Packed lunch ideas, please.

[November Rain]

I give littl'un a packed lunch at school every day. His school does do food, but I'm a bit bothered about him not getting enough fruit & veg & also, when I give him lunch money, he tends to spend it on ka-nom.

OK, he loves sandwiches, particularly ham & cheese (his favourite), but I want some variety. So, we've done peanut butter, tuna salad, ham salad, cheese & onion (he loves raw onion) etc. I've also done homemade pizza (that's what he has today; bacon, cheese, tomato & loads of veggies), tuna pasta salad (that did not go down well, I think because of standing around time) & various other ideas with differing levels of success. He always gets a piece of fruit & crisps or crackers etc, too.

Does anyone have some new & interesting ideas for me to try?

I'd like some nutritional value & it does have to stand being out of the fridge for about 4 hrs (no fridge facilities in school). Also, if it's a sandwich, not be too messy or soggy - egg mayonnaise would just be mush by lunchtime.


Please help, I'm running out of ideas...

[chitown]

chocolate chip pancakes with syrup in a brown bag?

[JoGeAr]

Vegemite sandwiches

[El Gibbon]

A couple of ideas cleaned from my recent trip to visit family and grand-children.

Pita pockets make for stuffing with all sorts of interesting and 'good' foods. (one grandson loves veggies so he get a pocket of assorted veggies lightly coated with dressing two or three times a week.)

Get a couple of the freezer packs (those plastic things full of slush) and install them in a backpack to keep the food cool) they work well after being in a freezer overnight.

Sounds like you've already got some variety and long as he eats it no problem. The small juice paks are also good as you can find them fortified with vitamins.

Good Luck

E. G.

[Oswulf]

If you put a layer of lettuce on each slice of bread, this stops the bread getting soggy, so you can do moister fillings.

A few other sandwich ideas:

* chicken breast (poached for 10 minutes) with salad or coleslaw
* oven roasted vegetables (onion, tomato, courgette, etc.) with cream cheese
* cheese (either cheddar type or cream) and tomato - could add a bit of raw onion, too
* kai yang (from your local street vendor) with cucumber slices
* sliced boiled egg with salad
* omelette (either plain, or with bits of onion and peppers in it)

And for a change, you could spread the bread with mayonnaise, rather than butter.

You can also use toast instead of bread to make the sandwich - it gives a different taste & texture.

[Loy Toy]

Any wholesome foods without too much sugar content. You know what foods I mean.

Sugar gives the kids any energy rush and then tires them out quickly.

Makes them lethagic and affects their learning ability also.

[CharleyFarley]

Used to make my own sandwiches for when I did night shifts back in UK, they were so lovely I usually ate them on the way to work.

Blue cheese and peeled unseeded black grapes is a favorite, but totally useless for your son.

not much help am I

[momo8]

The main problem with the lunch is the standing time.Fill a 600ml bottle of water with juice and freeze it overnight and put that in the bottom of his lunch bag then the food on top.

It will partially defrost by lunchtime and he can enjoy a 'slushie' with his lunch.

* Ham and cheese salad with a boiled egg ( dressing in a small serve separate)

* Small kebabs

* Lamb sanwiches Aussie Lamb Sandwich - Australian Sandwich recipe from RecipeJoint.com. Download for free.

* Click here for lots more simple sandwich ideas Sandwich Recipes at Food Down Under Recipe Database

* A chicken drumstick with some salad.Wings are good too.Marinate overnight before cooking.

* Home made fried rice with lots of ham.

* Broccoli and ham/bacon salad.

Depends also on what ingredients you can get where you are.If you can get Lavash bread, you can roll up just about anything for a healthy lunch and not as messy as pita bread (unless you can get the mini pitas.)

[Rascal]

Vegimite is awful, worst stuff I ever ate. IMHO!

[momo8]

^ Vegemite is wonderful stuff but Thais hate it.It is an aquired taste best to start off with very small scrapes of it on lightly buttered crackers before going the full hog with 'Tiger Toast', Vegemite on toast/muffins with cheese cut into strips and grilled.Yum.

[ChiangMai noon]

best quote that one for NR since you are on ignore and it's actually a helpful post.

The main problem with the lunch is the standing time.Fill a 600ml bottle of water with juice and freeze it overnight and put that in the bottom of his lunch bag then the food on top.

It will partially defrost by lunchtime and he can enjoy a 'slushie' with his lunch.

* Ham and cheese salad with a boiled egg ( dressing in a small serve separate)

* Small kebabs

* Lamb sanwiches Aussie Lamb Sandwich - Australian Sandwich recipe from RecipeJoint.com. Download for free.

* Click here for lots more simple sandwich ideas Sandwich Recipes at Food Down Under Recipe Database

* A chicken drumstick with some salad.Wings are good too.Marinate overnight before cooking.

* Home made fried rice with lots of ham.

* Broccoli and ham/bacon salad.

Depends also on what ingredients you can get where you are.If you can get Lavash bread, you can roll up just about anything for a healthy lunch and not as messy as pita bread (unless you can get the mini pitas.)

[momo8]

Thank you CNM. Happy Friday.

[November Rain]

Vegemite sandwiches

That might be worth a try. I love vegemite & Marmite (the food!!), so I could try him with it. If he doesn't like it, I can have it on my morning toast.

Pita pockets make for stuffing with all sorts of interesting and 'good' foods.

The small juice paks are also good as you can find them fortified with vitamins.

Pitas are a great idea thanks. I already give him the juice, but I could freeze it, to keep food cool & also be a nice cold drink for him.

A few other sandwich ideas: * chicken breast (poached for 10 minutes) with salad or coleslaw * oven roasted vegetables (onion, tomato, courgette, etc.) with cream cheese * cheese (either cheddar type or cream) and tomato - could add a bit of raw onion, too * kai yang (from your local street vendor) with cucumber slices * sliced boiled egg with salad * omelette (either plain, or with bits of onion and peppers in it) And for a change, you could spread the bread with mayonnaise, rather than butter. You can also use toast instead of bread to make the sandwich - it gives a different taste & texture.

Lovely ideas, thanks.

Blue cheese and peeled unseeded black grapes is a favorite, but totally useless for your son.

Not much good for him, but sounds lovely for me. What sort of bread? Ciabatta might be nice. And what about pear & rocket instead of grapes?

Thanks for the suggestions, Momo & for quoting the post CMN. Like the chicken & salad idea. Tried the fried rice, but he didn't like the cold rice (must admit, I was worried about it standing for a while, too - seem to remember something about room temp rice breeding bacteria). The broccoli salad might be nice, I guess that's lightly boiled/steamed rather than raw. Maybe sprinkled with pine nuts or sesame seeds?

Some nice suggestions, thanks

[momo8]

Broccoli Salad Recipe

Ingredients

1 teaspoon salt
5-6 cups fresh broccoli florets (choose the dark green and remove yellow)
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
1/4 cup of red onion, chopped
1 cup of frozen peas, thawed (or fresh peas if you can get them)
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey

Method

1 Bring a large pot of water, salted with a teaspoon of salt, to a boil. Add the broccoli florets. Cook 1-2 minutes, depending on how crunchy you want the broccoli. 1 minute will turn the broccoli bright green, and leave it still pretty crunchy. 2 minutes will cook the broccoli through, but still firm. Set your timer and do not cook for more than 2 minutes, or the broccoli will get mushy. Drain the broccoli and immediately put into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Let cool and drain.
2 Combine broccoli florets, almonds, crumbled bacon, chopped onion, and peas in a large serving bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, cider vinegar and honey. Add dressing to the salad and toss to mix well. Chill thoroughly before serving.

My kids love this salad I add sesame seeds (toasted) to the mix.

They also love pasta salads and I make my own mayo so very healthy.

Here is a linky to some simple pasta salads Simply Recipes: Pasta Recipes

Vegemite is good to cook with also. I add a teaspoon with braised beef (omit salt as Veggie is salty) do beef with Teriaki, Vegemite, garlic, honey and garlic marinade, skewer it and grill or BBQ add to lunchbox.

Vegemite recipies Vegemite - Recipes great source of all Vitamin B group.

[kingwilly]

Vegemite and cheese.

Peanut butter and salad sandwiches.

Cheese cube snacks.

curried egg. (ie mix some boiled egg with teaspoon of mayo teaspoon of mustard or curry powder)

[momo8]

Jamie Oliver has some great recipies for kids Food Network : Healthy Recipe Collections, Party Ideas, Quick & Easy Recipes

someone quote the linky please.

[kingwilly]

Jamie Oliver has some great recipies for kids Food Network : Healthy Recipe Collections, Party Ideas, Quick & Easy Recipes someone quote the linky please.

okie dokie

[kingwilly]

oops. doesnt come thru doing that...

here tis..

Food Network : Healthy Recipe Collections, Party Ideas, Quick & Easy Recipes

[momo8]

Here's one for you Rain, you're not getting enough

[Fabian]

^ Vegemite is wonderful stuff but Thais hate it.

Not only Thais.

[Fabian]

Any wholesome foods without too much sugar content. You know what foods I mean.

Sugar gives the kids any energy rush and then tires them out quickly.

Makes them lethagic and affects their learning ability also.

At school I always bought mars bars or some jelly sweets and what damage had it done to me?


Alright, that is questionable so maybe you have got a point there.

[Travelmate]

Branston pickles, very yummy

[jandajoy]

How old is your boy NR?

Have you considered giving him a budget and letting him make his own?

It's a really good exercise with loads of good learning outcomes. You keep a watchfull eye of course and you'll have to help him at times but he could gain a lot of good stuff from the experience.

[DaveRobin]

fried rice or some noodles?

[November Rain]

How old is your boy NR?

Have you considered giving him a budget and letting him make his own?

It's a really good exercise with loads of good learning outcomes. You keep a watchfull eye of course and you'll have to help him at times but he could gain a lot of good stuff from the experience.

He's only 6 (7 next month - yay!!) and he spent his lunch budget on crap (ka-nom), which is the reason for the packed lunches so I'm not sure he's ready for the responsibility, but great idea for slightly later. Thanks.


Thanks also to Momo for the links & suggestions. Very decent of you.