The Lunch Box

[Tina]

Sarah Loo is packing lunches for her two girls pretty much for the first time due to the rising costs of the school lunches. That can be mind boggling and ideas are often very welcome.
I have packed lunches for Teddy for about 14 years but I have it easy. He has a limited amount of things he will eat and I can nearly put his lunches together by rote in my sleep.
I think Rachael and Lindsay are more adventurous eaters though. So I have questions along with suggestions to follow. I think your girls don't object to spicy stuff? How good are they about bringing back containers and such? Are you allowing them to help purchase, plan and prepare?
First shop for things where you don't always think of buying foodstuffs. Dried fruit is darned expensive in the grocery stores and Costco and such, but I often find it cheap in Walgreen's. (And spices too). Look around for the deals. Dollar stores and things.
I buy some throw away containers at a restaurant supply place, cups with lids like dressing come from at some restaurants, all sizes you can think of. And plastic flatware. I sometimes put peanut butter in those along with a couple graham cracker squares in a baggie for Ted to make his own sandwich (plastic knife). But good for dips, dressings, salsa, hummus, bean dips, etc.
I live in fruit and vegetable heaven with a lot available all year long. But I used to buy things my kids loved like sliced frozen strawberries and blueberries or peach slices in larger bags then divide them into smaller snack bags and put them into a larger bag back in the freezer. Easy to grab and ready to go frozen in the lunch box to thaw by lunch. Teddy won't touch these. His is a banana every single day in there.
When you have time between your job and your school and your scouts, take hard cheese (cheddar, jack, pepper jack, etc.) and cut it into sticks and bag a few up into snack sized bags ready to grab and stuff in a lunch box. When you cook your easy ranch chicken make an extra one to slice cold into a lunch or two. Do extra of anything you think you can stuff in there a day or so later that your girls will like. An extra brat sliced and laid on crackers with a little marinara on the side is a lot healthier/cheaper alternative to those prepackaged Lunchable things. (Don't rule those completely out when you are in your finals season). When you cook any pasta cook a little extra and cool it and toss with your favorite salad dressing to make a salad in small container. Boil an egg or two in that pasta water as you are bringing it to a boil for adding to those salads. Or just to eat.  When you are cooking your weekend bacon slide a slice or two crumbled into a hiding place to add to those salads. It is all those little things you have set aside that will make your lunches easy and creative beyond the sandwich.

[Tina]

And Tell Adam that is school lunch stuff and to keep out unless he wants to be in charge of making lunches.
A simple, inexpensive recipe. Buy or make waffles, All of the nutritionist will tell you whole grain and things but the frozen waffles I bought in the olden days before I got my own waffle maker were limited in variety. Pop a couple in the toaster to bake and brown. Put them out to cool pretty much completely before putting in a sandwich bag or they steam and get soggy in there. Pop one of those small baggies of frozen blueberries in the lunch box and tell the girls to fill the waffle holes and then eat. The other kids watch while your girls fill the holes up and wish. Honest! Add a small bit of cheese or hard boiled egg for protein on the side.

[Tina]

Links with ideas:
http://www.laptoplunches.com/healthy-lunches-bored.php
http://southernfood.about.com/cs/lunchboxideas/a/school_lunch.htm
http://www.pbpulse.com/dining/2011/08/17/lunch-box-mathematics-how-to-provide-nutritious-special-lunches/
And there are millions and millions. They all start looking alike after awhile. Like reading my cookbook of 101 ways to cook chicken.

[Tina]

It is almost always cheaper to buy big and bag up your own individual size bags or containers. But I do like small juice containers because they don't leak and make the messes of pouring your own. . Watch for sales. It is always cheaper to cook a little extra with your dinners and disguise it in launches the next day or two.
Frozen stuff in small packages usually thaws by lunch time and keeps other things cold. Jonni loves frozen grapes even if they aren't thawed.
Make homemade cookies and muffins and things on weekends. You can bump up the nutrition in those by hiding grated carrots or zucchini in muffins and frost them with lightly sweetened cream cheese or toss  spoonfuls of the sweetened cream cheese on top before baking and they sink into the muffin center. There are bunches of recipes out there about how to make things like oatmeal cookies nearly a complete meal on their own. And hiding cottage cheese inside of pudding so it bumps up nutritional values.
In cold winter months there are wide mouth thermoses for hot foods. My kids were never very happy with those but they are warm weather, California kids for the most part. Soups, stews, chili were not high on their lunch ideals.

[sunsoaker]

Wow. Wish you were making my lunches! 

[Tina]

I would actually enjoy putting lunches together for you, Barb.
Sarah are you also packing lunches for yourself?
Here is where any ideas will be appreciated from all.
You get mind melt when trying to think of new things sometimes. We want lunches our kids will eat that will fill them and be reasonably nutritious. And hopefully fun for them and not too hard to scrabble together when you'd rather be sleeping in.
If it is available, looking at the school lunches ahead and allowing them to choose a favorite to purchase once in a while is not a bad thing either. They will not feel so deprived. Our school menus come out for the entire month.

[Jessica]

Wonderful ideas, Tina!  Tristen eats school lunch for the most part but we do pack on days when it is something we know he will not eat.

[landofoz]

The girls do not mind spicy food but they do not like it very hot.  So far, they have been very good at returning my containers.  I've threatened them and told them just to put everything - trash and all - back into the lunchbox.  Yes, I am packing a lunch for myself as well but I've been doing that for a year now.  Lots of sandwiches in my world as well.  Which is probably why I have such an aversion to bread these days...

Those are all fantastic suggestions, Tina!!  I will definitely look for those small containers next time I'm in the big city.  I've sent the girls with carrots and ranch dressing.  They are whiney little things when it comes to salads though!!  Graham crackers with PB i fantastic as well!!

[Bonnie]

It sounds like you really have a handle on this lunch thingy. Some great suggestions, Tina.

[UNCLEG]

Just a helpful hint on packing lunches, maybe not kid friendly but works for adults.  I use mason jars to pack my lunches in, they don't stain or leak.  I use lids from off of mayo or mustard jars to seal them.  They work great for portion control.  Also I use a small soft sided 6 drink cooler for my lunch box.  Works better than brown bag or standard lunch box/bag.  I am able to fit my 2 lunches in this bag.  Yes i eat 4 times a day...LOL

[Bonnie]

Ya'll make me wish I was going somewhere to pack a lunch.

[landofoz]

Ya'll make me wish I was going somewhere to pack a lunch.

Time for a picnic??

[Tina]

Yep, I get a little wishful for some things when I think of lunches of the old days.

[Tina]

Sarah, for your own lunches you probably have access to a microwave in the teacher's lounge or something. Most students don't have that option. But it gives you lots more things you can take to eat. Any leftovers (or planned overs) from your dinners and things. You can have a lot more than sandwiches.
Fix something that you love and Adam does not like to treat yourself ! That way you indulge without pushing a meal on him he'd rather not have.
I am truly loving indulging my own whims without having to plan what to fix for others too much.

[bestofour]

Every student in my schools eat school provided free breakfast and lunch.  And the students I've seen eat most or all of their food.  Goes to show you eat what's there when there isn't a choice.  You couldn't pay me to eat some of the crap that's served.

[Tina]

What are your favorite lunches to pack, Sheri?

[landofoz]

Sheri, our little "darlings" get free lunches and then THROW THEM AWAY and whine and whine and whine until the teachers give them snacks.  So the teachers took away snacks and they'll say that if they say they didn't eat lunch they get extra cookies at boys and girls club after school.  It just makes me mad.  Our district serves very good meals (for a school) - everything is homemade (except breakfasts - those are usually cereal and fresh fruit).  And we serve lots and lots of veggies and fruit. 

[Penny]

Try one of these Sarah 


http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=8&sqi=2&ved=0CIYBEBYwBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kidapprovedmeals.com%2F&ei=vTFYTp3WE6PY0QGFpdSYDA&usg=AFQjCNHFzSOqN1rzgkgH2pahvijG51mcjA

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=9&sqi=2&ved=0CI0BEBYwCA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kids-cooking-activities.com%2Fkids-lunches.html&ei=vTFYTp3WE6PY0QGFpdSYDA&usg=AFQjCNGI0h8MrQj8gy-KDXAOFeeaZLgJ0Q

http://www.google.ca/aclk?sa=L&ai=CxbgAvTFYTpuOFayi0AGI5KGCDanLnvwB0eig9x-d7tuyBQgAEAEoA1Dr58L7AmD9mIuB6APIAQGqBBxP0CImaImZwYDRXovXACarpD-l12XWhk_VC6k8ugUTCN2o3OeT7qoCFSNsNAodhRIVw8oFAA&ei=vTFYTp3WE6PY0QGFpdSYDA&sig=AOD64_1eimOqI707rVngFMLL6hgx5zbXUA&sqi=2&ved=0CAgQ0Qw&adurl=http://www.juicyjuice.com/Recipes/Kid-Friendly-Foods.aspx

http://www.google.ca/aclk?sa=l&ai=CKYRivTFYTpuOFayi0AGI5KGCDfXGw-ABlfiTmxuP7734MggAEAIoA1Cv9NB7YP2Yi4HoA6AB2aC47gPIAQGpAiU8i1eaBrE-qgQcT9ASZViJmsGBmV4jyYG16nmjjKFenwNrQRs9AboFEwjdqNznk-6qAhUjbDQKHYUSFcPKBQA&ei=vTFYTp3WE6PY0QGFpdSYDA&sig=AOD64_00CqCmg0b5R1LgNPvUPNIbJmsPuA&sqi=2&ved=0CA0Q0Qw&adurl=http://www.lifemadedelicious.ca/en/Recipes/Top10/Lunch.aspx

[Tina]

I checked out the lunch trays today at Ted's school before the entree was added. I do not know what the entree was. I told the very nice lunch lady that the sides were all wrong. They had slices of cooked carrots, slices of yams, and chunks of pineapples. It was all yellow to orange.  That is too monochromatic, really. There were packages of animal cookies there too.
Not sure what the regular lunches included. Ted's school is modified for special ed kids and some of them don't eat much 'real' food and have to be fed what they do eat. I gave this month's menu back to his teacher because she didn't have one. I marked the one meal that I thought he might eat (but he didn't).
I have to pay for his meals.

[sunsoaker]

Are you saying you pay for his meal even when he brings his own?

[Tina]

No I pay a chunk of change and his teachers keep track of what he eats. He mostly just drinks juices and milks on occasion. Sometimes he will jump on a banana (even though there is always one in his lunchbox). They only take out what he does drink.
In our district all of the regular kids are given a number to punch into a computerized thing  at lunch time to pay for their meals. I have always kept money in my kids accounts for those times they needed it. But the ones who get free lunches and the ones with accounts cannot tease because you cannot tell who is who under this system.
I remember the teachers when I was in elementary school calling certain students up to get their lunch ticket. We who purchased, which we had to do a week at a time, always had our own tickets. You could tell who got free and who didn't. And I felt sorry for that humiliation for them. These days the kids have no clue.  So less teasing going on. Less embarrassment.
Penny, those are some great sites. I am going to bookmark the last one. It has some good ideas.

[bestofour]

Today I took oatmeal for lunch.  I don't eat fancy or go to any trouble.  Sometimes I take left overs.  When the tomatoes were coming in I took a tomato sandwich every day.  If you would make my lunches I would eat it.  My girls took their lunch too but they eat like me.  They'd just as soon have a peanut butter sandwich as a steak.

[landofoz]

Making grocery list at 2am - thank you for the fantastic ideas and links.  Makes my life so much easier!

[Tina]

I know how frozen my brain can get when trying to think of new and appetizing ideas just for lunch at home with lots of options. I remember planning and packing lunches was worse. This is where I am lucky. Ted has the same packed lunch every day and is very happy to see it.

[landofoz]

I've heard from mothers - their kids are complaining that they don't get what Rachael or Lindsay eat.