And it isn't just food at home that I've been struggling with lately.....
This is Chloe's menu plan for school. You can click on the image to enlarge it.
Now as far as I'm concerned that's a pretty good selection of food and I'd be chuffed to have any of it set down in front of me for lunch every day, but the kids don't seem to agree.
Chloe took school meals right up until the last two weeks before Christmas when she announced that she wanted to take a packed lunch because most of the kids in her class took a packed lunch. After checking with her teacher and confirming this was correct (don't panic the poor mite wasn't being sent to the school cafeteria on her todd, some of her best friends are in another P1 teacher's class and they take school meals, she wasn't alone) I agreed that she could take a packed lunch to school figuring that the novelty of a cold lunch on a cold day would soon wear off.
It didn't!
Almost three month later and she's still taking a packed lunch and, for the sake of complete honesty, I do not rock the packed lunch.
She's fast getting sick and tired of my offerings, but still unwilling to go back to school meals. I've even found myself resorting to filling her lunchbox with those crappy pre-made, pre-portioned thingies that supermarkets love to tell us that kids love to eat.
I'm telling you I should be ashamed of myself, there was probably more nutritional value in the large quantity of plastic pots and wrapping that I sent that child to school with on Friday than there was in the food!
So I need your help. You have to give me some inspiration for kid's school lunches or at least point me in the right direction before she starts to chew on the corners of desks.
Same here! Kat begged to take her lunch, so back in Jan. and Feb. when our income was low, I let her start taking it. Since then she's bought the school lunch only 3-4 times. I'd be bored to tears with what I've been sending with her: egg salad or tuna sandwiches, peanut butter and butter sandwiches (neither of us likes PB and Jelly), and the occasional slice of pizza or pizza rolls that I heat up in the morning and wrap in foil hoping they'll be no colder than room temp by lunch.
ReplyDeleteI haven't given in to the pre-packaged lunch kits yet, but I'm running out of inspiration. If you get any good ideas, please post them.
BTW, Chloe's school menu sounds good to me!
Hiya...oh i feel you pain here, the sad packed-lunch :0(, here's a link to netmums, see if it's the sort of thing you're after and a menu planner complete with ideas (the pdf link)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.netmums.com/food/Lunchbox_Ideas.101/
http://www.netmums.com/lc/food/lunchbox_table.pdf
hope this helps, even a little, marice x
We rotate between sandwiches, rolls, and when the bread bin is empty (frequently) wraps. Fillings are invariably ham, cheese or ham AND cheese - bores me to death, but they like it.
ReplyDeleteOne child loves rice salad or pasta salad, and loves to make it herself the night before - hurrah!
Every day our kids have - sandwich/wrap/roll, a fruit juice carton, a portion of fresh fruit, a yoghurt/frozen yoghurt and 2 plain biscuits. On friday the school allows a packet of crisps or something chocolate.
All the kids pack their own lunch boxes, so it saves me asking apple/orange? etc, etc.....
My son and one daughter take school lunches one day a week - which I quite enjoy!
Does your daughter like cous-cous Leanne? A nice lunch I make to take to college is cous-cous, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, spring onion and black olives with lemon juice and olive oil. Really quick and easy. You could put tuna and sweetcorn in it or roasted red peppers.
ReplyDeleteAs a former kid who was a lot like Chloe let me try to give some insight.
ReplyDeleteI used to hate school lunches. They were repetitive, and the quality of food was AWFUL! My mom used to make lunches, and they weren't much better but it was way better than what school provided. Usually only the poor families bought lunch - the rest of the students would bring it and trade for our favorite items.
My favorite lunches (which were not varied much at all) were: turkey sandwiches, PBJ, or Cream cheese and olives for the sandwich (better than it sounds), and for sides: a small bag of chips, veggies or a small fruit (about 1/2 an apple), and exactly 2 cookies. When feeling adventurous I would take left over soup in a "keep it warm" thermos with a spoon attached.
If she's up for it, try salads, soups, different fruits and veggies, etc. Its easier to mix up the sides then it is to change the main sandwich.
My wife does finger foods (crackers, cheese, and small pieces of meat) instead of sandwiches sometimes, or she uses cookie cutters on the sandwich to make them visually appealing.
ReplyDeleteThere's usually a yogurt in there, as well as some fruit and/or veggies (again, always cut up).
One favourite of hers is a "toonie" (it's a kind of Canadian coin that is two-tone; google for image). Basically, take a piece of cucumber (say 10cm or so) and a carrot of similar length. Core the cuke with an apple corer, then pass the carrot through the same corer. Slide the carrot into the cuke and cut into slices.