Preschool lunch ideas - vegetarian and no nuts

[Anonymous]

Best egg cooker: http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-25500-Cooker-Built-/dp/B00F0R72JU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444318231&sr=8-1&keywords=hamilton+egg+cooker

I usually do a cheese sandwich, pancakes, pizza, or something else. They do not heat up food. Then a variety of fruits, veggies and a granola bar, raisins or fig newtons.

[Anonymous]

I have to say it. Why not a 'slice of cake'?

[Anonymous]

uh....put eggs in cold water. Turn on stove. Once it hits boil, turn off burner, cover pot, and let sit for 15 minutes.

That's difficult!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:uh....put eggs in cold water. Turn on stove. Once it hits boil, turn off burner, cover pot, and let sit for 15 minutes.

That's difficult!?

Apparently some people prefer not to worry about such things as school lunches until Monday morning.

[Anonymous]

My child has a bento box and a thermos. I am from South America and we don't have the habit of eating PB&J so I ALMOST NEVER even remember to send it. Well, it is never PB because the school is nut free, but I replace it with sun butter in the rare occasions I send this sandwich.

Usually what I send is left over from dinner in her thermos when she asks for it. Examples: sweet potato nhocci with spinach; chili (I am sure there is a meatless version out there), lentil soup.

I have also sent grilled cheese, and other type of sandwiches with meat.

Somedays, like yesterday I send a more "raw" lunch: cucumbers with a side of that yogurt sauce to dip the cucumber in; sliced bell peppers, 3 quail eggs, 1 mozzarella stick, strawberries. The other days I sent a grape tomato/marinated mozzarella/basil salad, cucumber again, bell peppers again, quail eggs again and for a treat one of those petit swiss yogurt (WF, find it in the cheese section).

Today I sent half a burrito (ww totilla, beans and chicken) inside the thermos , grape tomatoes and carrots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had the same policy in our preschool, and really this isn't that hard.

Veggies, hummus, and cracker
Home-made whole wheat muffins (or banana or zuchinni bread) and hardboiled eggs (which I find to be easier than a sandwich, but to each his own)
Leftover blackbeans and rice
Quesadillas (cheese, veggie, black bean) or burritos
Homemade pizza (ww english muffin or pita, tomato sauce, cheese, spinach, cheese)
Muffin-tin quiches (as with muffins, make a big batch and keep in the freezer)
Empanadas (make a batch, keep in freezer)
Roasted chick-peas
Veggie burger sandwiches
Whole wheat pasta with any kind of sauce (this actually has a lot of protien)
Trader Joes spinach tortelini
Chobani yogurt tubes
Greek yogurt smoothies

Can you do fish? Our veggie preschool allowed fish, and we sent lots of fish & avocado roll ups (for some reason my kid loved them)

Does OP need to go through this list to tell you why 80% of them are terrible for you?

Let me guess, you're gluten-free by choice or paleo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:uh....put eggs in cold water. Turn on stove. Once it hits boil, turn off burner, cover pot, and let sit for 15 minutes.

That's difficult!?

This is how I do it. Glad someone suggested it.

[Anonymous]

High protein pasta works well (may be too processed for you, but we eat a lot in our house since my little one eats no meat, can't have dairy and can't take nuts to school). Costo has a black bean spaghetti that is high fiber, high protein and lower carb.

bagel with cream cheese is go to for us too (ours is soy cream cheese).

cream cheese and jelly sandwich (a favorite from my youth)
cream cheese and tomato or pimentos (another favorite from my youth)

dried garbanzos or edamame are good for us too.

[Anonymous]

I make a double batch of something that I'm making for supper (say, lentil burgers made w mushroom, artichoke, bell pepper, ground pumpkin seeds, and a handful of Ezekiel crumbs). Have them for the meal and then freeze the rest to have for lunch boxes. If you do that at least once or twice a week you get a really good stash built up and it's not any extra cooking since you're just doubling the meal you were making anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:uh....put eggs in cold water. Turn on stove. Once it hits boil, turn off burner, cover pot, and let sit for 15 minutes.

That's difficult!?

Yes, it is. Mine never come out right. I got the egg cooker and it cooks them perfectly. And, it doesn't take very long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to say it. Why not a 'slice of cake'?

We send our kid very healthy lunches but the few times I will send in a homemade cookie or brownie they refuse to let him eat it (of course they fill him with all kinds of crap I ask them not to but I guess that's ok). Otherwise depending on the cake, I would every once in a while.

[Anonymous]

Please don't let your resentment show through to your kid or at the monthly lunches about the no nuts policy. The kid with the allergies is (hopefully) very aware that he can not eat the same things as his friends.

If you are mostly vegetarian at home why not send leftovers from the night before?

For the mini-quiches you can use just egg whites instead of a whole egg if you are worried about cholesterol.

If you don't like kids yogurt because it's full of sugar you can buy the yogurt you do feed your kid and put it in a smaller container.

[Anonymous]

Lots of good ideas in this thread, I'm going to try some of them out!

As others have said, making hard boiled eggs is about the easiest thing you can do- I made some while cooking dinner last night. Put the eggs in the pot with cold water, cover, bring the water to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and set a timer for 15 min. Done!

For other sandwich spreads, make a big batch of hummus and freeze smaller containers to pull out when needed. For a change of pace I like to make a cannelini bean spread- just purée a can of beans with a clove of garlic, 2tbsp each of olive oil and lemon juice and some rosemary.

At some point, your kid is going to want more than pb&j anyway.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please don't let your resentment show through to your kid or at the monthly lunches about the no nuts policy. The kid with the allergies is (hopefully) very aware that he can not eat the same things as his friends.

If you are mostly vegetarian at home why not send leftovers from the night before?

For the mini-quiches you can use just egg whites instead of a whole egg if you are worried about cholesterol.

If you don't like kids yogurt because it's full of sugar you can buy the yogurt you do feed your kid and put it in a smaller container.

Definitely- just get plain yogurt and mix in fruit and a little honey if that's permissible.

[Anonymous]

What school requires a veg lunch? I want to make sure to avoid such a preposterous place for my kids.