Parents: School Lunches

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  • kndlkai1
    kndlkai1 Posts: 103 Member
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    We have our kids (11 and 7) pack their own lunches. Choices range from leftovers, lunch meat and sliced cheese, peanut butter. There are chips/pretzels but baked or the more natural kind (Snikiddy for example) and plenty of fruits and veges. The general rule is they are not supposed to throw anything away but bring it home so they can explain why they didn't eat whatever it was. Some stuff comes home but not a lot. I think most of that is because they have ownership over their lunch. We send them in with all natural fruit juice sometimes but mostly water.

    Good luck finding the balance that works for you and your family.
  • Funsoaps
    Funsoaps Posts: 514 Member
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    My daughter was and still is a hot-lunch person (now almost 17) and I try try try so hard to get her to be healthier...we are a very healthy family. I try to educate her on better lunch choices at least.

    My son, is 6 and he HAS to have a packed lunch, after all he has MULTIPLE common food intolerances. He's going to be getting everything from:

    baby carrots
    apple slices, pears
    raisins
    gluten-free sandwich; turkey meat, mustard
    gluten-free organic chicken nuggets
    v8 fusion to drink, or v8 sparkling fusion, water, 100% juice, organic juice/grape/apple, vanilla rice milk, selzer water
    Applegate organic 100% beef hormone/antibiotic-free hot dogs (no buns), possibly in gluten/dairy-free mac 'n cheeze I make him
    Homemade casseroles; usually organic, gluten and dairy free but TASTY with green beans
    Leftover steak from time to time (cut up for him)
    Burgers, turkey burgers, chicken patties, buffalo burgers (no cheese, no bun)
    Coconut milk yogurt, he likes plain or vanilla
    rice cakes
    rice crackers
    refried beans/burritos made with corn/dairy-free cheeze/meat
    pepperoni slices, turkey pepperoni
    crunchy corn sticks by Pirate's Booty
    gluten-free/dairy-free cold pizza
    Gluten-free cookies/cupcakes from time to time
    green, red, purple grapes
    white rice, brown organic rice with something like chicken, organic soy-sauce/teriyaki
    pancakes and turkey sausage or turkey bacon (my son does not mind cold gluten-free pancakes)
    granola
    homemade gluten-free cornbread, corn dogs (I make healthier versions of all of these).
    Homemade chicken strips
    bananas


    Invest in a cold/hot bag.

    I think school lunch is crappy! I worked at a school for a couple of years and would bring my own lunch, when I didn't once or twice I was UTTERLY shocked at the gross offerings they had. All greasy, no nutritional value whatsoever, all very modified foods, processed, overly salted/breaded/white flour/bad fats...etc.

    I am even more shocked at how HORRIBLE hospital food is. It's likely to put you back in the hospital.
  • michellelhartwig
    michellelhartwig Posts: 498 Member
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    bumping to read later
  • V3ggieL0vinGinger
    V3ggieL0vinGinger Posts: 235
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    The high school I went to has a post secondary/high school cooking program. The food is FANTASTIC! It is quite healthy...sandwiches on whole wheat bread, meals with brown rice and veggies. I'm just realizing how extremely lucky that was after reading all these stories about school lunches!
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
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    Mind you this was in the 50's andearly 60's, but the schools I went to, they actually prepared a fresh meal daily, i remember great rolls,beets and other yummy foods. we looked forward to lunch. Now days its some prepackaged crap according to goverment guidelines. they charge more for less too. It seems to me they would save money buying in bulk and actually make the workers do their job in this area.
  • Hannah645
    Hannah645 Posts: 75 Member
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    My daughter gets a salad every day. She loads it up with nuts, eggs and chick peas and a good amount of veggies. Yes, she probably puts a ton of ranch, but better than a slimey pizza.

    My sons will not touch the elementary lunches. My 11 year old is a big kid - 5'5 and 110 pounds and growing like a weed. I have to send him with a couple of boiled eggs, PB&J, apple or banana, a kashi bar and a homemade cookie for snack. He does have access to a microwave because he is in special ed and he will take chicken fajitas, leftover meatloaf and roast potatoes if he is "super hungry" He eats all day long!

    My 8 year old likes a PB and nutella, banana and a kids cliff bar.. SAME thing EVERY day. Makes life easy.

    I also pack my boys 2 cartons of almost frozen milk. By the time they get to lunch it is good to go.

    Maybe I'm a big dumb male... Ok, I'm a big dumb male... but... I though Kashi Bars and Nutella fell into the "bad" catagory?

    Honestly, try the Kashi Peanutty Dark Chocolate bars. 130 cal, 5g fat, 4g fiber, 7g sugar, and 4g protein. While I would never consider them top-notch nutrition, I try eat one of those instead of the Swiss Cake Rolls I used to grab from the vending machine.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    My thoughts:

    1) The idea that they're charging him full price to go get a snack cake is ridiculous.
    2) I hope you still allow your child to have some sweets in an otherwise well-balanced diet.
    3) I don't think there's any issue with cold food. I say pack his lunch every day.
    4) I wouldn't get too caught up in what food is "good" and what is "bad". The diet as a whole is of importance.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    Here in Australia we have the option of giving the kids money to buy food, or packing it for them - no school provided meals here. I have a kid in pre-school now, and the restrictions they put on foods are crazy! eg No nuts or sesame seeds at all (potential allergy reasons).

    No junk food is allowed AT ALL - if they are found with any food that is not approved it will be sent home with a note. Sandwiches are ok, but only with approved fillings (eg meat & salad is ok, jam/jelly or nutella is not allowed). No high sugar flavoured milk etc.

    My wife made a batch of banana bran muffins (low sugar, all natural, high fibre, wholemeal) and they were sent home!! I sent it back and said if you can find something healthier show me... otherwise STFU and let me provide nutritional food for my child as I see fit!

    I'm glad they are taking steps to improve nutrition and awareness, but geez!
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
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    :grumble: Yes we have been here before and it's still so fatty,so sugary,so expenceive so full of salt acually total cr@p the school dinners,i know you are in the states but i'm in the uk, the goverments don't get it thats how the kids are gonna get bigger and unhealthy! But the goverment just want to say no to some of the big firms and stop letting them take the p/ss out of us all!
    It's not just school dinners tho its all foods we eat,cerial in the mornings,bread,OMG i could go on for ever! :explode: :sad:
  • dianniejt
    dianniejt Posts: 175 Member
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    Our elementary schools offer crap and if you don't want that they offer Smuckers Uncrustables PB&J sandwiches. Our junior high and high schools offer a variety of crap including fast food pizza and hamburgers, cup of noodle, vending machines with soda and candy and chips and cookies. They also have a "fruit and veggie bar" which normally consists of canned peaches and maybe one fresh fruit, some lettuce and some carrots.

    We refuse to buy lunch for our children, if they want to eat that they have to pay for it themselves. I believe they have bought lunch 4 times this school year. Its not worth it to them to pay for crap food when they can take whatever they want from home. Thats exacrtly the way I like it.

    When we got reduced price lunches I couldn't afford to feed them for what we paid for school lunch. Now I realize how much better off they would have been if we cut out something else to be able to afford to pack lunches.
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
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    I live in Europe, but I just spent 2 years in the US. My two kids attended primary school in North Carolina. The school lunches were OK. However, what really got me was the following:

    1 - Snack foods were everywhere, so kids had easy access to Cokes, cakes, chips, etc. It was not free, but kids always find a way to sneak in money. And in some cases, the lunch credit could be used for these items. This is often promoted by the school, as they are being paid money by large corporations to stock these terrible foods. It's disgusting.

    2 - The teachers themselves were constantly giving out candy as rewards. This drove me crazy. Most teachers had a big bowl of candy right on their desks. "Great Johnny, thanks for being good today, have some candy." I wanted to scream. I literally had to implement a system where my kids could exchange their candy rewards for money that they could use to buy toys (Pokemon cards, etc.). And of course I complained constantly to the school administrators, who eventually viewed me as a crackpot.

    3 - The school had the option of ordering a special take out meal one day a week, which consisted of fast food! Pizza, KFC, etc. Yes, they also offered a healthy option, after some parents complained. But who is going to eat a salad and fish when little Susie next to them is eating Pizza Hut?? I just had to bite the bullet and let them have fast food that one day, since everyone else in their class was chomping away at pizza.

    4 - The parents (!!!) often brought fast food to their kids during lunchtime. Literally drove to school with the food. And it was always crappy fast food. One poor girl who was terribly overweight (this was the 2nd grade) got Taco Bell everyday from her (surprise, also overweight) mother. I asked her about it once, in a nice way. She said that it's all her daughter would eat!!! Now there's a great example of parenting.... You can imagine how doubly hard it became to convince my kids to eat baked chicken, rice, and lettuce when the girl next to them is chowing down on Taco Bell every single day (and my God does that food smell terrible).

    It was the south in the US, where so many people seem to be overweight. But it was the school itself that encouraged this. The ignorance was just unbelievable. They were literally teaching an entire generation of kids how NOT to eat.

    The head administrator herself was 300 pounds minimum. Again, clueless.

    --Prahasaurus
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
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    And let me stress that I'm not against snacks, cakes, pizza, even fast food, etc., for my kids, occasionally. Kids are kids, they need to have fun,a and I don't want to prevent them from eating anything, as then later they will crave those foods even more.

    My issue was the prevalence of this food at the school. It was a daily assault. How to tell your kids some foods are unhealthy when their own teacher was encouraging it?

    The schools should be helping parents teach their kids about healthy eating, not undermining our efforts.

    --Prahasaurus
  • cbendorf13
    cbendorf13 Posts: 87 Member
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    Quick post haven't read everything, but Dixon Montessori in California has a great program for kids lunches as does many of the schools in Davis, CA - organic healthy choices
  • parnyparn
    parnyparn Posts: 47 Member
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    I can proudly say my 13yr old has never eaten a school lunch in her life. I wake up 1hr early each morning and pack a hot lunch in a thermos container each morning and have for years. Coming from a Caribbean background this was traditional how we send our kids to school. With a hot lunch, a box juice (half veg and juice) and a fruit snack. I continue this tradition to this day with my child. I even pack a lunch for my spoilt husband. His in a regular container since he has a microwave in the office.

    My kids lunches are so famous that I get special request from the kids at her table.
  • DanetteNel
    DanetteNel Posts: 68 Member
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    I found an interesting homemade alternative to lunchables here that are healthier and cheaper:

    http://www.squawkfox.com/2011/09/09/lunchables/

    Gave me some neat ideas!
  • DanetteNel
    DanetteNel Posts: 68 Member
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    Would anyone be interested in a PDF booklet on healthy and affordable school lunches?

    I was thinking of doing research at schools and putting one together..................... I would love to share it if anyone is interested.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    We are fortunate enough to have my oldest in a private school and my youngest in a program where they actually do give them healthy foods. My oldest gets 'hot lunch' 2 days a week. On Tuesday it is a local restaurant or fast food (tacos, real hot dogs, roasted chicken) and then fresh fruit, veggies, milk or juice. On Friday it is 1 or 2 pieces of pizza and fresh fruit or veggies. We choose some of these lunches for him, otherwise, we pack everything ourselves. The public school lunches here are horrible. Things I would never feed my family and my kids have never seen. (And what we eat is far from perfect)
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    lucky me
    I went to school in poland
    and never ever had junk food for lunch
    it was always:
    soup,
    main meal (meet/fish, starchy carbs, side of vegs - big side of vegs, at least same amount as meat)
    kompota - not sure what the name is in English, it's juice obtained by boiling fruit untill all the juice goes int water, with sugar added)
    fruit for dessert - i think it was always fruit for whole 8 years, no matter if it was friday, day before holiday... food (junk food) as a treat was not an option, we didn't have vending machines neither

    Now I live in Spain, here they to serve junk food on Fridays in school cafeteria, but every other day, it's pretty healthy
  • puppycloud
    puppycloud Posts: 42
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    Here in Norway, most schools don't offer lunches at all. Kids bring their own lunches, usually a sandwich that is made of two slices of dark bread and some cheese/nutella/jam, usually made by the kid herself. They get free fruit at school and the parents can pre pay a small carton of milk for them. They are not allowed to bring snacks or candy at all, unless it is a special occasion.

    It is not super healthy, but from my viewpoint a much much better option than some of the school lunches you write about. Lunch does not have to be fancy and complicated. it has to be filling and good enough for the kid to get through a school day.
  • Hestion
    Hestion Posts: 740 Member
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    Not read all the replies, and I'm in the UK, sons school as fantastic school dinners, lots of variety, healthy stuff and always a decent vegetarian option too (hes not, but I like noticing they are catering for all).

    They are 1.90 pounds per day, and includes drink and desert as well, which ranges from yogurts, to slightly less healthy things as they believe kids need to have their interest kept, but on the whole its healthy, its cooked fresh at the school and I see the butchers and greengrocers deliver every morning when I drop him off.

    He is never allowed to use lunch credit for anything else, sometimes he takes snack money, or takes his own fruit etc for snacks, which is all they are allowed at break time, fruit or cereal bars and such like.

    Some days he takes packed lunch, and has sandwiches/fruit (normally 2 different), yogurt, and a bar of some kind or crips, I try and keep it varied, other times, something will get substituted for things like Dairy Lea Pots, or such like, cut up cucumber and other things he likes and send little pots of that sometimes, he likes cold sausage rolls and things like that so even if its not heated, its something a bit different.

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