Genius Shannon has come up with another brilliant idea- For this WFMW, we ask a question and the reader leaves tips in the comments.
Here is my latest dilemma-
What are some creative school lunches? My daughter does not like sandwiches and it is getting tougher and tougher to be creative and healthy. During the cooler months, I send soups and the like in a thermos.
Any other tips that do not require a thermos?
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19 comments:
Wraps? Technically, they are sandwiches, but you could roll them up tightly, slice them diagonally, and they'd look pretty and different. Skewer them with those long cocktail toothpicks in different colors. Or would she be wise to that?
Another option is to make a homemade Lunchables type of thing, with assorted crackers, cheeses, meats. Again, it's a sandwich in disguise...but since she will be doing the assembly at school, it may be enough of a novelty that she won't notice or care.
Hope this helps!
We mix things up a bit. We have wraps (tortillas), mini salads that work even in a baggy, and have even done crackers and lunch meat. they all work well, and transport easily.
go look at veganlunchbox.blogspot.com -- she's not really posting any more but the archives are amazing. so many ideas to check out even if you're not a vegan or vegetarian.
Rolled up lunch meat.
Pepperoni slices.
PB&J To Go with graham crackers to dip.
Yogurt, cheese, fruit.
Wraps.
Ravioli (in thermos)
Macaroni & Cheese (thermos)
Almonds (great protein)
Hope this helps. I have the same dilemna.
I sometimes mix some walnuts and cranberries in a baggie, throw in a yogurt, a piece of fruit, a string cheese or hard-boiled egg, and some crackers. This is my son's favorite bag lunch, and it's pretty healthy (and quick!).
Awe...I was going to say wraps too. My kiddos love them. Because they're new. And because the kiddos are easily amused. :)
When I was little, I hated bread. Of any kind. Thank goodness I grew out of that.
ahem
So, she would roll baloney and cheese up, and hold it with a toothpick. I got three or four of these and some fruit.
Loved. It.
I like things you can dip--chips and salsa, veggies and ranch dip, pita dipped in hummus. Things like that keep it fun!
I like wraps, also sushi is good.
Make mini pizzas for her to have cold.
Cubed cheese and olives.
Chicken drumsticks, wrap the end of the bone in foil for easy holding.
I remember my Mum giving me baked beans and sausage heated up and in a thermos. (leftover sausage that she cut up and mixed in rather than the tinned versions, which i don't like!) I would eat it with a spoon and love it!
Some of the kids thought it was a little odd, but I didn't mind. Also i think that nowadays people are more used to not just plain old sandwiches, so I'd bet the other kids wouldn't think it was strange at all!
We keeep twice baked potatoes, individually frozen enchiladas and muffins and such in the freezer to grab for lunches they can microwave. My daughter prefers things like mexican rice or canned refried beans with taco chips.Pasta salad travels well and you can add pepperoni to it also.
My oldest used to beg for Lunchables, which I refuse to buy. Instead I had her help me make up our own little Lunchables.... cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, hardboiled egg, peanut butter and celery. She had fun with that. Maybe your daughter would want to help make her own lunch. She might come up with some creative things.
If presentation would help, try my latest lunchtime brainstorm: I make "MOMway Meals" (as in Subway). The girls like Subway's kids meals, which are actually pretty healthy if you choose the apple slices and milk. I buy whole wheat sandwich rolls and make subs the way Subway does, with shredded lettuce, cheese cut in triangles, turkey, etc. I wrap the sandwich in wax paper, then throw in some grapes and something crunchy like baked tortilla chips. (A box of raisins would work, too, but unfortunately my kids don't like them.) Instead of a toy prize, not the best idea for the cafeteria, I usually cave and toss in a something sweet like a Hershey's kiss.
The girls love the "Momway meals". I try to do them one day a week. I often make them ahead for Thursday dinners, since Thursday is a busy activity day in our house. As each girl gets home at a different time, she grabs her MOMway meal from the fridge and eats.
My oldest wants me to design a MOMway napkin to send in with the meal! Think I should trademark this? ;-)
Was trying to post earlier, but not sure if it worked -- anyway, a 'highlights' version ;) -- we do breakfast-for-lunch: pancakes with a mini container of syrup; fruit and a hard-boiled egg. Also works with mini frozen waffles.
We also do beans and rice or beans and pasta -- they mix them at school. Or edamame -- can get frozen and then it thaws by lunchtime.
I feel your lunch-packing pain!
When I was teaching preschool, there was one Dad in my class who always packed the BEST lunches -- all the kids would talk about what was in his son's lunch every day! The funny thing -- they weren't that fancy. Usually he had some kind of pasta (pinwheels, penne, corkscrews - something fun), then steamed or raw veggies - green beans, carrots (small-cut sticks), snap peas, etc. Then there might be some cold-cuts or cheese, or even hummus. The best thing - it was all cold, and it was all finger-food. I often wondered if they were just left-overs from the night before, or if he just cooked a big batch every three days or so to be for lunches that week . . .
Those had to be the healthiest lunches I saw!
One thing we do is mix up tuna fish, put it in a small container, pack some crackers and they can put the tuna on the crackers. They love that. Another good thing is pasta salad. My kids love it and you can whip it up really fast, usually with ingredients you already have and some salad dressing (I usually use Italian). Since sandwhiches are so easy, try cutting them into shapes with cookie cutters or make a puzzle out of them. We always put veggies in our kids' lunches. Try slicing up cucumber, cutting a slit down one side, cut a little circle out of the middle and link them together like a chain. Sometimes kids eat foods they might not normally eat if they are made fun.
Looks like you have a lot of good ideas here....I like wraps!
Yep, the homemade lunchables are a hit with my kids. What about chicken or tuna salad?
My middle son likes just plain pepperoni.
Everybody mentioned what I was going to say. What would your daughter like to take. I found when they helped to decide or helped to make their lunch they were most likely to eat it.
Oooh, I am so glad you asked this question 'cause I am loving the answers!
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