Anonymous wrote:Just a bunch of snack foods - cheese sticks, pretzels, fruit, veggies, crackers, etc.


Op - what do your kids eat for lunch now that you're home and it's summer?

It’s a fight every day. One child has even rejected chicken nuggets.

Tortilla roll ups:
Tortilla, deli meat and cheese, roll up and slice into pinwheels
Or spread sun butter and sliced strawberries, roll up and slice into pinwheels

Mini-bagels with cream cheese, butter, jelly, whatever

Make your own Lunchables: pepperoni, cheese, a cookie

All of this of course with a fruit and a vegetable, like baby carrots and blueberries

Don’t try to do it all at once. Do Sunday prep and Wednesday prep.

Anonymous wrote:Always veggies and fruit, alongside leftovers from dinner, so something like:

Polenta rounds with parm, blueberries, cucumber slices
Squash risotto with a small pear, pickled veg.
Baked sweet potato with beans/cheese, small apple, pepper strips
Veggie stew with rice, baby carrots, plum
Tomatoes stuffed with pearl couscous, zucchini rounds, cornichons
Homemade mini bagels, smoked salmon/cheese, with tomato slices
Greek yogurt with handful berries, sunflower seeds, banana
Homemade mini-veggie tarts, blueberries, carrot stick
Homemade focaccia, hummus, pickles.

This sounds really tasty. And healthy.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. I don't really eat sandwiches, and that has translated to the kids. We ended up splitting bringing and buying at school, using shelf stable items, mostly. But I do throw in fresh cut up fruit as my on redeeming item (kept cold in a glass container).

By shelf stable, do you mean ultra processed?

Pack for the 2.5 year old and let the 6 and 8 pack themselves. Tell them what categories need to be fulfilled (protein, fruit, veg, drink, snack, drink) and then let them do it. It’s amazing what people will choose when they have to do it themselves.

I'll +3 the concept of a bento box lunch, esp for non-sandwich eaters. No need for an actual bento box (but we loved the fun silicone dividers and hard-boiled egg molds! I'm jealous; they even have a T-Rex one now!).

A really good book for an intro is The Just Bento Cookbook and the companion website: https://www.justbento.com/. The website was dormant for awhile but it looks to be back a bit.

And for those who say kids won't touch this stuff, you never know til you try. If you make it fun to prepare/pack and involve them, they're much more likely to eat it. Yes, it takes time. But it's worth it: the time with your kiddos will go so quickly and you'll end up with better ingredients, at usually a cheaper price. Practice over the Summer to find what you might like and develop a routine. Good luck and good munching!

Will they eat sandwiches if they’re in fun shapes? My kid has sunflower butter/jelly ( nut free camp) today and I used little star/moon cutters. They’re in the main section of the bentgo lunch box.
Then she has a halo, grapes, cereal bar, and some chocolate chips.

I went through this last year and had a paper on the fridge for dh and me to grab a different combination each day. It turned out variety did not work. My DS gets a pbj sandwich everyday on either while wheat or cinnamon raisin bread, plus goldfish or cheezits, and a bottle of water. If we’re out of bread, the peanut butter goes on graham crackers, and if we’re out of snacks, a send a cup of dry cereal. We focus on variety at breakfast and dinner.

My 8 yo's school does not serve food so we pack every day. I have found that keeping it simple is best and easiest!

Dc has a plastic bento box from Walmart (so if it gets lost/ruined, I'm not out $$$). It fits in the lunchbox walmart sells right next to it lol. Anyhow, I typically do a protein, a fruit/veg, a grain, a treat and a snack.

So, it might be leftover chicken cut up (or cut up nuggets work too), strawberries, goldfish, a few fig newtons, and a granola bar or cheese stick for snacktime. Essentially, something from each group I listed. My kid does not like much variety so we tend to stick with one thing for a few weeks at a time. But I keep it simple and don't pack stuff that needs dips or sides or utensils.

I make sure to have items for the week ahead's lunches by sunday night. I also have the bento box clean and ready the night before (I also fill the water bottle and put in fridge) so in the morning it's pack and go.

Always veggies and fruit, alongside leftovers from dinner, so something like:

Polenta rounds with parm, blueberries, cucumber slices
Squash risotto with a small pear, pickled veg.
Baked sweet potato with beans/cheese, small apple, pepper strips
Veggie stew with rice, baby carrots, plum
Tomatoes stuffed with pearl couscous, zucchini rounds, cornichons
Homemade mini bagels, smoked salmon/cheese, with tomato slices
Greek yogurt with handful berries, sunflower seeds, banana
Homemade mini-veggie tarts, blueberries, carrot stick
Homemade focaccia, hummus, pickles.

I was a no sandwich/no lunch meat kid. My fave racked lunch was chicken nuggets, even if they were cold. My mom would also pot Campbells soup in a thermos for me.

Just a bunch of snack foods - cheese sticks, pretzels, fruit, veggies, crackers, etc.


Op - what do your kids eat for lunch now that you're home and it's summer?

https://www.amazon.com/Sistema-Collection-Lunch-Cube-Clear/dp/B01GOE7940/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3QPHJXOZCARC3&keywords=Lunch%2Bcube&qid=1689044521&sprefix=lunch%2Bcube%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/FRCOLOR-Square-Muffin-Silicone-Holders/dp/B08ZDBTYFR/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2PHWJ4ULQJBVN&keywords=square+and+rectangle+silicone+cupcake+liners&qid=1689044674&sprefix=square+cupcake+liners+sil%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-10


I used this lunch cube with silicone square cupcake wrappers to make further separations when my son was young. Very easy to open.

You can do “home-made” lunchables. There are tons of bento style lunchboxes and cubes. Add pepperoni, cheese, whole wheat crackers, fruit, vegetables.

Small yogurts.

Vegetables and hummus.

These are great ideas, keep them coming!