Packing your kids lunch for school - what're the best things to pack?

Question

This year I will have two kids in school (3rd grader and preschooler). Rather than pay $100 month for school lunches & breakfast, I will be feeding them breakfast @ home before school and also packing their lunches this year. What are good things to pack for lunch for children this age? I realize sandwiches but I'm guessing that they won't have access to a microwave to heat anything up. Also, lunchables don't make alot of sense since they cost more than the school lunch does. Your suggestions are appreciated.

Answer 1

usually you need to pack a sandwich, fruit, drink, snack

favorite sandwiches

pb&j

turkey

subway mommy's way

balogna

my kids love those dollar roles as sandwiches

egg salad or chicken salad

I also pack lunchables mommy's way- buy small balogna and crakers and cut my own chesses ta-duh lunchable mommys way.

Answer 2

sandwich (my son loves bologna, cheese and ketchup), fruit (apple, banana, grapes) granola bar (or something like that) and gold fish or carrot sticks.

that's a typical lunch for my son and he loves it.

Answer 3

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, some kind of chips (like pringles), and pudding or jello. And if they're especially hungry kids give them a piece of fruit too!

Answer 4

My son comes home at lunch time, but I pack snacks. What does your son like to eat for lunch now?  Try him out on stuff like cold macaroni (gross, I know, but my kids love it!), salads, veggies, n' dips....My students would pack whole cucumbers and carrots, along with fruits, and just chomp on that during breaks.  Some kids would even bring small bags of cereal to eat dry. And a bit of candy once in  great while is always appreciated!

Answer 5

a pb&j sandwitch on weat bread, any kind of fruit, a juice box, and something sweet like a pudding cup or a brownie

Answer 6

Zip lock bags of their favorite thyes of chips, crackers, my kids loved Goldfish which can be purchased in LARGE containers and doled out over the weeks. Make half sandwiches, easier to hold, or even cut the half into half. Some schools provide milk or they can get this in the cafeteria so I wouldn't send that. Dessert one or two cookies, purchased store brand and bagged. Watch what they eat and how much when you fix lunch at home. Cheetos, fritos cal all be zip lock bagged. Also to cut the cost, be sure they bring the baggies home and wash them out. Vienna sausages might be ok, but I think the sandwiches would be better. Don't send excess since kids are usually slow eaters. Hope this helps

Answer 7

My son is in day care-I like to send:



Fruit juice box that is 100% fruit juice

Sandwich (pb&J, turkey and cheese w/must) on White Wheat type bread-he didn't eat wheat bread so this is a good second choice-go for one with high fiber

Goldfish or pretzels, chips maybe once a month for a treat

Applesauce or oranges in a cup, grapes and strawberries in season

Teddy grahms or pudding cup or yogurt once in a while as a treat a pack of gummy fruit chews

--Since he can also microwave food I will send soup and ritz crakers with peanut butter on them, chicken nuggets, pizza slice from last nights dinner, and Chicken Lo Mein from last nights dinner (his all time fave lunch)

Answer 8

My kids love a sandwich cut up (sometimes i use a cookie cutter..they love it) and apple or veggie stcks like celery or carrots and a small bag of cookies or pudding cups...juice boxes are good but u can also get small waters and get some drink powder (like kool aid )..less sugar..

Answer 9

I try not to do the same kind of sandwich every day (they stop eating after a while) and I always have to pack way more food for my 4th grader than my preschooler.  

Typical lunch I include a sandwich (cheese, lunchmeat, pb&j, pb&bananna, creamcheese and jelly, etc), two types of fruit or veggies (bannana, grapes, applesauce, strawberries, sliced apples or pears, cut up cantalope, celery or carrots with ranch dip). Then something snacky like crackers that they can eat for snack earlier or later if they want to.  I generally don't put a sweet in their lunch because they will skip one of their fruits or veggies to eat it.  When they have a week of eating their lunches really well then I will include a treat in their lunch.  Hope that helps!  Oh and I have my grade schooler buy milk for lunch - avoid juice boxes(at least not daily), even 100% juice has TONS of sugar.

Answer 10

My kids' lunch boxes have:

sandwiches

cut-up meat & cheese and crackers (cheaper than lunchable but same stuff)

Lettuce salad with grilled chicken cubed on top.

small, shallow thermos of mac & cheese or soup

bowl of cereal they can pour their milk onto

tortilla spread with cream cheese and meat, rolled up.

raw veggies cut into sticks and hummus to dip them into

cold fried chicken leg

peeled hard boiled eggs or deviled eggs (two of my kids don't care for deviled eggs, so I just send plain eggs for them)

Carton of yogurt with spoon.

I always include fresh fruit or veggies, too, and they get the milk at school. On a special occasion, I might throw in a small piece of candy or a small cookie, but too much sugar at noon isn't good for the classroom.