school lunches

[offwego]

It's already apparently that time of year where my DS is bored with his lunch.

We've had stashes of drink boxes (we apparently developed an aversion to apple juice) and now sandwiches (which is funny as he makes them!).

Any thoughts or is this one of those 12 year old boy things? There is no cafeteria at his school by the way if that helps. And he has all the chance in the world to tell us what he'd like in his lunches but doesn't mention it.

(oh and this is on top of the wrapper stash we found from all his extra afterschool snacks he was eating I suppose as he wasn't eating the sandwich!)

[kakn7294]

What about cheese and crackers, those frozen peanut butter sandwich things, salads, yogurt and fruit, cold chicken, cold pizza (I like it), or a thermos with hot soup or hot foods (if it's the kind that will keep it warm)? I get bored with my work lunches too and I have access to a microwave and only work 3 days a week. I hope you get some good suggestions here. Good luck!

BTW, we have one of those after-school snack wrapper stashes too. I have girls and they actually eat their lunches so they say. I think it's just a kid thing to have the after school snack.

[offwego]

What about cheese and crackers, those frozen peanut butter sandwich things, salads, yogurt and fruit, cold chicken, cold pizza (I like it), or a thermos with hot soup or hot foods (if it's the kind that will keep it warm)? I get bored with my work lunches too and I have access to a microwave and only work 3 days a week. I hope you get some good suggestions here. Good luck!

BTW, we have one of those after-school snack wrapper stashes too. I have girls and they actually eat their lunches so they say. I think it's just a kid thing to have the after school snack. Your kids hide the wrappers too? PHEW!

I should have mentioned I can't do anything with PB...schools in Canada (or at least everyone my son's been at) don't allow PB at all.

[DisneyDudet]

What I liked as a kid was to just bring fresh cut meats from the deli, like Turkey and eat that, as I have never been much of a sandwich fan.

You can add cheese and crackers as Kathy said.

Do you have Lunchables in Canada? They have a TON of options if you can find them.

I'm 23 and I don't like the lunches I bring to work either. I work 3 days like Kathy, and can't seem to find anything I really want to eat, or sounds good once its time to eat.

What about taking him to the store and have him pick out things, in reasonable fashion. Also, ask him what other kids are bringing to lunch and see. He could be a big socialite and just talk too much at lunch!!

[browneyedgirl12]

Well if you put some milk in a thermos and put like an ice pack in his lunch box and then you could pack some dry cereal and he coud have cereal and milk for lunch. I have the same problems, sandwiches get boring after a while so I do this occasionally for something different. I hope your son likes cereal :D

BTW my older sister has a drawer full of snack wrappers in her desk :secret:

[AZ Disney]

I know a lot of this has already been said, but I change things up for my son with these items. frozen yoghurt tubes
make your own lunchables (crackers, cheese, lunchmeat)
pb&J
carrots
cucumbers
grape tomatoes
apples
grapes
cereal bar
mac n' cheese
cold pizza
chicken tenders
pretzels
chips
cashews
cheese sticks
trail mix
popcorn

[ElenitaB]

I asked my own soon-to-be 12 year old and he suggested different kinds of sandwiches (particularly ones that can be heated such as burgers or hero-type sandwiches). I let him pick out juice/water at Costco.

Does his school cafeteria have a microwave that he can use? Ben only brings sandwiches when he absolutely has to... otherwise it's food that's heated up which is kept cool in his lunchbox with freezer packs until lunchtime. Oh, and our school is like yours, no peanut butter or nut products.

Apparently it's oh-so-12 to not like something but not tell you what they would like... where's the support group for the parents of tweens?

[mickey&missy]

My dd is 6 and a half and we have lunch problems.

She won't eat a sandwich anymore, she won't eat a bagel anymore. Now we're on to soup in a thermos. Its been working well. Good thing, because the thermos cost me $15, which I thought was outrageous for this little thing that it is.

DD is a healthnut. Not like she's affraid to be fat or anything like that. But, she actually likes fruit and veggies better then chips and cookies. Amazing, I know! Her school is trying very hard to promote healthy eating as well. It's frowned upon to send cupcakes for birthdays, they'd much rather fruit or popcorn etc. She has really picked up on that! It makes making her lunch a little harder though. I have to make sure I have a ton of fresh veggies and fruits in the house at all times.

Try taking him to the store to pick stuff out. Even if he wants the lunch meat with no bread its better then nothing!

Good luck!!!

[offwego]

Thanks for the help guys! No micorwave so that does limit us.

I'm going to print out some of these ideas and go over them with him to see if we can pick some out.:thumbsup:

[Disneyatic]

My DD 8 went through this phase last year and would not eat sandwiches. She is not a big chip eater either.
Sending soup in an insulated container worked well (and still works.)and I would also do cut up cheese, pepperoni and salami slices, pickles and olives. Basically an appetizer selection for lunch. Sometimes I also send chips and salsa or veggies and ranch dressing. She loved that and her friends did too! I always sent enough to share!
This year out of the blue, she likes sandwiches again so we have a little more variety.

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

We invested in really good stainless steel Thermos brand thermos' this school year after trying to get away cheaper in years past.
My children have soup, mac and cheese, Spaghettios (sp?...lol), left overs like ziti or chicken alfredo with pasta. My older son loves those pizza roll things. They look like little egg rolls but have a pizza filling. I cook them up in the am and then wrap them in foil. I put them in the thermos still hot and he says they are great at lunch.
I refuse to buy already made Lunchables so we do what others have mentioned. We buy lunchmeats at the deli and give them a few slices of salami, ham, beef bologna, pepperoni, with some cheese and saltine crackers instead of sandwiches.
They take cereal with milk. I buy them the little rubbermaid boxes with a flip top for the milk and put the cereal in a tupperware bowl with a cover. I always put an ice pack in their lunch box so, I know everything stays cold.
Bagels with cream cheese are another favorite.
They also like caesar salad with grilled chicken on top.
Wow....once I typed it all out they do eat quite a few things. It seems like I am always making the same things...lol.
Snacks are the basics. Fruit, popcorn, granola bars, cheese sticks, chips on occasion, and yes, I let them have a few cookies in their lunch box. ;)