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Primary education

Packed lunches??

5 replies

norfolklass · 26/06/2009 19:34

I had intended for DS who is starting reception in september to have school dinners but have no idea what they actually have on the school menu's and can't seem to find out anyway so thought Id get him a lunch box for the first week or so to get him used to the whole eating at school thing and then change to school dinners after a bit!

Was just wondering how healthy lunchboxes have to be?? Was thinking of:-

Mini wholemeal roll or sandwich with either cheese/ham/turkey/dairylea etc
Babybel or couple of mini sausages
Some cuecumber/cherry tomatoes
Grapes or strawberries or Apple
Small bottle of water or Tropicana Go (which is fruit juice & water)-I assume cartons of fresh juice are a bad idea cause will go everywhere if not all drunk!!

And now the "unhealthy" bit-was thinking of a couple of biscuits...by that I mean like 2 custard creams or rich tea etc or a few crisps. DS not a big yoghurt eater and if he does eat it he usually has a fruit corner or something which is far too big for a lunch box so thought a biscuit might be nice to have. Am I seriously going to be shot by the school food police if I put them in or is something "nice" allowed as well??

Can you tell Ive not done this before lol!!

OP posts:
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southernbelle77 · 26/06/2009 19:58

Lol I was like that at the beginning of the year! Always worrying about what, and how much to put in! Much more relaxed now! Not sure about your school, but at ours they only get 20 minutes to eat lunch and my dd (who in all reality does eat like a sparrow anyway) was only eating half her lunch so I have cut it down considerably! Just for a comparison, dd now has somthing similar to....
1 slice of bread sandwich
maybe a mini cheese
yogurt (or fruit frube equivilant)
little piece of fruit.
You get to know how much they need when the lunch box comes back either full or empty!

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DontCallMeBaby · 27/06/2009 19:11

Schools vary hugely, you need to find out what yours will and won't accept ... you get stories on here of schools where you'd get a snarky letter home for those custard creams or crisps, meanwhile DD usually has a packet of crisps in her lunch once a week, and I snuck a piece of fudge in on Thursday and not a word so far!

DD has a sandwich each day, and two other items. I'm quite wary about the crisps, as she takes forever to eat them and will prioritise them over everything else, so the rest of the lunchbox has to be VERY appealing on a crisp day. Or she gets a partial packet.

You're right about the juice - DD wasn't drinking anything at lunchtime because she knew she couldn't drink a whole box, so didn't open it. She now has a Thermos fliptop beaker with water or squash, which she can open and reseal. She STILL doesn't drink anything, but at least now she could if she wanted to.

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QOD · 27/06/2009 19:20

my dd's school only allow milk or milkshake or water - not for health reasons but because they make the floor sticky....
also no frubes or similar

Same with the bottles of water into school, fab idea blah blah however, when dd started she didn't DRINK water, so after a week at school & constipation & pooingblood..... we substitued it for ilegal flavoured water. Not proud of it but you know, needs must. Dd now LOVES water and drink tons of it at school.

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mumzy · 28/06/2009 08:38

Ask the school if you can have a copy of the menu they should have one for their catering staff to follow. Also see if they have a lunch box policy (items allowed/not allowed). Usually they ask parents not to include:cakes /biscuits/crisps/chocolate/sweets/fizzy or squash type drinks.
In our school we are asked to include an item from each food group:
starch: bread/pasta/rice/plain crackers
protein: meat/fish/beans/pulses/eggs
dairy: cheese/yogurts/milk/ricepud/custard
fruit & veg
a little fat/oil (marg in s'wiches is enough)
that translates into ham s'wiches, cheese on cream crackers, stawberries & carrot sticks
the only drinks allowed are water,pure fruit juice and milk. You are also allowed scones /crumpets/hot X buns/malt loaf/plain popcorn. Some parents find it really draconian but the teachers say the children are really much better behaved & concentration in the afternoon is better since they ditch the junk from school dinners& pack lunches. I'm all for it as I can now say to dc its the school who won't allow the treats.

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flaime · 01/07/2009 20:18

Our school encourages healthy eating and no chocolate, but they serve chocolate cookies on the school dinner menu so I treat her now and again.

Tend to be :
Sandwich (Ham / cheese / cucumber) or crackers and cheese,
crisps
fruit (grapes / strawberries)
yoghurt pouch
biscuit (normally plain, but often a kit kat on a friday for a treat)

She doesn't have juice as she prefers the yoghurt drink, and always has a banana for snack time too.

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