What do non-Americans pack their kids for lunch?

[Anonymous]

I'm American, and I dont pack sandwiches or lunchables - but DD (3 1/2) wont eat sandwiches anyway. I need ideas too!!

Here's some menus:

1) cottage cheese, pan grilled broccoli w/parm, and strawberries

2) beans/rice (homemade from scratch) w/cheddar cheese, unsweetened apple sauce

3) Organic Wolfgang veggie soup (in thermos), cooked cut up carrots, few crackers

4) hard boiled eggs (cut a bit), fruit, cheese

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm American, and I dont pack sandwiches or lunchables - but DD (3 1/2) wont eat sandwiches anyway. I need ideas too!!

Here's some menus:

1) cottage cheese, pan grilled broccoli w/parm, and strawberries

2) beans/rice (homemade from scratch) w/cheddar cheese, unsweetened apple sauce

3) Organic Wolfgang veggie soup (in thermos), cooked cut up carrots, few crackers

4) hard boiled eggs (cut a bit), fruit, cheese

oh I pack mujedrah too (im part arab - it's rice, green lentils, and lots of carmelized onions mixed up)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer at my child's ES during lunch. Kids who bring rice and other grains make a huge huge mess. There is literally like 2 minutes beTween K classes leaving the cafeteria and 5 th graders coming in for lunch. Please be mindful that young kids will create unprecedented messes with your Elaborate lunches. Also keep in mind, that young kids will struggle with difficult to open containers and that they have 20 minutes for lunch (mcps) and then they start lining up for recess.

Yes, everything we do should be about convenience. With the robot technology getting better and better, perhaps schools will be able to purchase some that can clean and prep the tables for the next batch of kids in under 2 minutes.

Oh, and there is nothing backwards about eating lunch and then going right into recess. Running and playing with a full stomach and getting back to class with a tummy ache. Nope, not backwards at all.

It is so much more convenient to put pressure on the parents to change than use that time and effort to do something about thoughtless scheduling.

[Anonymous]

pbj is so low class and bad for you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Indian and I just pack leftovers from dinner. Most of the food I make is vegan so it's not a big deal if it's at room temp until lunchtime.

How old are your kids? How are the not mortified to be opening Tupperware of daal and aloo ghobi? You know eating one American meal a day like PBJ won't take away from their Indian-ness; you realize that right??

I have a 5th grader at Janney and dc says kids are always trying to have a spoonful of his food. Maybe PPs kid goes to school with xenophobes. Expand your horizons--there is a whole world out there beyond Velveta™.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:pbj is so low class and bad for you

Majority of people do not think so. And your saying it does not make it so either, anonymous opinionated DCUM poster!

I also add thinly sliced bananas in a PBJ and it is a very good snack. One of my kids does not like jelly, so sometimes I omit it. The only reason I have stopped packing it is because other kids have peanut allergies in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer at my child's ES during lunch. Kids who bring rice and other grains make a huge huge mess. There is literally like 2 minutes beTween K classes leaving the cafeteria and 5 th graders coming in for lunch. Please be mindful that young kids will create unprecedented messes with your Elaborate lunches. Also keep in mind, that young kids will struggle with difficult to open containers and that they have 20 minutes for lunch (mcps) and then they start lining up for recess.

Yes! pack processed food so they can clean up faster!
0_o

[Anonymous]

My DD started buying lunches at school and I'm distressed.

Turkey and cheese sandwiches, cheetos, hot dogs, yogurt packed with sugar, corn dog (what the hell is a corn dog?), pizza. Tons of starch. And they make them drink milk with every meal, wtf?

I'm contemplating whether I should pick this battle with DD and make her ear the lunch I send from home.

[Anonymous]

1) Far East (five minute) couscous with spiced chicken kebabs.
2) Home made cooked spinach and caramelized onion savory pancakes (from pancake mix)
3) Fish kebab rolls. (Wrapped in paratha. I include a tablespoon or so of finely minced carrots, cabbage, spices and coriander chutney in a small container separately to be added in the roll later, else the roll gets soggy)

All of these are super easy to put together. The kebabs freeze well for up to a month.

[Anonymous]

I would love the recipe for spinach and onion pancakes and fish kebabs -- sounds wonderful! And do you make your own parathas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my country there was no idea of a "packed lunch". at lunchtime we would go outside and pick fruits and vegetables from the surrounding school farm for our lunch. Once a week, from middle school onward, we would participate in the slaughter of a lamb or sheep, which we would process and would provide our protein for the week.

I was 23 the first time I saw a zip-lock bag. I will never forget just opening and closing it, again and again. Such a wonder!

Wow. That's really interesting. Where are you from??

Okay I laughed! If it's not a joke, I'm really sorry. The ziplock bag comment sent me over the edge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Indian and I just pack leftovers from dinner. Most of the food I make is vegan so it's not a big deal if it's at room temp until lunchtime.

How old are your kids? How are the not mortified to be opening Tupperware of daal and aloo ghobi? You know eating one American meal a day like PBJ won't take away from their Indian-ness; you realize that right??

My son (not Indian) would be freaking jealous if his classmate got Indian food for lunch. If he's staring it's because he wished his mother had packed him some deliciousness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my country there was no idea of a "packed lunch". at lunchtime we would go outside and pick fruits and vegetables from the surrounding school farm for our lunch. Once a week, from middle school onward, we would participate in the slaughter of a lamb or sheep, which we would process and would provide our protein for the week.

I was 23 the first time I saw a zip-lock bag. I will never forget just opening and closing it, again and again. Such a wonder!

Wow. That's really interesting. Where are you from??

Okay I laughed! If it's not a joke, I'm really sorry. The ziplock bag comment sent me over the edge.

Thank you. I am from Kazakhstan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Leftovers from our regular dinners. Same thing the adults eat.

^^ this. Asian here. Kids eat the same as adults, once they have teeth. Packed lunches are leftovers or extras of food made that day. i.e. cook would make lunch in the morning, and kids would eat that at school that day.

We would never dream of packing a peanut butter sandwich, potato chips, or even juice. That's junk.

Really? A good source of fats and protein combined with whole grains you're going to call junk compared to say, the carbohydrate bomb someone else listed earlier of dumplings and white rice?

If you go to most of Asia, they all eat white rice. And they are generally less over weight than our pbj eating US kids. BTW, my kids eat pbj and white rice.

I love how the jam magically disappears from the nutritional breakdown of a PBJ to prove a point.

good source of fats and protein combined with whole grains

PBJ = sugar + fat + more sugar with very little by way of nutrients..

Actually, peanut butter is a really good source of nutrients (Good fat, fiber, protein, and minimal to no sugar). Are you one of those people who buys everything 'low-fat' to be healthy??? Kids need fats. White rice (or bread) is what makes American kids fat. Not fat from peanuts.

In our house, "peanut butter sandwich" = peanut butter on whole grain bread. There's no "jam" or jelly in the equation; that would be a "peanut butter and jelly sandwich". Our PB also has nothing in it but nuts...so...no sugar.

Peanut butter is an excellent source of nutrition. Our sandwiches are made on whole-grain bread with just a little smear of jelly. The PB has no sugar added.

I just read a post by a professor of nutrition at Harvard discussing the nutritional profile of peanut butter. Among his facts: peanut butter has about the same saturated-to-unsaturated fat ratio as olive oil, and numerous studies have shown that people who regularly include nuts or peanut butter in their diets are less likely to develop heart disease or type 2 diabetes than those who rarely eat nuts. Peanut butter is rich in protein and potassium, contains some fiber, and provides other nutrients.

I have no hesitation about feeding my kid peanut butter sandwiches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Indian and I just pack leftovers from dinner. Most of the food I make is vegan so it's not a big deal if it's at room temp until lunchtime.

How old are your kids? How are the not mortified to be opening Tupperware of daal and aloo ghobi? You know eating one American meal a day like PBJ won't take away from their Indian-ness; you realize that right??

My son (not Indian) would be freaking jealous if his classmate got Indian food for lunch. If he's staring it's because he wished his mother had packed him some deliciousness.

My non-Indian daughter loves Indian food and would totally eat it if I sent it in her lunch.