Lunchbox help please!

[Kyrptonite]

DS starts at a small posh village school in September and I have a feeling that his usual lunchbox contents may not be up to scratch!

He often has for nursery:
Ham or jam sandwich
Crisps
Banana/apple/cucumber/carrot sticks
Yoghurt
Cheese string
Cereal bar/nutri grain bar/cocktail sausages/small muffin


He doesn't like tomatoes, cheese ( unless cheese string ) and is really weird about lunch as in he won't eat hot lunch. He loves cous cous, croissants and things.

Can anyone give me some healthy suggestions please? It's taken 4 years but he is finally eating most of his meals so I want to continue him actually enjoying food.

[sonlypuppyfat]

It sounds like a lovely lunch box you could try a little tub of pasta salad some cubes of cheese and some crackers or a nice dip and bread sticks. I'm really good at advice but to be honest my 8yr old DD goes with a carton some crisps and a biscuit bar because she is so busy talking she wasn't eating anything so I gave up, I'm a truely dreadful mum but she does eat well and healthly when she comes home.

[Vibbe]

Made couscous/rice/pasta/bulgur salads with loads of veg in.
Nice sandwiches, pitta, pizza swirls, mini pizzas, quiches (if he likes them), falafel burgers, homemade sausage rolls (not made with puff pastry) and so on.
Fruit - such as melon, oranges, pears and so on cut into bite sized pieces. Berries are nice too.
Veg - again cut into sticks or bite sized pieces. Could be carrot, celery, cucumber, radishes, fresh peas.
If he likes coleslaw, it might also be nice to bring.

[Vibbe]

Made = Make

[apatchylass]

Sounds like what 99% of children eat for packed lunch at our naice village school.

Don't worry what others think - what matters most is that he'll eat it, and second most, that it is balanced.

But if you want ideas:
Have you tried him at home with different kinds of bread - wholemeal, granary, pitta, wraps etc?
Would he eat small cubes of other cheeses or chunks of chicken instead of cheese strings?
Or have chicken in his sandwich? Thinly sliced it's not that different to ham.

Instead of crisps you could sometimes put in mini pretzels or popcorn, or mild tortilla chips.

Instead of sandwich, especially in cooler months, you could give him soup and a roll. Or a small Cornish pasty.

[Anja1Cam]

Sounds fine to me, balanced, and don't stress about other parents, they might never know anyway and you'll probably find their lunches are v.v. similar! My kids only take in packed lunch one day a week and have a limited repertoire of things they will eat so I vary the (always wholemeal) bread: bread / wrap / roll / pitta, and that goes down well even if the topping is always: Ham&Cheese& Lettuce or Cream Cheese, sliced egg and grated carrot...
Extras - I have little plastic boxes for things like raisins or other dried fruit. And my secret weapon: frozen peas! I put them in a little snack-pack like I do for Raisins, my kids love them raw, so by lunchtime they are defrosted and always get eaten, unlike any other 'crudites', however hard I might try.
If you add a little yoghurt, include a spoon, ditto fork for salad. My school has the (strange? to me) rule that packed-lunch eaters are not allowed to use school cutlery.

[BeCool]

make lunch for your DS, not for other Mums! It doesn't matter how fancy the school is.

What he eats sounds great. My 5yo lives on cheese and cucumber sandwiches and egg mayo sandwiches, plus fruit. Oh I dream of her eating cous cous and chicken legs etc.

DD does like pasta salad - I cook extra past the night before and mix with what I have - tomatoes, sweetcorn, sugar snaps, chorizo/ham, olives etc. She likes a mayo dressing, though I would prefer one made with olive oil and lemon.