Need more lunch ideas: dairy free, soy free, and nut free

Our family is dairy and soy free, which isn't too hard at home (although we all miss cheese) but does make packing lunches a bit tricky. Now my girls are choosing to be nut free so that they can join a friend at the nut free table (which I totally appreciate and support) so that's another parameter. We do have hot thermoses that I would like to start using but honestly haven't been very proactive about coming up with hot meals. I sent chicken nuggets and they said they didn't stay hot and didn't taste good. They eat salad at home but I don't think they have time to eat them at school. They love ramen but they aren't soy free (and obviously are horrendously unhealthy). I tried making a healthy version of ramen but it wasn't well received. I did tuna salad yesterday and they liked that. I can do chicken salad next week. They eat egg salad at home but didn't want to take it. I bought pepperoni to make lunchables but without cheese it really doesn't appeal. I need to get more creative, please help!

ETA: I should mention that they truly aren't picky, just bored. I am also very protective of leftovers from dinner as they are always planned for the next night's dinner!

I just want to check- do they have to be dairy free? I wasn’t sure if they did or just some members of the family. If they’re able to eat dairy (and soy) then maybe their lunches could be the chance to do that?
Pasta and sauce
Pancakes, waffles...(I assume you have an acceptable recipe for those)
Grilled Chicken and rice
Chili




Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

IME thermoses work better for things with more liquid in them; it retains the heat better. And the less air the better, too.

What about soup? DD loves a tomato soup lunch.
Meatballs in some sort of sauce?
I second chili. My DS likes to take that.
Beans. My DC like black beans and refried beans.

All of the above can be homemade if necessary to avoid unwanted ingredients.

Soup is a good suggestion. Our current favorite is chicken tortilla soup, which has lots of beans and other veggies in it. Maybe ravioli or tortellini without cheese? Sunbutter and jelly or banana sandwich?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My dairy free, nut free kiddo has pasta and sauce in her lunch every day. Fill the thermos with super hot water and let it sit for a few minutes while you heat up the pasta and sauce (as hot as you can without burning). Then dump out the water and immediately fill with the pasta. Works great! I usually send banana muffins (I have a great recipe if you want), crackers, fruit, and homemade treat.

What about tortilla bean wraps, my kids love these. You can spice the filling up with whatever you like, I use sautéed onions, tomatoes, ginger garlic many times. A taco seasoning works great as well. Another option is a panini with grilled veggies and pesto or hummus or whatever your kids like. A rice dish with veggies like a pilaf, is really quick to make as well.
My kids love soups but I’ve not yet tried those in a thermos. They can be a great option if that works!


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

Taco meat (chicken, beef) and tortillas too.


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

Chili is a popular lunch leftover here, for all of us. Make a big pot. You can put over pasta for chili Mac, or not. Sliced avocado (on side) gives chili a creamy taste.

Pasta fagioli is also lunch fav. It’s a hearty soup. Another good soup that packs well is beef and barley. I make it pretty thick, so it’s almost like a chili.

Sausage and peppers.

Sunbutter a good alternative to nut butters.

One my kids takes pasta with cut up rotisserie chicken regularly. I make the pasta alla oglio, so it’s satisfying with garlic and oil.

I have also sent homemade street tacos, with tortilla chips and taco meat.






Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

Although DS2 eats dairy, he’s all tree nuts and peanut allergy kid. With him, I just send sunbutter and jelly sandwich, tomato soup, mini meatballs and pasta, taco wraps, crackers with salami or pepperoni. He’s picky eater so usually repeat my same rotation with different sides every week.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I always suggest chili :)
Pepperoni w crackers is better than plain
Hummus with veggies, corn chips, etc to dip
Black beans with corn chips, fruit salad
Pasta salad
Tortilla roll up sandwiches
Lots of soups (veggie, beef and noodle, etc)