How much does a 10 year old need for lunch?

[Binkandabee]

DD#1 is about to drive me crazy with her lunch. She has the pottery barn kids spencer box that I fill up for her. Today, I put in a ham sandwich, carrots, cheese cubes, yogurt covered pretzels and goldfish. She looks at her lunch and says I'm trying to starve her and that it's not nearly enough food. I'm half tempted to just have her buy her lunch everyday because I clearly can't pack anything she likes. She is a carbokid...all she wants is carbs and salt, so it's a challenge packing something that is reasonably healthy and doesn't go to waste.

Can the mamas with older kids weigh in on what your kiddos eat for lunch and portion size? My DD eats breakfast and they are allowed a snack in class in the afternoons.

[ett]

That seems like a lot of food for lunch. DS1 is 10 and buys school lunch, but I think it's less food than what you pack. Will she really get more food if she buys lunch?

[Simon]

It sounds reasonable unless she's looking at it and subtracting all the parts she doesn't want to eat. I threw away a lot of food as a kid because my parents wouldn't listen to me saying I didn't like sandwiches.
At 10 yo, she's old enough to pack her own lunch and you double check that its reasonably balanced.

[egoldber]

Older DD has been bringing virtually the same lunch for many years....

We use the LLBean Critter lunch box. A typical lunch is:

PB sandwich in a Ziplock square sandwich container
4 ounce yogurt from Trader Joe
1 cheddar cheese stick
1 applesauce cup
Klean Kanteen 12 oz. water bottle with water

[bisous]

My son is almost 10 but he's not much help because he takes ADHD medicine that suppresses his appetite. I find myself instead trying to get him to eat ANYTHING at lunch. I'm really responding because I remember being a kid that age and my mom didn't believe that I was really and truly hungry at lunch! I was a bean pole but I could really eat and school worked up an appetite for me. I personally think your lunch sounds really good. If she likes carbs I would add something carby but healthy. Sometimes my stomach hurts until I have a piece of bread, I kid you not. I would go forward with what you've been packing but maybe pack something like another kind of sandwich (pb if permitted or other butter on very healthy bread with low sugar jam or honey??) or something like that. I know when I go to Disney even TODAY I pack myself two different kinds of sandwiches. I LOVE fruits and veggies but I could eat a whole lunch box full of them and still be hungry!

Hopefully other posters can chime in with viable suggestions! I'm just saying it is entirely possible to be hungry at lunch, I know I was!

[BunnyBee]

What does she eat for breakfast?

Add a hummus cup for the carrots and another dipper veg? Does she like fruit? An apple will be more filling than goldfish. I don't pack carbs at all other than bread on sandwiches because mine would eat it first and not get to the "good" stuff.

Homemade peanut butter (sun butter, whatever) balls?

I don't think age really matters. It's so individual!

[kep]

I responded to your other thread, but...


That's about what I pack for my 10 year old. I might also add a handful of pistachios, a yogurt tube, or an energy bar. I fill the lunch box and then tuck things in around it in the lunch bag. Can she buy things ala cart at school? Meaning, send her a packed lunch but also give her a dollar or two if she's still hungry.

[hillview]

It sounds reasonable but if she is hungry I'd go with that. I like pp idea about sending her in with a couple dollars. I also put in DS2's backpack a bunch of lara bars in case he gets hungry. Is there a bar she likes that isn't total junk that you could put in her backpack?

[lfp2n]

My DD has just switched school which means she has an early bus at 7.05 and early lunch at 11. She seems to want a huge lunch these days. This is what she has, she saves one thing for afternoon snack so thats included. She is still starving after school.
Small cheese or chicken breast sandwich
A large carrot and sometimes piece of cucumber
an apple
small snack pak of mini oreos
small yoghurt

[kep]

This was my 10 year old's lunch the other day. He also had an energy bar and a small bag of Pirate Booty.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/kellip/B5C35CF9-444A-4CBC-8A08-C238A1BEFD56-1552-00000185323DDCDE_zpsc4532b2a.jpg

[div_0305]

I would find out if she's throwing out any of her food at school and tell her to bring back whatever she does not eat. If she's actually eating everything you put for her, then let her suggest some healthy additions. Some kids just eat a lot more than others--you know your DD best. I pack very little for DS (8), lunch is 1 slice of bread with cheese or PB inside, and an Honest Kids juice/water pouch (it's mostly water). Snack he gets 1-2 fruit servings and not too junky carb like pretzel chips/goldfish. Sometimes I add a yogurt stick from Trader Joes and he will eat that for snack. His teacher this year is very unique in many ways and lets the kids eat their snack whenever they want so long as it's not during class reading or math time.

[megs4413]

I make mine close up and bring back uneaten portions so I can see how I'm doing on packing. I enforce this by popping into lunch randomly ;)

my 8yo DD got this today:
cottage cheese with strawberries
1 hard boiled egg
wheat thins (tomato and basil flavor)
mandarin oranges
carrots (with ranch dip)

I don't anticipate any leftovers except maybe some carrots and wheat thins, which she'll eat on the way home from school most likely. They get a snack in the afternoon at school, which for her today is a cheese stick.

[marinkitty]

I think that seems like a decent amount of food, but if you believe she is eating it all and she says she is hungry I'd work with her to find other healthy options.

Today my 10 year old DDs lunch was a small container of mango spears (maybe 4-5 spears), a small container of shelled edamame, a small container of hummus and pita chips, a 4 oz. vanilla yogurt, a milk box and two chocolate coins.

She took a clementine and some cheese crackers for her snack.

My DD isn't a sandwich girl, so she often has a lot of different things in small amounts. She typically eats it all or eats any leftovers as soon as she gets home.

[giavila]

My 9.5 year old DD doesn't always finish her lunch. A typical lunch is a either half of a sandwich/or a bean and cheese burrito, veggies, fruit, and either pretzels, crackers, or a yogurt to top her off. She drinks water for lunch. She usually just has cereal and milk for breakfast, but then has a 10am snack at school, which is usually fruit and a cheddar cheese stick.

[sarahsthreads]

My almost 9 year old would find that to be plenty of food. I typically pack her a sandwich (either a PB&J or a wrap with ham and cream cheese cut into pinwheels), baby carrots, sugar snap peas (about 6-8 of each?), a few cherry tomatoes, a handful of grapes and/or blueberries, and a couple of small cookies ('nilla wafers or similar). If there's spare room that needs to be "padded" in the bento I'll throw in some goldfish or small pretzels. She doesn't always finish everything in the box; however my 5 year old does eat her whole lunch that consists of similar foods & amounts. So in my family it has little to do with actual age.

Both of them also have a separate snack for the afternoon, today they each brought an applesauce pouch, and one brought plain old cheerios while the other brought a peach. Typically their breakfast is either a bagel with cream cheese or butter, or toasted waffles that they eat like toast (no syrup), sometimes cereal, sometimes oatmeal. Occasionally they'll agree to a piece of fruit to go with. Nothing that seems particularly filling to me, but they claim to be satisfied with it, so... :shrug:

If she's still hungry after eating all that (does she actually eat it all?) I'd add in a small yogurt or an apple, or hummus as a PP suggested, or bulk up the sandwich a bit - what's on it? Does she like cucumber slices or lettuce or even apple slices on her sandwiches? What would she typically eat at home for lunch if it was not a school day and how does that compare to what you're packing? I'm finding that DD2 is eating SO much better now that she eats lunch at school because she sort of fell into the habit of grazing all morning and all afternoon this summer (a combination of newly discovered independence and a very pregnant mommy who kept unintentionally napping) but now she really can't do that. I suspect that's why she's suddenly eating big lunches!

Sarah :)

[hellokitty]

Well, I don't have any wise advice. I have a 9.5 yr old who is literally the smallest kid in his 4th grade. I packed him lunch for 2.5 yrs, but was ended up so incredibly frustrated with how little of it he ate (a few bites). Finally, I just told him that if he didn't want to eat what I packed, that he could just eat the cafeteria food (which btw, we live in an area where the cafeteria food is the same garbage from when I was a kid). I know that this doesn't make me the ideal mom, but at some point or another, you have to choose your battles. At home, he eats very healthy portions and I also send a mid-morning snack with him to school. So, I don't worry about it too much. I just ended up taking it too personally that he would barely touch his lunch and it was getting thrown away. Now, I don't know what he eats, maybe ignorance is bliss?

[oneplustwo]

This was my 10 year old's lunch the other day. He also had an energy bar and a small bag of Pirate Booty.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/kellip/B5C35CF9-444A-4CBC-8A08-C238A1BEFD56-1552-00000185323DDCDE_zpsc4532b2a.jpg

Kelli, I want YOU to make ME lunch every day. That looks awesome.

[JBaxter]

Almost 10 DS. Ham sandwich, applesauce cup, granola bar snack size baggy grapes pudding cup and a horizon chocolate milk box. The granola bar came home

[Kindra178]

Can you try a bar with protein? My boys love the Zone Simple Chocolate Chip bars.

[Binkandabee]

Thanks for the input! I definitely need to do some investigating on what she does/doesn't eat. You all may very well be correct that she's not eating the healthy parts of her lunch and that's the reason why she is hungry, not because I don't pack enough.

It did get to the point last year where I just had her buy her lunch everyday. I too took it personal because she complained every.single.day about what I was packing. I finally said enough is enough, pack it yourself...with me having the final say on whether its acceptable or not.... or buy your lunch. She bought her lunch. I was hoping this year would be different, but it looks like we're headed down the same road and we're only 2 weeks into the year.

[hillview]

Kelli, I want YOU to make ME lunch every day. That looks awesome.

:yeahthat:

[fauve01]

My DD is 10YO next month. They have morning snack/recess and dd eats gummy fruits (sigh). at Lunch, she isn't a sandwich girl, however we *just* found she likes TJ rotisserie chicken lunch meat, so I have been give her 1.5 slices on a cheese roll or cheese bagel. (Of course dd doesn't not eat them together, first the cheese off the bread, then the bread, then the meat. drives me nuts. to go with it, a handful of crackers/chips.) I also slide in a small hunk of parmesean cheese (she doesn't not like regular cheese sticks). cold water in her insulated water bottle.

after school she is ravenous, and has another small meal. I make her start with a protein or a cut up apple before she can have some carbs (what she really wants). that holds her a couple hours til dinner, where she eats a good sized meal (often times more than I eat at dinner).

it all depends on the kid, IMO. DD's 9.5YO BFF is tiny and for lunch has 1/2 a PB Sammy and 5 cashews and that's it for lunch. sometimes 6 sun chips. that kid is never hungry!

[MelissaTC]

Maybe she is going through a growth spurt?

M is 11 but not a big eater. But lately he has been eating more and sleeping more so I anticipate a growth spurt soon. Today h had 8 pigs in a blanket (leftovers from football Sunday), cucumber slices, small apple, pretzel sticks, granola bar and Horizon milk box.

[brittone2]

My 9.5 year old is quite slim at 60-65 lbs and can eat a lot right now. I have had to give him larger portion sizes at meals and up how much I make so he can easily have 2nds when he's really hungry. He eats a lot of nutrient dense stuff. We HS, so I'm not packing his lunch and he can snack as needed through the day or get more food after a meal if he's hungry. If he only had a limited period to eat, he'd need something substantial and hearty with protein and fats, or he'd be very hungry before long.

I know as a person with PCOS and tendencies toward insulin resistance, a carby meal leaves me hungrier than when I started. I know you can only do so much about her preferences there, but I always wondered why I could eat a big bowl of cereal, or a big bagel and cream cheese and be absolutely ravenous an hour later. Many years later it all made sense. Some people even without full on insulin resistance issues encounter the same thing. Again, I know that is somewhat out of your hands, but just tossing that out there. Maybe she'd be willing to try some more protein and fat with lunch to see if it sticks with her better.

[Cam&Clay]

This was my 10 year old's lunch the other day. He also had an energy bar and a small bag of Pirate Booty.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/kellip/B5C35CF9-444A-4CBC-8A08-C238A1BEFD56-1552-00000185323DDCDE_zpsc4532b2a.jpg


I am loving this because I packed my son's Planetbox with 3 (yes, THREE) Sour Patch Kids in that little center section of the container. I got a nasty gram from the teacher that sending candy wasn't healthy. He had a half a pbj, yogurt, strawberries and grapes, and she complains about the 3 pieces of candy. I was not happy.

[brittone2]

I am loving this because I packed my son's Planetbox with 3 (yes, THREE) Sour Patch Kids in that little center section of the container. I got a nasty gram from the teacher that sending candy wasn't healthy. He had a half a pbj, yogurt, strawberries and grapes, and she complains about the 3 pieces of candy. I was not happy.
THat sucks. I totally get where teachers are coming from, but heck, I bet 90% of the yogurt eaten by kids at school (and likely deemed "healthy" by the teacher) has multiple times the sugar as the 3 sourpatch kids.

[kep]

Kelli, I want YOU to make ME lunch every day. That looks awesome.

Thanks. My 10 year old has lots of sensory issues, so we gave up on hot lunch long ago. Also not a sandwich eater. We have had to get creative. :) And no, we don't typically pack sushi. We had some leftover from the night before. Kids were fighting over it.

[JustMe]

Thanks for the input! I definitely need to do some investigating on what she does/doesn't eat. You all may very well be correct that she's not eating the healthy parts of her lunch and that's the reason why she is hungry, not because I don't pack enough.
.

This would totally be the case with either of my kids (7 and 10) if I packed the amount you pack and they said they were still hungry. In fact, I have had to talk with several well-meaning school staff who intercepted my 7 year old saying he was hungry, they felt bad for him, they gave him crackers/goldfish, etc, when he had plenty of his sandwich left in his lunchbox...and its not so much that he does not like the sandwich, its just that he's not really that hungry AND he wants more of the carbs/sweets.

[hillview]

Just read your update. Does she possibly just want to buy it?

[Tondi G]

My 12 year old DS (he's 5'8'' by the way) took in his lunch today... a thermos of chicken noodle soup, a chocolate chip cookie, an apple, 6 ritz like crackers and a small roll (the roll came back home) and a juice box lemonade. He also has a refillable water bottle that he fills a couple of times through the day.

My 8 year old took the same thing except he had an apple sauce cup ... which came home.