More lunch Qs: Need lunch ideas NOT sandwiches

[maestramommy]

In the course of a week I usually send sandwiches twice a week, Ramen once, pizza once, and the kids get to buy school lunch once. After after of summer of fun outside the home, my kids are SICK TO DEATH of sandwiches. I need lunch ideas that I can pack quickly the morning of, or that can sit from the night before. I've seen cool sandwiches by the 100 Days of Real Food blog, but my kids aren't really great muffin fans. I need a new mindset on lunches. DD1 hardly eats any of her lunch, DD2 has been known to eat her entire lunch, then buy a school lunch because she's still hungry (found that out last year!).

[DietCokeLover]

DD doesn't like sandwiches. When she was in school, I would send chicken nuggets, popcorn shrimp, bagel bites, ravioli.... Things like that. I could cook it while I was getting the rest of the day going, pop it in the thermos and she loved it.

[egoldber]

My younger DD doesn't really like sandwiches. I send a lot of....

pita and hummus
ham/turkey/cheese and crackers

Then I throw in some fruit/veggies and a yogurt to call it lunch. :)

Do they have a thermos? You can send in hot foods that way. It won't be hot, but it will probably be warm. My DD doesn't care.

[SnuggleBuggles]

What about DIY Lunchables with cracker, meat, cheese or PB&J?

[maestramommy]

What about DIY Lunchables with cracker, meat, cheese or PB&J?

For some reason lunchables never strike me as filling enough! Maybe for DD1 it would be, but for DD2 it would feel more like a snack. Also, she doesn't like lunchmeat.

[SnuggleBuggles]

For some reason lunchables never strike me as filling enough! Maybe for DD1 it would be, but for DD2 it would feel more like a snack. Also, she doesn't like lunchmeat.

I hear you. Mine, for whatever reason, eat 1/2 of a sandwich so in our case it probably isn't much of a difference quantity wise. You can buy good crackers, like the Kashi ones, that a lot more nutritionally going for them too. :)

[KpbS]

I send in chili, cut up hot dogs, and a tortilla wrap style sandwich (you could do hummus if she didn't want turkey/beef/ham/salami). I made a soup (like a stew really) last week--campfire stew style with green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and ground turkey meat--that my kids loved and would be great for a lunch portion in the funtainer food jar.

[Momit]

Hard boiled eggs
Greek yogurt with fruit and granola
How about your famous flatbread egg sandwiches
Bagel and cream cheese
Hummus and crackers/veggies
Leftover pasta

[Nyfeara]

My kids like various meatballs that we were able to freeze and then stick in their lunchboxes. They'd thaw by lunch and my kids didn't mind eating them cool/cold. We had turkey and stuffing meatballs, some others with ground chicken. Could do them as patties too. DS1 will eat a chicken patty on a bun cold. They also liked a pasta salad with whatever veggies they like, where we would add leftover rotisserie chicken, black beans or whatever for protein.

[sandwish]

In order to get DS to eat veggies at lunch. I alternate between fried rice or sushi everyday. They are almost the same thing. The sushi is more like Korean sushi where I wrap things like scrambled egg, strips sautéed carrot and zucchini. It can also include leftover sausage, bacon. Basically just rice, veggies and meat wrapped together in seaweed. Fried rice is all those same things, minus seaweed, chopped small and mixed together.

If I gave him anything separated, veggies would never be consumed. Sandwiches would be disassembled.

[brittone2]

If they like dairy, cottage cheese or yogurt?
My DD loves cottage cheese, grape tomatoes, salt and pepper.

[maestramommy]

If they like dairy, cottage cheese or yogurt?
My DD loves cottage cheese, grape tomatoes, salt and pepper.

I do send in frozen yogurt pops, but DD1 isn't into it enough for it to be a regular thing.

However, thanks for all your ideas! It got me thinking that they maybe would like dinner leftovers. I asked them today, and they sounded pretty excited about that. One of the dinners they really like is rice, seasoned ground beef, and stir fried napa cabbage. Lunches that they both like are what I'm trying for. Last year they would request different lunches and it got really impossible. Plus they wouldn't choose to buy school lunch the same day. I had to go with at least something they would eat, even if it wasn't a favorite and say, "today you're having this, I'll make what you like another day." I can't imagine what will happen next year when I have 3 lunch eaters!

[jerseygirl07067]

Yes, definitely hummus and crackers and cheese and crackers to change it up a bit. I may throw in a bit of turkey pepperoni.

I have a "formula" that I use for their lunches, to keep me sane and organized, since I have to pack 3, including my own before getting out the doors. Each one gets a sandwich or some combo listed above, a dairy (yogurt or string cheese), 2 servings of fruits or veggies, and then a snack (crackers, granola bar, etc). I literally pack each one, one of the categories at a time, if that make any sense.

[hellbennt]

Amy's bean squares, turkey slices rolled up w/ crackers on the side


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[RedSuedeShoes]

In addition to the things listed above, we do a lot of refried beans (reheated, put in a thermos & sprinkled with cheese) along with chips for dipping. Or a bean/cheese burrito. Or cooked tortellini/ravioli in a thermos. Edamame pods.

Ugh. Don't even want to think about lunches yet, though! We have one more week.

[Kindra178]

Tortellini or mini ravioli (huge hit), either with olive oil or marinara sauce
meatballs (either homemade or TJs turkey meatballs, cooked in marinara)
quesadillas
chicken nuggets
mac n cheese

[bigsis]

One of the dinners they really like is rice, seasoned ground beef, and stir fried napa cabbage.
I would love your recipe!

My DS is allergic to a lot of things. So far this year, he loves steamed rice with whatever--hot dogs, kielbasa, teriyaki chicken... I would love your recipe so I can add 1 more thing.

[lalasmama]

We do a chicken pasta salad... We eat it lukewarm for dinner, but for lunch, we eat it cold, and DD loves it. It has pasta, cucumber, pickles, chicken, green beans, and cheese, with a ranch sauce, so it has a good blend of some protein, veggies, dairy, etc. We pair it with a pack of sliced apples, and DD gets a milk at school. We don't do it often, but it's one of our favorites!

[maestramommy]

I would love your recipe!

My DS is allergic to a lot of things. So far this year, he loves steamed rice with whatever--hot dogs, kielbasa, teriyaki chicken... I would love your recipe so I can add 1 more thing.

I don't have a recipe. I make rice in the rice cooker. The meat is stir fried with soy sauce, the napa cabbage is stir fried with garlic and salt. Very simple!

[anonomom]

My DDs have never been willing to eat sandwiches. We do a lot of cheese and crackers (with fruit and veggies too). My kids both really like those small balls of fresh mozzarella, so we use them a lot. We also do tortellini in a thermos and sometimes leftovers.

Today I sent DD wit hummus and pretzel thins for her protein/carb.

[Maxlee]

Amy's bean squares, turkey slices rolled up w/ crackers on the side

What are Amy's bean squares? Sounds interesting

[hellbennt]

They're in the frozen section - little dough squares stuffed w/ beans & cheese - there're other varieties - & my ds used to like Munchies brand squares, too. They're at whole foods & also my local supermarket.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

Posting b/c I felt brilliant today with my picky eater. They can buy milk at school so I packed a bowl of cereal. :) I know he'll eat it. There are loads of good cereal choices out there.

[egoldber]

My younger DD takes a lot of dry cereal. She doesn't like cereal with milk, but she loves many cereals.

[MMMommy]

My DDs do not like sandwiches either. They like when I pack "hot" thermos lunches. They seem to really enjoy when I pack leftovers from the prior night's dinner--rice with chicken, pasta, fried rice, etc. Would it be easy for you to make slightly more dinner so that you can pack it in a thermos for lunch the next day?

[boolady]

I do the DIY lunchable thing every day, unless we have good leftovers. DD does not like food that is warm, but not hot, if it should be hot, so doesn't care for food in the Funtainer. I was concerned it wouldn't be enough food, but I try to make it protein-heavy so that it gets her through until the end of the day. Every day, she takes rolled up ham or turkey, a Babybel or cheese stick, fruit (usually strawberries or grapes, sometimes sliced apple), 4 Late July Ritz-type crackers or some everything Pretzel Thins, and pistachios, almonds, or baby carrots. Her classroom is nut free, but her lunchroom is not, so she can take the nuts. Every once and a while, if I have hard-boiled eggs, for example, I'll sub out the nuts or the meat for a hard-boiled egg, and she likes that with the cheese and crackers. As referenced above, she will eat some things, like grilled chicken apple sausage, meatballs, or turkey burger, cold, so I give her that for a change if we've got leftovers.

[Kindra178]

Posting b/c I felt brilliant today with my picky eater. They can buy milk at school so I packed a bowl of cereal. :) I know he'll eat it. There are loads of good cereal choices out there.

I sent greek yogurt with granola for my least picky eater who is still adjusting to the crazy lunchroom. It worked beautifully.

[calebsmama03]

What about DIY Lunchables with cracker, meat, cheese or PB&J?

My kids love these.
We also do quesadillas, "pizza-dila" (tortilla with mozz and pepperoni), pasta (cold, usually as a pasta salad with some meat, cheese, veggies thrown in), bagels with cream cheese, "roll ups" (sandwich but on a tortilla and rolled, PB and banana is the fave).

[twotimesblue]

I almost never send sandwiches. DS often gets: falafel balls with hummus and tzatziki (one of his favorites); pasta salad; vegetable quesadilla with guacamole, or chickpea curry with rice and naan bread. He's in preschool but has the appetite of a trucker!

[connor_mommy]

chicken noodle soup
stir fried noodles
potstickers/gyoza
lasagna
macaroni noodle soup
leftover chicken and rice
cold fried chicken

[stinkyfeet]

For those of you that do quesadilla or pizza quesadilla, do you make it the night before and just serve it cold using the ice packs?


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[KpbS]

For those of you that do quesadilla or pizza quesadilla, do you make it the night before and just serve it cold using the ice packs?


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I make it the morning of and sometimes use the ice packs, sometimes not.

[acmom]

I don't have a recipe. I make rice in the rice cooker. The meat is stir fried with soy sauce, the napa cabbage is stir fried with garlic and salt. Very simple!

My kids might like this too! Do you mix all three together or serve them separately?

[acmom]

Sorry - double post.

[KrisM]

Posting b/c I felt brilliant today with my picky eater. They can buy milk at school so I packed a bowl of cereal. :) I know he'll eat it. There are loads of good cereal choices out there.

Nice! My picky eater doesn't eat cereal, but the others would like it as something different.

[twotimesblue]

[QUOTE=stinkyfeet;4030203]For those of you that do quesadilla or pizza quesadilla, do you make it the night before and just serve it cold using the ice packs?

Sometimes in the morning, sometimes the night before. I don't bother with ice packs... it's in an insulated lunch bag and he eats it less than 3 hours after I pack it, so it will be the right temperature come lunchtime.