I can't believe anyone says that Peanut Butter is low class. That's such an aspirant thing to say, only from the mouth of someone raised on twinkles and cupcakes.

We tried packing left overs but it did not work for us because in our ES kids eat a snack at 10 and have lunch around 11:30. Basically my kid was never hungry enough for lunch. He threw everything but fruit and juice out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cook from scratch basically every night and often eat leftovers myself at work, but almost never send them with the kids for lunch. Most things just taste gross cold. One of my kids will eat my home-made chicken nuggets cold with homemade honey mustard dip, or cold vegetable-cheese ravioli, but I think that's about it. I'll eat fish cold, but haven't convinced them about that yet. The idea of eating cold spaghetti and meatballs or cold beans and rice turns my stomach, and there no way the kids would eat it either.
I send a LOT of fruits and vegetables every day, with either: 1) a pbj on whole grain; 2) yogurt; or 3)cheese and/or sliced salami.

Thermos.

+ 1. You will get really hot food by first filling the thermos with hot water for 5-6 minutes so the interior gets warm, and then heating the food so that it is as hot as when you cook it at the stove. So, piping hot food in a warmed thermos...you will have a hot lunch.

Not a new concept. I packed lunch in a thermos occasionally from 1-8 grade back in the mid 70/early 80s. I often took dinner leftovers for lunch. Doing it for my son I think the technology today is even better (less breakable).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cook from scratch basically every night and often eat leftovers myself at work, but almost never send them with the kids for lunch. Most things just taste gross cold. One of my kids will eat my home-made chicken nuggets cold with homemade honey mustard dip, or cold vegetable-cheese ravioli, but I think that's about it. I'll eat fish cold, but haven't convinced them about that yet. The idea of eating cold spaghetti and meatballs or cold beans and rice turns my stomach, and there no way the kids would eat it either.
I send a LOT of fruits and vegetables every day, with either: 1) a pbj on whole grain; 2) yogurt; or 3)cheese and/or sliced salami.

Thermos.

+ 1. You will get really hot food by first filling the thermos with hot water for 5-6 minutes so the interior gets warm, and then heating the food so that it is as hot as when you cook it at the stove. So, piping hot food in a warmed thermos...you will have a hot lunch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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..

The fat in peanut butter is good fat. Almost the same unsat/sat fat ratio as olive oil. Kids need fat.

Anonymous wrote:Why is averyone so against sandwiches? If you don't like cold cuts, use chicken or steak, or avocado or tofu or any veggie or smoked fish. My kids love pita pockets with goat cheese and avocado or with hummus and lox. Nothing wrong with a sandwich and easier to eat and clean up.

I don't know about your kid, but my kid is just tired of them. He's at a little private school with no cafeteria and I have packed his lunch daily for school and summer camp for four years now. He will still eat them, but is really looking for something different.


OP to answer your question, my DH is Egyptian and we pack koshary sometimes. A mix of rice, lentils, sometimes pasta, and fried-black onions, with a spicy tomato sauce. Easy thermos food leftovers for us.

His best friend at school is Indian, and his mom packs idlis for him. A little white cake make out of lentils and rice, with some sugar (instead of chutney) on top. She's made some for my son to take to school too. Big hit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idli

I pack an entree item (sandwich, mac and cheese, bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon, occasionally leftovers from dinner), one fruit item (melon, berries, applesauce, etc.), one veg item (baby carrots, steamed broccoli, cut-up bell peppers), and one dairy item (yogurt pouch/little container of yogurt or a string cheese). Sometimes one cookie as a treat, maybe once a week. I save the fortune cookies from any take-out and occasionally include that as the cookie for fun. Always water to drink.

Anonymous wrote:I cook from scratch basically every night and often eat leftovers myself at work, but almost never send them with the kids for lunch. Most things just taste gross cold. One of my kids will eat my home-made chicken nuggets cold with homemade honey mustard dip, or cold vegetable-cheese ravioli, but I think that's about it. I'll eat fish cold, but haven't convinced them about that yet. The idea of eating cold spaghetti and meatballs or cold beans and rice turns my stomach, and there no way the kids would eat it either.
I send a LOT of fruits and vegetables every day, with either: 1) a pbj on whole grain; 2) yogurt; or 3)cheese and/or sliced salami.

Thermos.

To Harvard study-quoting PB booster ... Peanuts are not nuts. They are legumes.

Why is averyone so against sandwiches? If you don't like cold cuts, use chicken or steak, or avocado or tofu or any veggie or smoked fish. My kids love pita pockets with goat cheese and avocado or with hummus and lox. Nothing wrong with a sandwich and easier to eat and clean up.

Anyone want to adopt me? These lunches sound amazing! PBJ, leftovers, Indian food, French food, etc, etc.