Parents - your kids are bringing garbage snacks to school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

I didn't say giving healthy foods is always time consuming or costly. I said that the foods the PP suggested for packed lunches are too time consuming for most working parents and therefore not particularly helpful for a parent looking for ways to efficiently prepare packed lunches for kids while also juggling work and other responsibilities.

Most working parents don't have the bandwidth to make pancakes from scratch for the express purpose of packing them in lunches through the week. Another issue with making food like this for lunches is that freshly prepared food mostly won't keep for 5 days. When I was a SAHM doing lunches like this, I had to do meal prep several times a week in order to assure food was fresh and appetizing in lunch boxes. I tried keeping this up when I started working full time by doing weekend meal prep, but a lot of items don't store well for that long.

It is really condescending to not recognize the time and financial constraints of parents. The suggestion of "just make a variety of freshly prepared items at home and serve them in small portions in lunches" is totally unrealistic for a lot of parents.

Dp. That poster suggested cubed cheeses and berries. Cheese comes cubed at the grocer and lasts a long time. Cucumber sandwiches can be quick too.

This single line from that list of suggestions invalidates it as a reasonable solution to most parents' healthy eating quandaries:

"- yogurt (homemade)"

Anyone who would say this to busy working parents trying to feed their kids is a bad person, the end.

Homemade yogurt takes 5 minutes of prep time in an instant pot. I don't do it, so I would not suggest this to anyone, but I don't see it as a guilt trip either. Not everything has to work for everyone. That doesn't make her a bad person.

NP. I just Googled this and to make it you have to have a TBS of yogurt that you'd have to buy. So, you're already buying yogurt.

You buy a yogurt starter the first time, and then save some of your last batch of yogurt to keep making more. It's like how some breads need starters.

The sound of the point whooshing five feet over people's heads. Sigh.

You are not buying starter every week.

I stand corrected. The sound of the point whooshing ten feet over people's heads.

Witty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

Yep, plus one on this. I am a single mom with full custody who works way more than 40 hours a week, but providing food cooked from scratch is a priority for me, so I make it happen. And PP could too, if it was a priority for her, but sounds like it is not. Not surprising, a lot of people who stay home aren't high functioning, so stands to reason she went back to work and can't figure out how to adequately feed her children.

A two parent household wasn’t a priority, though? Why should anyone give a $hit what you think about anything? You’ve already failed your kids.

I disagree that a single parent has failed their kids anymore than any parent has, but do think this comment is a great example of why it is a fruitless activity to wander around condescending to other parents about how you have it all figured out. There isn't a person on the planet who really has it all figured out, and when you present yourself that way, you just making yourself look stupid. Like I think PP basically asked for this kind of judgment by making a really unkind judgment about someone else for no reason.

I’m PP and I agree with your assessment. My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Along the lines of first removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the specks in your neighbors…

Lol so a single mom can’t have an opinion about anything? That is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on here and that’s saying a lot.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that packaged and overly processed food is awful for you and your kids. And that it is possible to cook from scratch even if you have a job or whatever other excuse.

[Anonymous]

Just stop the damaging snack habit and put competent people to install a decent kitchen, prepare and serve decent nourishing lunches in school cafeterias.
Ditch the sugar, high fructose corn syrup, concentrated apple juice, fries, and the rest of the toxic stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

Yep, plus one on this. I am a single mom with full custody who works way more than 40 hours a week, but providing food cooked from scratch is a priority for me, so I make it happen. And PP could too, if it was a priority for her, but sounds like it is not. Not surprising, a lot of people who stay home aren't high functioning, so stands to reason she went back to work and can't figure out how to adequately feed her children.

A two parent household wasn’t a priority, though? Why should anyone give a $hit what you think about anything? You’ve already failed your kids.

I disagree that a single parent has failed their kids anymore than any parent has, but do think this comment is a great example of why it is a fruitless activity to wander around condescending to other parents about how you have it all figured out. There isn't a person on the planet who really has it all figured out, and when you present yourself that way, you just making yourself look stupid. Like I think PP basically asked for this kind of judgment by making a really unkind judgment about someone else for no reason.

I’m PP and I agree with your assessment. My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Along the lines of first removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the specks in your neighbors…

Lol so a single mom can’t have an opinion about anything? That is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on here and that’s saying a lot.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that packaged and overly processed food is awful for you and your kids. And that it is possible to cook from scratch even if you have a job or whatever other excuse.

Since you still don’t get it -

At least MY kids sit down to eat dinner with their Mom AND Dad every night, even if the food wasn’t cooked from scratch.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that growing up in a broken home is awful for your kids, no matter what the excuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

Yep, plus one on this. I am a single mom with full custody who works way more than 40 hours a week, but providing food cooked from scratch is a priority for me, so I make it happen. And PP could too, if it was a priority for her, but sounds like it is not. Not surprising, a lot of people who stay home aren't high functioning, so stands to reason she went back to work and can't figure out how to adequately feed her children.

A two parent household wasn’t a priority, though? Why should anyone give a $hit what you think about anything? You’ve already failed your kids.

I disagree that a single parent has failed their kids anymore than any parent has, but do think this comment is a great example of why it is a fruitless activity to wander around condescending to other parents about how you have it all figured out. There isn't a person on the planet who really has it all figured out, and when you present yourself that way, you just making yourself look stupid. Like I think PP basically asked for this kind of judgment by making a really unkind judgment about someone else for no reason.

I’m PP and I agree with your assessment. My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Along the lines of first removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the specks in your neighbors…

Lol so a single mom can’t have an opinion about anything? That is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on here and that’s saying a lot.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that packaged and overly processed food is awful for you and your kids. And that it is possible to cook from scratch even if you have a job or whatever other excuse.

Since you still don’t get it -

At least MY kids sit down to eat dinner with their Mom AND Dad every night, even if the food wasn’t cooked from scratch.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that growing up in a broken home is awful for your kids, no matter what the excuse.

Maybe they are people who read academic studies and are triggered by your ignorance? It really depends on who the parents are, how much conflict is in the home, etc. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2930824/.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

Yep, plus one on this. I am a single mom with full custody who works way more than 40 hours a week, but providing food cooked from scratch is a priority for me, so I make it happen. And PP could too, if it was a priority for her, but sounds like it is not. Not surprising, a lot of people who stay home aren't high functioning, so stands to reason she went back to work and can't figure out how to adequately feed her children.

A two parent household wasn’t a priority, though? Why should anyone give a $hit what you think about anything? You’ve already failed your kids.

I disagree that a single parent has failed their kids anymore than any parent has, but do think this comment is a great example of why it is a fruitless activity to wander around condescending to other parents about how you have it all figured out. There isn't a person on the planet who really has it all figured out, and when you present yourself that way, you just making yourself look stupid. Like I think PP basically asked for this kind of judgment by making a really unkind judgment about someone else for no reason.

I’m PP and I agree with your assessment. My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Along the lines of first removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the specks in your neighbors…

Lol so a single mom can’t have an opinion about anything? That is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on here and that’s saying a lot.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that packaged and overly processed food is awful for you and your kids. And that it is possible to cook from scratch even if you have a job or whatever other excuse.

Since you still don’t get it -

At least MY kids sit down to eat dinner with their Mom AND Dad every night, even if the food wasn’t cooked from scratch.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that growing up in a broken home is awful for your kids, no matter what the excuse.

You are conflating two things that have nothing to do with one another. Again, I am so sorry that the idea of a single mom with full time custody is able to cook fresh food for her family is so triggering for you. I bet you're the same kind of person where if i had posted "how dare you OP, SOME of us are single working mothers with full custody and don't have the LUXURY of making better food choices or food from scratch," you would have absolutely eviscerated me for that as well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

Yep, plus one on this. I am a single mom with full custody who works way more than 40 hours a week, but providing food cooked from scratch is a priority for me, so I make it happen. And PP could too, if it was a priority for her, but sounds like it is not. Not surprising, a lot of people who stay home aren't high functioning, so stands to reason she went back to work and can't figure out how to adequately feed her children.

A two parent household wasn’t a priority, though? Why should anyone give a $hit what you think about anything? You’ve already failed your kids.

I disagree that a single parent has failed their kids anymore than any parent has, but do think this comment is a great example of why it is a fruitless activity to wander around condescending to other parents about how you have it all figured out. There isn't a person on the planet who really has it all figured out, and when you present yourself that way, you just making yourself look stupid. Like I think PP basically asked for this kind of judgment by making a really unkind judgment about someone else for no reason.

I’m PP and I agree with your assessment. My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Along the lines of first removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the specks in your neighbors…

Lol so a single mom can’t have an opinion about anything? That is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on here and that’s saying a lot.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that packaged and overly processed food is awful for you and your kids. And that it is possible to cook from scratch even if you have a job or whatever other excuse.

Since you still don’t get it -

At least MY kids sit down to eat dinner with their Mom AND Dad every night, even if the food wasn’t cooked from scratch.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that growing up in a broken home is awful for your kids, no matter what the excuse.

You are conflating two things that have nothing to do with one another. Again, I am so sorry that the idea of a single mom with full time custody is able to cook fresh food for her family is so triggering for you. I bet you're the same kind of person where if i had posted "how dare you OP, SOME of us are single working mothers with full custody and don't have the LUXURY of making better food choices or food from scratch," you would have absolutely eviscerated me for that as well!

I’m sorry that the idea of mothers prioritizing a stable family life triggers you. Just keep thinking that your homemade yogurt will make up for ruining your children’s happy childhoods because you were too immature to get along with their father.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

Yep, plus one on this. I am a single mom with full custody who works way more than 40 hours a week, but providing food cooked from scratch is a priority for me, so I make it happen. And PP could too, if it was a priority for her, but sounds like it is not. Not surprising, a lot of people who stay home aren't high functioning, so stands to reason she went back to work and can't figure out how to adequately feed her children.

A two parent household wasn’t a priority, though? Why should anyone give a $hit what you think about anything? You’ve already failed your kids.

I disagree that a single parent has failed their kids anymore than any parent has, but do think this comment is a great example of why it is a fruitless activity to wander around condescending to other parents about how you have it all figured out. There isn't a person on the planet who really has it all figured out, and when you present yourself that way, you just making yourself look stupid. Like I think PP basically asked for this kind of judgment by making a really unkind judgment about someone else for no reason.

I’m PP and I agree with your assessment. My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Along the lines of first removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the specks in your neighbors…

Lol so a single mom can’t have an opinion about anything? That is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on here and that’s saying a lot.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that packaged and overly processed food is awful for you and your kids. And that it is possible to cook from scratch even if you have a job or whatever other excuse.

Since you still don’t get it -

At least MY kids sit down to eat dinner with their Mom AND Dad every night, even if the food wasn’t cooked from scratch.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that growing up in a broken home is awful for your kids, no matter what the excuse.

Maybe they are people who read academic studies and are triggered by your ignorance? It really depends on who the parents are, how much conflict is in the home, etc. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2930824/.

Conflict in the home is a choice the parents are making, i.e. a lame excuse to break up your kids’ family. You may as well feed them oreos and doritos if that’s how much you care about their well-being.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can tell me what to feed my kid when all the kids are reading on grade level. Until then, shut your mouth and do your actual job rather than trying to do mine.

You're a real treat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a kindergarten teacher and there’s almost a 100% correlation between quality of snacks and quality of the kid (behavior and academic achievement). Lots of PPs seem offended by this but I’m telling you what I see. Same with how long they’re in after care, but I suspect that will get even more outrage (and to be fair, it’s a good correlation but not nearly as strong a correlation as the snacks).

I didn't eat snacks at all as a kindergartner. Is that the reason I made it to the Ivy League?

My guess is yes. The snack culture is so out of control. When kids are hungry they'll eat nutritious food because they're desperate to eat anything.

I snacked on Little Debbie’s and had Spaghettio’s for dinner? Is that the reason I only made it to the Ivy League?

What did you snack on to end up as a kindergarten teacher?

lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just stop the damaging snack habit and put competent people to install a decent kitchen, prepare and serve decent nourishing lunches in school cafeterias.
Ditch the sugar, high fructose corn syrup, concentrated apple juice, fries, and the rest of the toxic stuff.

Oh sure, “just” go ahead and do that in hundreds of local schools. Easy peasy. Can’t believe no one has thought of that until your brilliant post on an anonymous message board 🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

Yep, plus one on this. I am a single mom with full custody who works way more than 40 hours a week, but providing food cooked from scratch is a priority for me, so I make it happen. And PP could too, if it was a priority for her, but sounds like it is not. Not surprising, a lot of people who stay home aren't high functioning, so stands to reason she went back to work and can't figure out how to adequately feed her children.

A two parent household wasn’t a priority, though? Why should anyone give a $hit what you think about anything? You’ve already failed your kids.

I disagree that a single parent has failed their kids anymore than any parent has, but do think this comment is a great example of why it is a fruitless activity to wander around condescending to other parents about how you have it all figured out. There isn't a person on the planet who really has it all figured out, and when you present yourself that way, you just making yourself look stupid. Like I think PP basically asked for this kind of judgment by making a really unkind judgment about someone else for no reason.

I’m PP and I agree with your assessment. My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Along the lines of first removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the specks in your neighbors…

Lol so a single mom can’t have an opinion about anything? That is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on here and that’s saying a lot.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that packaged and overly processed food is awful for you and your kids. And that it is possible to cook from scratch even if you have a job or whatever other excuse.

Since you still don’t get it -

At least MY kids sit down to eat dinner with their Mom AND Dad every night, even if the food wasn’t cooked from scratch.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that growing up in a broken home is awful for your kids, no matter what the excuse.

You are conflating two things that have nothing to do with one another. Again, I am so sorry that the idea of a single mom with full time custody is able to cook fresh food for her family is so triggering for you. I bet you're the same kind of person where if i had posted "how dare you OP, SOME of us are single working mothers with full custody and don't have the LUXURY of making better food choices or food from scratch," you would have absolutely eviscerated me for that as well!

I’m sorry that the idea of mothers prioritizing a stable family life triggers you. Just keep thinking that your homemade yogurt will make up for ruining your children’s happy childhoods because you were too immature to get along with their father.

Lol. Be quiet troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

Yep, plus one on this. I am a single mom with full custody who works way more than 40 hours a week, but providing food cooked from scratch is a priority for me, so I make it happen. And PP could too, if it was a priority for her, but sounds like it is not. Not surprising, a lot of people who stay home aren't high functioning, so stands to reason she went back to work and can't figure out how to adequately feed her children.

A two parent household wasn’t a priority, though? Why should anyone give a $hit what you think about anything? You’ve already failed your kids.

I disagree that a single parent has failed their kids anymore than any parent has, but do think this comment is a great example of why it is a fruitless activity to wander around condescending to other parents about how you have it all figured out. There isn't a person on the planet who really has it all figured out, and when you present yourself that way, you just making yourself look stupid. Like I think PP basically asked for this kind of judgment by making a really unkind judgment about someone else for no reason.

I’m PP and I agree with your assessment. My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Along the lines of first removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the specks in your neighbors…

Lol so a single mom can’t have an opinion about anything? That is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on here and that’s saying a lot.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that packaged and overly processed food is awful for you and your kids. And that it is possible to cook from scratch even if you have a job or whatever other excuse.

Since you still don’t get it -

At least MY kids sit down to eat dinner with their Mom AND Dad every night, even if the food wasn’t cooked from scratch.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that growing up in a broken home is awful for your kids, no matter what the excuse.

Maybe they are people who read academic studies and are triggered by your ignorance? It really depends on who the parents are, how much conflict is in the home, etc. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2930824/.

Conflict in the home is a choice the parents are making, i.e. a lame excuse to break up your kids’ family. You may as well feed them oreos and doritos if that’s how much you care about their well-being.

Hmmm. Only daughters of educated single mothers are the highest academically performing group as a sector. Are you engaging in resource dilution because you don't care about the well-being of your kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just stop the damaging snack habit and put competent people to install a decent kitchen, prepare and serve decent nourishing lunches in school cafeterias.
Ditch the sugar, high fructose corn syrup, concentrated apple juice, fries, and the rest of the toxic stuff.

Oh sure, “just” go ahead and do that in hundreds of local schools. Easy peasy. Can’t believe no one has thought of that until your brilliant post on an anonymous message board 🙄

Didn’t rfk/maha promise this to us during trumps campaign??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

I absolutely 100% disagree with you. You can prep or make most of the food before or reuse leftovers in creative ways. You just have to get away with buying into the myth that only packaged food are snacks. Stop believin that giving healthy foods is time consuming or costly.

If your kid had a life threatening illness or food allergy, you would be making every single meal at home.

Giving healthy foods to children is a solved problem already. This is not something that you have to solve from scratch. Cheese cubes, loaded sandwiches, fruits, veggies ...these are not rocket science to make or pack.

Yep, plus one on this. I am a single mom with full custody who works way more than 40 hours a week, but providing food cooked from scratch is a priority for me, so I make it happen. And PP could too, if it was a priority for her, but sounds like it is not. Not surprising, a lot of people who stay home aren't high functioning, so stands to reason she went back to work and can't figure out how to adequately feed her children.

A two parent household wasn’t a priority, though? Why should anyone give a $hit what you think about anything? You’ve already failed your kids.

I disagree that a single parent has failed their kids anymore than any parent has, but do think this comment is a great example of why it is a fruitless activity to wander around condescending to other parents about how you have it all figured out. There isn't a person on the planet who really has it all figured out, and when you present yourself that way, you just making yourself look stupid. Like I think PP basically asked for this kind of judgment by making a really unkind judgment about someone else for no reason.

I’m PP and I agree with your assessment. My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Along the lines of first removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the specks in your neighbors…

Lol so a single mom can’t have an opinion about anything? That is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on here and that’s saying a lot.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that packaged and overly processed food is awful for you and your kids. And that it is possible to cook from scratch even if you have a job or whatever other excuse.

Since you still don’t get it -

At least MY kids sit down to eat dinner with their Mom AND Dad every night, even if the food wasn’t cooked from scratch.

Some people are so triggered by the true fact that growing up in a broken home is awful for your kids, no matter what the excuse.

Maybe they are people who read academic studies and are triggered by your ignorance? It really depends on who the parents are, how much conflict is in the home, etc. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2930824/.

Conflict in the home is a choice the parents are making, i.e. a lame excuse to break up your kids’ family. You may as well feed them oreos and doritos if that’s how much you care about their well-being.

Hmmm. Only daughters of educated single mothers are the highest academically performing group as a sector. Are you engaging in resource dilution because you don't care about the well-being of your kids?

But what did they SNACK ON?! If the study didn’t control for Doritos and chocolate milk it’s garbage!