My kid eats the same thing every day:

Uncrustable
baby carrots
Strawberries
goldfish crackers


I have tried hot foods, but they don't stay hot enough for his taste, he hates deli sandwiches, he says yogurt+side items don't fill him up.

My son just doesn't want sandwiches and never has. His favorite is anything in the contigo thermos because it stays hot until lunch. He wants a hot lunch, but not the school lunch. So he gets leftovers from dinner if we have it (and if we had a hot dinner, we have salad 1 or 2+ times a week). Other things are spaghetti with meatballs, chicken, mac & cheese, mini tacos, cheeseburger sliders or rice and even mashed potatoes. These are all things that go in the contigo thermos. Tomorrow it will be a chicken tender served cold with fruit, a snack and a drink. It's always a main entree plus fruit plus snack. They also have an afternoon snack. My son eats vegetables at home but won't touch them in his lunchbox unless it's part of the leftovers.

Anonymous wrote:Cheetos and 5hr energy

+1 They really need something to get them through that second half of the day.

Cheetos and 5hr energy

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not American, and I think typical American lunches are absolutely disgusting. The sandwich bread is THE WORST.

We're lebanese...hommus, stuffed grape leaves, pickled vegetables, lentils and rice in a thermos, tabouli, various dried meats and cheeses, yogurt salad, leftover grilled chicken/lamb, olives, hard boiled eggs...basically mezze. I just empty the fridge of random stuff we have.

Thanks for sharing. I think your Lebanese lunch sounds disgusting.

Jesus...you couldn't just share your lunch suggestions without being a bitch about it?

OK. I should care, why?

It is not being a bitch stating that traditional American lunch is disgusting. It is. The bread and the processed slimy lunch meat? Nothing is fresh, just a bunch of garbage.

Fresh like raw kibbeh? No thank you. Keep your parasites.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am going to assume that the sandwich posters are just not posting. My kids eat turkey (not processed) and cheese or PBJ (100% peanuts/100% fruit) on good quality bread..some fruit or veggies and something else. That works for our family.

My daughter is starting K in the fall. Is there no restriction on peanut butter in the elementary schools? There is at her preschool and I just assumed it would carry into elementary. I'll be happy if it doesn't.

Allergic kids sit at different table. Everybody wins!

Anonymous wrote:I am going to assume that the sandwich posters are just not posting. My kids eat turkey (not processed) and cheese or PBJ (100% peanuts/100% fruit) on good quality bread..some fruit or veggies and something else. That works for our family.

My daughter is starting K in the fall. Is there no restriction on peanut butter in the elementary schools? There is at her preschool and I just assumed it would carry into elementary. I'll be happy if it doesn't.

I am going to assume that the sandwich posters are just not posting. My kids eat turkey (not processed) and cheese or PBJ (100% peanuts/100% fruit) on good quality bread..some fruit or veggies and something else. That works for our family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not American, and I think typical American lunches are absolutely disgusting. The sandwich bread is THE WORST.

We're lebanese...hommus, stuffed grape leaves, pickled vegetables, lentils and rice in a thermos, tabouli, various dried meats and cheeses, yogurt salad, leftover grilled chicken/lamb, olives, hard boiled eggs...basically mezze. I just empty the fridge of random stuff we have.

Thanks for sharing. I think your Lebanese lunch sounds disgusting.

Jesus...you couldn't just share your lunch suggestions without being a bitch about it?

NP, from the US, and typical American lunches ARE disgusting.

Anonymous wrote:I'm not American, and I think typical American lunches are absolutely disgusting. The sandwich bread is THE WORST.

We're lebanese...hommus, stuffed grape leaves, pickled vegetables, lentils and rice in a thermos, tabouli, various dried meats and cheeses, yogurt salad, leftover grilled chicken/lamb, olives, hard boiled eggs...basically mezze. I just empty the fridge of random stuff we have.

Go away troll

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not American, and I think typical American lunches are absolutely disgusting. The sandwich bread is THE WORST.

We're lebanese...hommus, stuffed grape leaves, pickled vegetables, lentils and rice in a thermos, tabouli, various dried meats and cheeses, yogurt salad, leftover grilled chicken/lamb, olives, hard boiled eggs...basically mezze. I just empty the fridge of random stuff we have.

Thanks for sharing. I think your Lebanese lunch sounds disgusting.

Jesus...you couldn't just share your lunch suggestions without being a bitch about it?

OK. I should care, why?

It is not being a bitch stating that traditional American lunch is disgusting. It is. The bread and the processed slimy lunch meat? Nothing is fresh, just a bunch of garbage.

Can you share how you make lentils and rice? Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not American, and I think typical American lunches are absolutely disgusting. The sandwich bread is THE WORST.

We're lebanese...hommus, stuffed grape leaves, pickled vegetables, lentils and rice in a thermos, tabouli, various dried meats and cheeses, yogurt salad, leftover grilled chicken/lamb, olives, hard boiled eggs...basically mezze. I just empty the fridge of random stuff we have.

Thanks for sharing. I think your Lebanese lunch sounds disgusting.

Jesus...you couldn't just share your lunch suggestions without being a bitch about it?

OK. I should care, why?

It is not being a bitch stating that traditional American lunch is disgusting. It is. The bread and the processed slimy lunch meat? Nothing is fresh, just a bunch of garbage.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this thread a joke? Your kids eat better than I do. Brooke chicken with blue cheese dip?

PB&Honey on whole wheat. Skinny pop/Booty, blueberries/strawberries/apples and baby carrots. Maybe a fig bar if I'm feeling fancy.

It is funny you say that, I was thinking the same thing when I packed my son's lunch last night.

Fancy hard salami, thinly sliced gouda, red peppers, carrots and apples. Plus sparkling apple juice.
I am not sure how we came this. I used to get wonder bread sandwiches, with a piece of fruit, a small bag of chips (remember those little ones with 8-10 chips in them) and a yoohoo. A freaking yoohoo.

As I packed DS's "charcuterie plate" I was just shaking my head and smiling. Still not sure if it was pride or embarrassment.

I don't think anyone is making boiled chicken just for lunch. It is much easier to pack leftovers in a thermos.

I do leftovers in a thermos with a side of fruit or a divided holder with various foods. Casseroles, pastas, homemade mac n cheese, soups, stews in thermos. The dividers help me avoid individual snack portions that are overpriced and also give me ideas that I normal wouldn't do because it can't serve in a ziplock bag.

some ideas:

deli meat/cheese, a little lettuce/tomato in a tortilla spread with a little mayo - make into pinwheels

whole wheat quarter waffles toasted and spread with cream cheese and strawberry jelly into a sandwich. I make a batch of Belgium waffles on the weekend and freeze them for quick breakfasts or use as bread for lunches.

make muffins on the weekend packed with fruit, diced veggies and some flax. Serve that with some cottage cheese and berries for an easy lunch.

Breakfast for lunch. Scrambled eggs in a thermos and side of turkey bacon and fruit.

If you aren't a weekend cooker, get the purdue chicken pieces for salad. Add them with a cheese stick, an apple and some pretzels.

Tuna salad with apples, raisins. Some crackers for dipping and a yogurt.

I also put a cooked turkey dog in hot water in the thermos, add a hot dog bug in a ziplock, a few packets of ketchup. She uses a fork to remove the hot dog and puts it on the bun. Her friends are envious. I will add a simple fruit and trail mix.


I was a slacker with my oldest but for my youngest, I refused to get a pin code for school. So I am forced to make lunch every day. She is almost finished 2nd and I haven't cracked yet. The food thermos and dividers really help. I also use a drink thermos everyday. Change it up between drinks. Water a lot, sometimes milk. OJ on breakfast for lunch days, chocolate milk and diluted juice here and there as a treat.

Food thermos:
http://www.amazon.com/THERMOS-Insulated-Stainless-10-Ounce-Charcoal/dp/B00LIRIZVU/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1463415347&sr=8-1&keywords=lunch+thermos

Divided lunch bins
http://www.amazon.com/EWEIS-HomeWares-Storage-Containers-Divided/dp/B01A0V4PFE/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1463415864&sr=8-6&keywords=divided+lunch

Drinking thermos: No straws, nothing to clean. Older kids like it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UVFD6AU

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not American, and I think typical American lunches are absolutely disgusting. The sandwich bread is THE WORST.

We're lebanese...hommus, stuffed grape leaves, pickled vegetables, lentils and rice in a thermos, tabouli, various dried meats and cheeses, yogurt salad, leftover grilled chicken/lamb, olives, hard boiled eggs...basically mezze. I just empty the fridge of random stuff we have.

Thanks for sharing. I think your Lebanese lunch sounds disgusting.

Jesus...you couldn't just share your lunch suggestions without being a bitch about it?

Seriously

Maybe I'll move to Lebanon and tell them how terrible their lunch is while I pack my American kids' American lunch.