July 4, 2008
71 Comments
’tis FUH-riday! I miss da sistahs.. I have been SOOOO buried under piles of paypah but I have emerged for a second to say Hello! soooo.. HELLO! what’s everybody up to? I think it is a loooong weekend there? I hope you are up to lots of good times, barbecues, food, fireworks, rest relaxation 🙂 .. if that is happening in your neck of the woods, can I come ? 🙂
My kidlets started camp this week.. Tyler (6) is a veteran.. it is his 2nd year in a row hopping on a bus and going to a beautiful day camp… I grudgingly make his lunch (I don’t LOVE making lunches.. have I mentioned that evah? I am running out of ideaRs)… Little daughter Jayden (3) started camp as well (in the mornings) and is loving it but when I see her little body walking with her GINORMOUS backpack I get these little aches and pains and pangs… I am not into making her lunch either..lol
Sooo my long weekend question to you issssssssss: what can I possibly give my kidlets for camp lunches.. fast, easy, and you guarantee me that they eat it. I mean REALLY GUARANTEE anddddd that I will like to prepare it at 7:00am.. LOL
Big challenge and BLOG CANDY involved sistahs
Mwah to da sistahs who will give FOOD advice
Em
I used to make Peanut Butter sandwiches for my 4 yr old niece & then cut them using cookie cutters. This way it cuts off the crust that she wouldn’t eat. And she would eat a Teddy Bear shaped sandwich or whatever different shapes I’d use but wouldn’t eat the plain ole square ones :). You can also cut tuna sandwiches this way or just about any other type they’ll eat.
Colleen
LUNCHABLES; Kids luv the lunchables!!!
My first tip, is to make it at night. Noone likes to make yummers that early. How about some fruit, chop it up the night before, watermelon, catalope and some yummy fluff dip. you can even put the fluff dip with pb!! My kids always like that I put the drink in the freezer and in the am took it out, it will keep the lunch cold all day, and is really cold when they get to eat it! Do, you do lunch meat with your kids, howabout mini hoagies. yummers!! You can do this. Hello your a buisness women, think of it as the lunch buisness and get creative. Your a rockin’ gal!!!
My kids love to take picky plate(thats what they call them) veggies cut up into strips with a dip and some cheese or lunch meat rolled and cut into smaller portions and crackers….sometimes we throw in a boiled egg …they love this and this is what they usually want for lunch, I let them pick the veggies they want to eat, they help me to prepare it the night before.
Gotta make it the day/night before. I hate making lunches too, especially in the morning. Pretzels or crackers, grapes, cheese sticks, PB&J, dried fruit. Lunchables are a great idea, but I only get them when they’re on sale.
jeri
Lunches ugh! Not my favourite either. Try freezing yogurt tubes, cheese strings, slicing an apple and an orange. Add small bottle of water and container of apple juice. Next is my top secret tip – I use a cookie cutter on sliced bread and my girls like their sandwich meat better in the shape of a heart, star or flower – cardmaking and scrapbooking enters the world of food – giggle. I gotta agree with making it the night before but I usually get stuck making it in the morning and am done in about 15 minutes but always in a rush.
Ooh good luck! Well pb is probably out – I know we in the GTA are not allowed to send it to school or camp. So… bagel and cream cheese, homemade lunchable with turkey kielbasa, crackers, and cucumbers; frozen yogurt tubes, cheese strings, my son will eat a grilled cheese sandwich made that morning, sometimes I just send a lot of snack things – grapes, cheese, yogurt, muffin, etc… My kids also really like anything wrapped in a tortilla, and also those cinammon apple pita breaks. Good luck!
I remember the lunchbox routine………I HATED it too. But the wee ones have to eat and they get bored very quickly. My daughter hated peanut butter at one point. She is almost 40 now and loves it…………..Phew!
Here are 2 links that sound very smart to me.
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/lunch_box_ideas_for_kids.htm
and
http://www.ehow.com/how_18662_pack-kids-lunch.html
CIAO
how about the night before, cheese on crackers in a zip bag and grapes in a bag and a juice box:-)
my son loves this when he has a trip to go on:-)
Hope this helps. I hate making lunch too
michele
You have to pack the night before. That will totally help the morning rush.
Make pigs in a blanket the night before. Just a hot dog rolled with a slice of cheese, in a crescent roll. Huge hit!! Chex mix is also a big hit. It’s different then the same old chips. Fruit is great, but hard to get the kids to eat without you there making sure they do:) So try sending a fun dip to go along with the fruit. Yogurt with grapes, chocolate with strawberries or bananas. Carmel sauce with apples.
Good luck.
Hey Em good luck with the lunches, I would say prepare as much at night as you can!! For my kids I go to the deli at the store and get sliced meat and cheese. My kids love to roll a piece of meat in the cheese. You can also add apples, or grapes.
You can always fall back on Peanut Butter and Jelly ;).
Well, my kid is super picky. He eats hamburgers, milk and sweets. He is “willing” to eat dried apricots and almonds for lunch at school. So, that’s what I give him. Good luck!!
I will ditto the comments above.. make it at night. That way at least you have more time. As for what they will eat… here are a few things my kids love…
Chicken nuggets
Tortilla wraps with cream cheese
Little English muffin pizzas
Crackers with little cheeses and cold cuts. Then your kids will make little sandwiches when they get there.
Hot dogs
Good luck!!!!
Gaby
What I always did was make a selection of goodies. I either used snack baggies or small single serving containers. Crackers, ham (lunch meat), cheese. ((kids always like to build and make their own lunch ((sortof)). A frozen juice box will keep it cold until lunch is served. Fresh fruit like a banana or grapes are less messy and wont turn brown like cut apples ((unless you coat them w/ lemon juice .. but that is just another step)). Pudding snacks and the fruit snack packs are also easy to open and travel well. Hannah always had trouble opening certain things and would never ask for help .. SO I had to make sure it was easy for her. Our kids are allergic to peanuts so we use sunbutter instead. Made from sunflower seeds and is SO YUMMY!!! This and crackers w/ raisins would also be good. Mini marshmallows make them extra good:) At least the sunbutter ((or peanut butter)) has protein. Sunbutter also has flax and omega 3. 🙂 always a plus:)!!! If crackers is a no go .. flour tortillas w/ lettuce and lunch meat turned into a wrap travels well. It does not get soggy like bread. I guess I will stop there. I have lots of ideas .. funny .. I am a homeschooling mom and do not have to pack lunches :/… Good luck! hope you find the help you are looking for!
id make lunches the night before. i pack lunch meat and cheese, fresh fruit, crackers or chips, a frozen juice box . Pudding or fruit snacks Good luck! hope it helps
Linda
ok, I have to confess, as soon as my oldest son got old enough to make a sandwich, like 5 or 6 hahaha, I made him make his lunch and his little brothers! I’m so lucky he still loves me. He is 22 now and laughs about it, but I don’t think I’d get the Mother of the year award. It was usually PB and J around here. If I’d try to change things up, they wouldn’t eat it! Good Luck!
Lunches—HATE THEM—-well, making them, anyway! I do just fine at eating them! Anyway, we have these little Thomas’ mini bagels–those are good with a little cream cheese in them—String cheese is good, my son likes water bottles that he can add the flavoring to. Also, grapes are usually a hit—I freeze the gogurt tubes, too—that way they are still cold at lunch. We don’t have the peanut butter ban, so that is also still acceptable to my son, but I have to make it that morning or it’s soggy—I wish I had some wonderful news to help you—mine seems pretty boring, but most of the time, he’ll eat it—fruit roll ups are a treat that he loves—I think he eats it first though, so that’s not good! Oh well!
Yes, make them pack it themselves the night before. They are more likely to eat it if they pack it. My kids like “salad in a bag” which is carrot sticks, blueberries, cucumbers, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, whateva fruit and veggies we happen to have in the house all mixed up in one bag. Its a different creation every day. You can also add nuts. Another fav is sandwich size pepperoni slices. We freeze a few in a ziplock and then just plop them in the lunchbox. Thanks for the blog candy chance.
This is from my sister. She makes salami roll-ups for one of her 4 children that is a picky eater. She takes a slice of salami and spreads cream cheese on it and rolls it up. That’s it! Add some apple slices and a granola bar and you are done! Love you Em!
p.s. Shipping times have been AWESOME!!! Much thanks to all that are getting our orders out so fast! Can’t wait to receive my order next week!
Beef Jerky has been a huge hit for my two younger picky eaters. I pack along with it different fresh fruits. Cheese/crackers and sausage are great too. I always send a healthy juice and bottled water. I agree that letting them pack their own lunch is a great idea. I have seen this to work well with my own children. I always try to remember that they will eat when they are hungry.
Good Luck!
Denise G
found these here: they have more recipes: yeah, I cheated, but I don’t have kids and I’m yet to win any blog candy from anyone, lol
http://www.timetrimmers.com/lunch.htm
NOT ANOTHER BORING SANDWICH AGAIN!!!!
Everybody gets bored with sandwiches after a while. I found out that most of the time, my girls threw their sandwiches away and ate the chips, crackers or snacks in their lunch. With a little variation, lunch isn’t so boring after all!
HAM AND CHEESE ROLL-UPS
1 slice of ham
1 slice of cheese
Place cheese on ham slice and roll up. This can be warmed and melted or eaten completely cold. Try cheese variations that your kids like such as cream cheese, munster, American or cheddar. Who said you lunch had to include bread?
TORTILLA ROLL-UPS
Flour tortilla
1 slice of ham
1 slice of cheese
Place ham and cheese on tortilla and microwave on high 45 seconds, to almost melt cheese.
Close up one end of the tortilla by folding it in a little, and roll tortilla up like a small burrito.
Wrap rolled tortilla in paper towel, then aluminum foil to keep the moisture down and the heat in.
PITA SANDWICHES
These are so good! We eat these for a quick dinner or lunch on the weekend too!!!
Makes 1 serving each:
Pita bread half
Leaf lettuce
Tomato
Ham or turkey
Cheese
Ranch salad dressing or mayo, mustard or favorite condiment
Gently open pita. Pour small amount of dressing (or other) in, spreading on both sides of pita (this helps the bread to not be so dry)
Place in lettuce leaf, tomato, meat and cheese in stacked layers.
Pita bread can be filled with anything you like! Top turkey with real bacon bits for a “club” sandwich! Try pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese for a quick “pizza” pita!
CRESCENT SANDWICHES
These can be a dinner sandwich if prepared the night before, send leftovers (be prepared to make a bunch – they go fast!) for lunch. For a breakfast sandwich, add cooked scrambled eggs before rolling up!
1 can refrigerated Crescent Roll dough
Ham or turkey
Cheese
Place 1 slice of meat and 1 slice of cheese in crescent roll before rolling into shape.
Roll up and bake according to directions on can.
TRISCUIT NACHOS
Triscuit Crackers
Salsa
Cheese
Place Crackers on a microwave-safe plate
Cover with salsa, top with cheese
Melt and let then let cool, place in small plastic container
Add a fruit and snack and lunch is complete!
BAGEL PIZZA
½ bagel
grated cheddar (mozerella or jack) cheese
6-8 pepperoni slices (Canadian bacon or other favorite topping)
pizza sauce
utensil for spreading sauce
Place bagel, cheese and pepperoni in separate baggies
Pizza sauce in small container
Ummmmmmm…….I got nothin. If I have to pack a lunch, I send lunchables. that may surprise you….but yep. That’s it.
Fruit pizzas are always good. Or, mini pizzas are fantastic. When I use tortilla shells, it takes about 10 mnutes to bake. For a twist, I assemble the mini pizza op a whole wheat or spinach tortilla shell, bake, and then roll it up for a nice, portable lunch.
i’m a fan of the fruit pizza. Or, mini pizzas are fantastic. When I use tortilla shells, it takes about 10 mnutes to bake. For a twist, I assemble the mini pizza op a whole wheat or spinach tortilla shell, bake, and then roll it up for a nice, portable lunch.
Lunches stink. I will have to pack2 lunches now when school starts.
My kids really enjoy fruit… i know they are weird.
I like to get the fruit cups dole makes, hunts pudding snack packs, dole apple slices that are already cut up with the peal (my daughter calls it skin) removed. Crackers, turkey and cheese cut up. I’m too cheap to buy the lunchables. they are packed with sodium anyway. Bananas (my kids feel big when they peel it themself). Oh and a little note! You rock when you send a surprise sticker or note in their lunch.
Jif makes individual size peanut butter cups you could send with the apples to use as dip. There is some protein. mini raisen boxes. granola bars, (i wouldnt send anything that could spoil in the heat like yogurt).
You could always send them with the same thing and encourage lunch “trading” lol
sorry for double post. having “issues” with typing at this point. Too much 4th of July I guess 🙂
I think lunchables are a GREAT idea. I still eat them today at age 32 when I need something in a hurry! If you want to go with something more traditional, why not make it the night before? I’m more of a night owl, so when my boys are old enough that’s definitely what I’ll be doing. I would do a favorite sandwich and then you could do something fun on the side like “ants on a log” (celery with peanut butter in the middle and raisins on top). My thought is sandwich+something healthy+something yummy=good lunch!
I feel like such a BAD Mama after reading what everybody else sends with their Kids…..I have 4 Kids, and it takes all that I have just to get them all dressed & fed in the mornings!! Luckily only my oldest… 8 year old DD needs a luch for day camp.
She is so picky! She HATES sandwiches and “normal” lunch type foods. For the past month she has been taking a Pizza Lunchable which comes with bottled water & a Kool-Aid Packet. This past week I decided to try something “cheaper” and bought pizza condiments and made her a luchable of sorts….Pitabread, a container of shredded cheese, a container of Spaghetti sauce, and a mini bag of pepperoni.
Of course I send her with a bottle of Gatorade or Water and some Doritos & anything else that I can find…. 🙂 I know not really nutricious, but it get’s the job done, and she likes it and eats it!
Julie
My kids love lunchables, but they only get them ‘once in a while’…
So from home we do: yogurt and plastic spoon (note: put them both in a ziplock back so their lunch boxes don’t come home all slimey!); fruit (banana, or cut up orange sections, or apple, or grapes.. my kids love strawberries!); a sandwich of some sort – dd loves peanut butter and honey; ds loves whatever – egg salad is great… a snack (similar to granola bars, but kid ones), and bottled water… I am a believer in the more water the better…
I love Bellas!!!! Just wanted you to know!
If you use a cookie cutter you can make fun shapes for your sandwiches. 🙂 It’s always more fun to eat a dinosaur sandwich than a normal one! For food, the other thing I’d recommend are bagel pizza sandwiches – add a little sauce, cheese, pepperoni (and whatever other toppings) and it’s a tasty sandwich (if you kids like pizza). Best of luck!!
First I want to say I HATE making lunches for myself…..so I know your feeling! I feel like a child myself and get sick of the SAME ole lunches everyday! I do like the 100 calorie snack pack bags…cookies, crackers, etc. Chex mix is always a fun add to a lunch! I like crackers and cheese….and lunchables are always FAST b/c all you have to do is grab them from out of the refrigerator…plus with the huge selections available you can’t go wrong! Hope this helps! Good luck with the lunches….i feel for you…..
Mwah~ Kim
My kids LOVE pb&j and lunchables. No matter what I know I can feed them these and they’re always a hit. I feel ya on the lunches though. I don’t have to make them for the kidlets yet but I do for my hubby and it is no fun. LOL 🙂
Hey, Em!
Glad you could come out and play! I don’t have any children, but my sister makes my nieces’ sandwiches on mini bagels. they love that because they think they’re eating kid portions which, of course, they are! Whatever their filling of choice is that day, she just makes two or three mini sandwiches for them.
My mom used to send “ants on a log” for us. That’s peanut butter on a celery stick with raisins sprinkled on the top. I know some schools have peanut butter now, but I’ll bet you could make the same thing with cream cheese.
Good luck! I have a hard time making lunch to take to work, too. I really try to make it the night before, but I am not always as good as I should be!
I still pack lunches for my 16 year old picky eater! She likes cold pizza (I use the mini ones), sandwich wraps made with chicken or roast beef (I cook extra with meals) on tortillas, or soup in a thermos. Bottled water with flavor packets, fresh fruit, and pretzels are always welcome additions.
Hello darling! Cant’ wait to see you soon. Don’t work to hard this weekend. *mwah* Mona
I have no idea 🙂 My dauaaghter is 21 months old and she is a good eater. I am liking all of the ideas so far.
It’s a good life!
Terri E.
I usually feed my kids those lunchables, however we grocery shop in the US and they’re only $1.79 each there 🙂
Other than cupcakes and candy for lunch, bread & butter “sammies” with a side of cheese chunks and some grapes usually go over well.
Also a hot thermos of chef boyardee mini rabeeolli’s (ravioli) was my dd’s fav. 2 min in the microwave and you are done (of course you have to remember to pour the hot water into the thermos first to warm it up… hot coffee works too)
Ds got seriously tired of baloney and would have loved the chance to have a pb&j sandwich.
Dd also liked having yogurt in her lunch. I’d throw them into the freezer when we got up, and they’d freeze just enough that they’d still be cold by lunch.
FYI Pickles are not a lunch to go item 🙁 They leak in EVERYTHING… baggies, tupperware, cheapo tupperware.
Good luck doing lunches 🙂
Oh I remember the days!!
1. tropical trail mix- dired mango, pineapples, apricots, bananas, cranberries or raisens, macadamia nuts, cashews.
2. tortilla wrap, fav lunch meat and cheese
3. frozen gogurt and juice box
4. cut up carrots or celery and dip ( you can buy these prepackaged)
Jamia in Cali
Hi Em! Glad that you came out from under all the paypah!! 🙂
Hope your kidlets have a FAB time at camp-and I feel your pain-I detest making lunches too! My boys always love lunchables-quick and easy. Juice boxes in their fave flaves, cheese strings, yogurt tubes, fruit (whatever their fave is), bear paws (they are yummy for kids and filling too), goldfish crackers or other pre-packaged crackers make it easy and quick for you. But most important-make the lunches the night before!
To the ladies that posted about PB&J…it might be wishful thinking, but up here in the Greater Toronto Area all schools and most camps/indoor playgrounds are Nut Free totally as there are so many peanut/nut allergies.
UGH! I really dread lunches, too. Glad to know I’m not alone. I know it sound crazy, but my little one loves tuna & crackers with cheese.
He really wants to assemble it himself (one less step for you). I put hickory smoked tuna with club crackers & Muenster cheese. Then we have slices of red pepper or baby carrots with ranch. Raisens are a fav & so easy to throw in a bagged lunch. Or send whole blueberries, strawberries & grapes with fruit dip. No cutting involved. I’ve included the recipe:
Fruit Dip
1/2 pkg cream cheese
1 C. marshmallow fluff
1/2 C. vanilla yogurt
Combine all ingredients & mix well.
(I add a couple of drops of food coloring to make it more fun)
any of their favorite sandwiches cut with a cookie cutter or you can buy sandwich cutters in different shapes.
veggies with a dip.
Since you have both a boy and a girl… When I was a Nanny… We had what we called rockin’ wheels (for the boys) Lil’ flowers (for the girls) It is where you take a tortilla and spread on cream cheese and add either ham, turkey or roast beef… Now at first I thought no way this has gotta be gross.. But let me tell you I was hooked and now my kiddos are hooked… Now the little girl wanted her flowers pink and white so sometimes we would add a little strawberry cream cheese.. And the boy liked blue so we added blueberry cream cheese… You can roll them up and slice them so they look like wheels and flowers(with added tooth picks or straws for the flowers)… Then for a veggie we would make boats/pirate ships where you attach a little flag onto a tooth pick and stick it in celery or carrots… then the boat/ship would like to dip in the ocean/lake ( a ranch to go side) For the little girl she likeed little chocolate chips with peanut butter on celery which she called lady bug sticks… Then for desert we would make dirt cups for the liitle boy which you crumble up oreo cookies and add gummie worms or gummie trucks and for the little girl she likeed princess cookies cookies she would frost herself and she added her magical sprinkles… Happy Summer…
OMG–I hate making lunches too as I am NOT a morning person! I like quick, grab & go stuff. My top faves for my kids lunches are:
-yogurt stix
-Lunchables
-veggies w/ ranch dip (my kids love to dip)
-goldfish crackers and pepperoni
Hope that helps! MWAH!!
Suzanne Dean
I would get it together the night before and maybe use some of the ingredients you made for dinner. Such as if you make some pasta, set some aside without sauce and you can make a pasta dish for lunch with tomatoes and chicken.
BAHAHAHAHA! I also HATED making lunches, but did it for years and years and YEARS! because they went to day care the first 5 years of their life they got used to HOT lunches…so if i tried to slap a piece of bologne between two slices of bread it would come home. spoiled rotten foodies is what they are. so sandwiches were OUT (unless i made the bread in the breadmaker…did i say spoiled yet?), wraps were in, pitas were in, subs were in. and leftovers in their little thermos was in. oh ya, bagels and cream chees was IN. stuff they could do themselves was always good. like cheese, crackers and lunch meat. but they would snub lunchables (i think i said spoiled didn’t i?) good luck!
i know i’ve been a bit mia lately…but thinking of you and dena and nicky often!
Make the lunches the night before. My boys love fruit cups, applesauces cups (our favorites are the pear and cherries), the old stand by of pudding and jello cups. We do ants on a log with celery and raisens. Fresh fruit & veggies…. We do some fun wraps, tortillas filled with whatever the kiddos like. My eldest loves it filled with salsa, my youngest loves them filled with a little honey, peanut butter, and bananas. We also do the orig. P.B. & J. My boys also like having left over roasted chicken, a chicken leg, wing etc. (Good thing they like it cold – old school picnic foods.)
Hopefully that gave you a few ideas.
I have to pack my lunch for work on Sundays. I pack yougurt, mac & cheese, hot pocket, banana, cottage cheese and fruit, anything quick I can eat at my desk. Some times I even do up a couple days at a time, I’m already putting one together, what’s a couple more. Then it’s just grab, put the lunch box and go.
Well I hate making lunch too soooooooooooo guess what I give my kids.. lol… Lunchables! LOL.. Not everday but for those days I don’t have a clue put one of those bad boys in their box and an extra fruit and they are as happy as me! LOLLOL.. Hey I’m being honest! 🙂
For my kids and husband…I made sandwiches like PB & jelly and then used cookie cutters to shape the bread. I also cut up celery stixs and salad dressing in tupperwares little containers. Another great idea is fruit…I gave my kids cherry prunes. They are the best fruit for the kids and they have no idea that they are prunes…I call them dried plums without the seeds!! I also made PB & fluff on saltines. Hope these ideas help you out!!
Thanks!
Gay Ferland
My kiddos love Uncrustables. They are PB&J in the frozen section. If you get them at a grocery club (ie- Sam’s, Costco, BJ’s) they are about .50 each sandwich. Just pop one in their lunch bag and it is thawed out by lunch time. They also really like Lunchables. Also instead of buying the individual bags of crackers and cookies and such. I buy a regular box and get cheap cheap snack size baggies and go ahead and make individual servings. That way at 7 am I can just grab different baggies and throw in the lunch bag. This works well with Nilla Wafers, Marshmallows, cheese its, and other things like that. Good Luck! I don’t care for making lunch either.
There have already been such wonderful suggestions! However, when my Mom was packing my lunch (always the night before) she would sometimes add a little note or something special. It ALWAYS made my day. It doesn’t matter what I had to eat, that note made me happy for the rest of the day. 🙂
Get creative!
Good luck,
~Dawn
Well, as a 2nd grade teacher I have noticed that kids absolutely LOVE those lunchables! They are not too expensive and they are already packaged for you! Everything is included in them too! It’s easy for you and lots of fun for them! 😀 Hope this helped!
Em,
I can’t be of any help. It has been so long since I’ve actually packed a lunch. I will however recommend you write a love note to the kids on their napkin. Just a fun way of letting them know you’re thinkin’ of them even though they’re away. Of course I guess you can ask them what they want. They get to see everyone else’s lunch when they eat theirs, ask them if there is something they’ve seen that they might want to try. Never hurts to ask the kiddos.
MWAH
My kids loved lunchables, fruit and Capri-Suns! I always knew they’d eat it, not trade it, and it would give them energy for the afternoon. Plus all it required was pulling it out of the frig! Hang in there!
Lunches are always a challenge. A few items my kids loved were: Hot dogs rolled up in Pilsbury crescent roll dough. Cook the night before and pack cold. Also cold mac and cheese in small tupperware was good. You can also cut up cold cuts and cheese, add some crackers and they can make their own cracker stackers. I also froze gogurts (tubes of yogart) and put it in their lunch. By the time lunch rolled around, it was unfrozen and helped keep lunch cold.
Good Luck!!
How about cold cereal? Most kids LOVE cereal and there are some really good, healthy ones out there!
Freeze container of milk.
Pour cereal into a baggie/container.
Add a spoon and a bowl and lunch is ready!!
Include some fruit and/or veggies — easy peasy!! 🙂
I am not a mom, but I would suggest prepare at night. Turkey sandwich, chip, drink, something sweet and a veggie like carrots or celery stick with peanut butter or a piece of fruit or applesauce /fruit cup.
My son loves tortilla wraps with grilled (leftover) chicken, cheese, lettuce, and ranch dressing w/a hint of taco seas.
What about chips and salsa
Soup in a thermos
Cut sandwiches with a cookie cutter to make it fun for younger kids
Cheese sticks, ham cubes and crackers are good
blueberries, cherries, strawberries
make lunch at night, and let them help/
I am big fan of PB and J and cut into different dhapes with cookie cutters (stars and hearts and daisy’s. a little baggie of those fish crackers or cheeze its, a fruit juice and a little snack size thing of either apple slices or carrots or something healthy enough. I am not a cook at all so I like to vary the sides and keep the PB and J going…..good luck!
I say a fruit kabob. Just slice some fruit up stick it on the wood stick thingy put a small thing of go-gourt in and a juice box and call yourself ready for some cofee and a relax in the tub while the kidos are away. Hope this helps.
This is a favorite of my son and niece’s (they’re 7). Heat refried beans with some shredded sharp cheddar cheese and minced sweet onion until the cheese melts. Place a spoonful in the center of a flour tortilla. Fold the sides to the middle, then fold the bottom up and top down to make a pocket. In the morning heat up the burrito until it’s hot. Wrap it up in aluminum foil. If you put it in an insulated lunch bag it will be warm at lunch time. Add an apple or orange slices as a side. I like to make these ahead of time and freeze them individually. They also make for a quick snack or dinner if you need something fast.
My kids dig wraps. I agree with so much that has already been posted. One suggestion though, if you let the kid pack it themselves, have them create a scheduled menu so they don’t eat an unbalanced diet everyday. My daughter got stuck in that rut. Tip for apples – if you wedge it with an apple wedger, leave it stuck together at the bottom and wrap it in saran wrap, it will keep most types of apples from turning brown (since its not exposed to air). I loved frozen jello as a kid, and I would guess that after a morning in a lunch box it would be about the perfect eating consistancy (slushy and spoonable).
My boys always liked hard salami spread with cream cheese and then rolled into a roll….you can also use flour tortillas spread with pimento cheese and then a slice of thin ham – roll-up and then slice into little pinwheels.
Oh dear, I didn’t pass the math the first time LOL!
Ok, so yes, PB&J sandwiches you can’t go wrong.
Also fun? My mom’s “ants on a log”. it’s celery stalks w/ PB smothered on top and then you add the “ants”, little sprinkled raisins on top. Yum! I still make em!
My kids love wraps as well. But they like Mexican stuff too. I use left overs. Less prep.
Chicken cooked with salsa,corn, and red peppers. In wrap with cheese on top and thats it. Add some grapes, fish crackers, and a water and off they go. They also like the beef version. Good luck!
Oh Em, I feel your pain… I so HATE making lunches, but my kiddos prefer them over the ones available at school… Tried and true winners in our neck of the woods are Homemade lunchables… cookie-cut up lunch meat (usually balogna), slices of real cheese (not the processed stuff… they don’t like it), some ritz crackers in a ziplock baggie, a cup of applesauce, a small bottle of water and a juice box. We always make them the night before and the kiddos get to choose their lunch meat. They also like sliced apples with peanut butter to dip (in lieu of the applesauce). Hope that helps!
Good luck sweetie~
~Sara Frawley
slfrawley at ec dot rr dot com
Hi Em,
Here’s a funny “story”…a guy my son plays soccer with just graduated from high school. His mom was so happy b/c she said she no longer has to pack his lunch…he took THE SAME thing every day for 12 years for lunch!! That was what he wanted.
My kids would rather me make their lunch instead of buying lunch at school. My one daughter likes quesadillas…we use the tortillas, place colby cheese in between 2 and microwave until the cheese melts. I wrap it in foil and it stays warm until she eats it. My son likes turkey sandwiches on mini bagels, and my other daughter likes yogurt for lunch. We also do cheese sticks with wheat thins, applesauce & graham cracker sticks, fresh fruit & carrots with a little bit of ranch dressing to dip them in. And they seem to always want a little something for dessert when they eat at school…not a home though????…so I always have homemade cookies for their lunch. My son graduates this coming school year & my daughters will follow on his heels. The time has gone SO quickly. I am so glad that I took the extra time to have the cookies for them.
I, too, always put a little note in their lunch for them. Wasn’t sure how my kids would handle that once they got into high school, but I think it means more to them now than when they were in elementary school.
:O WHAT??? you mean we’re suppose ta FEED them?! eeek!!! 😉
…yes I’m kiddink! 😛
I can’t read all the posts there are 67 of them! anyway, somedays when Dawson gets bored with bread we’ll switch to flat breads and roll them up with same ingredients as I would a sammich
then other days I’ll package up crackah’s, cheeeZe, and keilbasa and make him make his own dang lunch! 😛 LOL
We always loved when our sandwiches were pressed with images on them… like imprinted.
Another good one is the “build your own” deal. You give them crackers, deli meat, cheese, or whatever… and they get to put it together as they eat! Fun stuff!
Well, I didn’t read all of them but as a teacher I am always packing my lunch and since we only get 30 minutes (ha-more like 20) of duty free lunch I have to get creative.
One thing I do is to put my “sandwich” on a tortilla and they have the whole grains ones which work great plus get their fiber. I think if you laid out the sandwich “fixins” the night before and let them build their own (or at least your son) he would love it! I think the key is to vary it and make sure they aren’t eating the same things every day (unless they want to of course). Ask him what he wants for lunch and get some ideas that way he feels as if he has contributed! just a few thoughts!
Lunch can be a toughie. I took mine all the way through high school which was about a million years ago. My personal favorite was a bologna sandwich with a pack of BBQ potato chips and a Little Debbie Swiss Cake roll. It was made and bagged the night before. Bologna is probably passe now. 100 calorie cookie packs have probably replaced Little Debbie Swiss Cake rolls. When all else fails there are Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches and a bag of pre-cut apple slices. I’m guessing that 3 and 6 year olds are too small to run microwaves. I don’t know if you have lunchables up there. Can a 3 year old get a lunchable open? Peanut butter and crackers are good. Anything with cheese and maybe celery sticks. Do they like pimento cheese? That’s another tasty treat on a sandwich. Be sure to cut the crusts off. A cookie cutter might also make a quick interesting shape. Is there one in the shape of a Bella?