School lunch ideas

livilively
livilively Posts: 21 Member
edited December 22 in Food and Nutrition
***DISCLAIMER***
I am in no way trying to get my child to diet, I am simply encouraging my family to live a healthier lifestyle while I am on my weight loss journey. That being said...

School is starting next week! I'm putting together a shopping list for my eight year old daughter's school lunches but I've hit a wall when it comes to healthy food ideas for her that would keep well in her lunchbox and actually be appetizing to a second grader. Any recommendations are welcome and appreciated!!

Replies

  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    For one thing, I put an ice pack in my insulated lunch bag, which opens up a lot of possibilities.

    What have you packed previously? What did she eat all summer? How do you define healthy eating?

    My nieces and nephews love sashimi and sushi...
  • lx1x
    lx1x Posts: 38,330 Member
    Fruit snacks.. baked chips instead of regular ones.. etc.
  • Colburn_41
    Colburn_41 Posts: 4 Member
    edited August 2019
    I would do fruit(strawberries, cantaloupe,sliced apples, nuts (usually almonds or pistachios) veggies (carrots) and a fun treat when my son was younger. Then he moved onto meat sandwiches (lettuce, mayo, meat & cheese) with chips and fruit. He also went from little juice boxes to small bottles of juice or Gatorade.

    He’s in middle school now so any lunch ideas would be appreciated also 🙂 Hope this helped 🙂
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    My kid (almost 8)is a super picky eater and I’ve fallen into the trap of grabbing Costco granola bars and gummy fruit snacks for lunches and snacks. She had cavities at her last dental visit so out with the sticky sweet stuff!
    Today I made turkey roll ups in flour tortillas (she likes smoked turkey), cut up strawberries and some blueberries, individual mozzarella cheese ball (Belgioso), and some cucumber slices with a little salt sprinkled on.
    I also have some fresh cherries for other lunches. My kid will eat sunbutter or peanut butter sandwiches on wheat bread. I’m thankful she likes fresh fruit!
    I will give her a peanut butter banana roll up in tortilla for a change, this week.

    Snack is mandarin orange and/or bag of Pirates Booty snack. I put a cold pack in her lunch box and use a container with separate compartments.
  • colorfulcoquette
    colorfulcoquette Posts: 94 Member
    My older son has been paying more attention to the types of foods he's eating and trying to a balanced, healthy diet.

    His lunch today was a salmon pack, 1/2 of a Joseph's lavash bread, carrots, blueberries, and a Quaker Oats breakfast flat pack. He'll usually have a one salmon pack and one tuna pack a week with the lavash bread. The other days are usually a pb&j on multigrain bread. His veggies are those little snack containers of carrots, green bean, peas, or corn. Fruit is usually whatever we have on hand that's fresh but sometimes unsweetened applesauce.
  • hmhill17
    hmhill17 Posts: 283 Member
    I never advocate nuts in a school lunch because of allergies. Allergy parents have enough to worry about.

    I have them make their own lunches and check it behind them. Rules are:
    Dairy (cheese stick or slices)
    Protein - ham turkey the occasional Chicken Nugget lunchable
    Fruits/vegetables - at least 2
    Chips/crackers/pretzels - only 1 chip. I buy wholegrain versions of things when they're available.

  • weatherking2019
    weatherking2019 Posts: 943 Member
    My 11 YO daughter likes rice. So I pack her Rice with protein. And for snacks : Fruit of season, Crackers & Cheese and a sweet treat.
    My 13 YO son likes sandwiches so I make him a bagel sandwich. Cheese, meat and lettuce. Snacks are the same with my daughter. But I would throw in another granola bar or something for before his sports after school.
    I also like to add frozen yogurt tubes or freezer pacs during summer months. Just in case. Cold seasons they like Mac n cheese, Soup or Pasta in thermos.
    Happy packing!
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 703 Member
    A robust salad, cous cous/pasta/potato salad.

    Boiled egg, falafel, a small pot of hummus with carrot and cucumber sticks, cherry tomatoes.

    If you can manage it, it's a nice thing to bake together at the weekend. That way you can control sugar content, add whole wheat flour, grated veg/ fruit etc. A sliced loaf cake or muffins will happily live in the freezer and be defrosted by lunchtime.

    Different breads work well, wraps, nice rolls, rye bread.

  • Sunshine_And_Sand
    Sunshine_And_Sand Posts: 1,320 Member
    In second and third grade, my oldest child was having a lot of growth spurts, so she ate like a horse. Here’s what I packed her. 2 peanut butter sandwiches, fresh pealed and separated oranges, grapes, sliced cheddar, 4 oz cup of yogurt, cheezits or popcorn for snack time, bottle of water. That lunch box was STUFFED, but even so she would come home asking me to start packing her more food... I did have to add some ice packs for all that fruit and the dairy.
  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
    I have a 4th grader, 2nd grader and 1st grader. Each have slightly different tastes, but here are some ideas.

    Oldest has the same thing if he takes a packed lunch. Pepperoni slices, crackers, doritos, fresh fruit and water or juice box.

    Middle kid - eats left overs a lot. He enjoys cold spaghetti, black beans with salsa on top, hardboiled egg and always with fresh fruit and sometimes a small treat.

    Youngest - very picky! She often gets a muffin, cheese stick or go-gert, strawberries or apples and pretzels.
  • livilively
    livilively Posts: 21 Member
    concordancia wrote: »
    For one thing, I put an ice pack in my insulated lunch bag, which opens up a lot of possibilities.

    What have you packed previously? What did she eat all summer? How do you define healthy eating?

    My nieces and nephews love sashimi and sushi...

    As far as the healthy eating goes, I'm looking to incorporate more fruits and veggies in her lunches in fun and creative ways to break the monotony of turkey and wheat sandwiches with sliced fruit and yogurt.

    Over the summer we've had a lot of veggie burgers and soups for lunch but I'm not sure how good those would be cold.

    These are all great ideas, guys!
  • livilively
    livilively Posts: 21 Member
    weatherking2019 wrote: »
    My 11 YO daughter likes rice. So I pack her Rice with protein. And for snacks : Fruit of season, Crackers & Cheese and a sweet treat.
    My 13 YO son likes sandwiches so I make him a bagel sandwich. Cheese, meat and lettuce. Snacks are the same with my daughter. But I would throw in another granola bar or something for before his sports after school.
    I also like to add frozen yogurt tubes or freezer pacs during summer months. Just in case. Cold seasons they like Mac n cheese, Soup or Pasta in thermos.
    Happy packing!

    I just read the last line about soup in a thermos. What a good idea! I can't believe that never crossed my mind haha
  • duskyjewel
    duskyjewel Posts: 286 Member
    edited August 2019
    My youngest has always loved naan or pita and hummus. I also sometimes get the crunchy bread sticks (grissini?) to dip in hummus. Baby carrots are a fave as well. Portioned cheese sticks work great too. If your worry is temperature, I used to freeze 100% fruit juice boxes. They would thaw slowly and work as an ice pack at the same time. Depending how early your kid's lunch is, you might have to put a frozen one in the fridge overnight so it will be partly thawed when you pack the lunch.

    My kids love to munch on jicama as well. If you have a produce section near you with lots of variety, maybe try different fruits and veggies. Every time my kids take jicama, another kid asks what it is and has never heard of it. Variety is key to getting kids to eat lots of fruit and veggies.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    My nephews like humus, so carrots, cucumber, grape tomatoes and red peppers with hummus are good. Sandwiches, different seasonal fruits, yogurt, meat and cheese cubes, hard boiled eggs. Change it up and she won't get bored, or she'll find some new favorites. Some kids like cold pasta, like raviolis...or pasta salad with veg.
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