

As a preschool teacher, I really hated when kids brought koolaid koolers (those little plastic bottles), juice boxes, and capri-suns, simply b/c preschoolers aren't coordinated enough to drink those without spilling/squirting/dripping. And koolaid - well the sugar content is just astounding! We eat in our rooms at preschool and it makes a bigger mess to clean up. Oh, and squeezy yogurts can be messy for little ones, too. They actually do better with a regular yogurt and a spoon!