Lunch box ideas without frequent shopping trips

[Anotheruser02]

Hello. My ds is going into year 3 in a couple of weeks so no more free dinners :(
I'd love some lunch box suggestions for things that can be frozen, or that last a good couple of weeks so I'm not constantly doing small shops and spending more. He usually gets some kind of main event, one fruit and one salad ie a small pot of cherry tomatoes and some grapes. I'd love to know what sandwiches are successfully frozen, and if anyone has a nice recipe for a pasta sauce which can be made in bulk, frozen and served cold in a pasta salad pot that would be great. Does anyone use jar pesto for cold pasta?
Thanks MNetters!!

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Do these things need to be frozen or stored or are you happy to assemble as you go? I think assembly as you go would be easier.
Tuna pasta salad with frozen or tinned sweetcorn and olives if your dc likes them.
Could do similar with cous cous and chickpeas.
Pita breads freeze well and could be filled with cheese (lasts quite a while in the fridge but also freezes) and beetroot or carrot (keep well in cool dark cupboard) and humous (if you make your own you can just make it when you need it).
Wraps keep well and you could freeze meet like chicken, gammon etc and just defrost when needed.
Cheese and crackers ( thing like dairylea keep for ages).
Is a food flask an option? Opens up loads more options.

[Anotheruser02]

I'm happy to assemble as I go, I just budget better when I can do a huge shop and not keep going back. All great ideas thank's. I read on here before about ham sandwiches in the freezer, ham is something I never use a whole packet of before throwing, dito bread I never get to the end of a loaf unless half of it was for toast as there is only me and DS, I am a vegeterian so he is the only ham consumer and I'm not crazy about sandwiches. wraps and pita are a great idea. While he is off I'm trying a few things he thinks he doesn't like to try to expand the amount of different things I can alternate.
When he had free school meals he would say nearly ever day that he had a cheese roll for lunch!

[Possiblynotever]

I batch cook small quiches that I freeze - the favourite recipe is 2 courgettes grated, mixed with 2 eggs in a bowl, add salt. Line some muffin tins with suitably cut puff pastry, 1 or 2 spoons of the mix, 1 cube of mozzarella or cheddar, 1 spoon of parmesan. Quite nice.
Same for bacon and tomatoes/ broccoli.

[Anotheruser02]

Oh that sounds lovely, ds loves quiche, but I always think slices will be squashed and mashed around in the lunch box, the small ones would be great to have crust all the way around them might mean they stay intact.

[Youwanapizzame]

Ooooh yes if you made them in a muffin tin or bun tin they'd be more stable. Also frittata or savoury muffins/scones would be nice and freeze well. Yogurts like frubes freeze well and will keep the rest nice and cool.

[theneverendinglaundry]

Those mini quiches sound lovely, I quite fancy some for myself!

My kids are funny about anything that isn't a sandwich. I've tried alternatives but they dont get eaten I try to mix it up a little by using bagels sandwich thins and wraps.

savoury muffins are lovely, a bit of cheese, sweetcorn, chopped pepper... yum.

When I made pasta salad for my daughter I boiled pasta, and when it cooled I added grated cheese, and whatever random veg I had (green beans, sweetcorn, broccoli) plus a bit of oil so it wasnt too dry. I'm not sure how well that would freeze but would keep in the fridge for a few days.

[Ricekrispie22]

These muffin tin frittatas can be frozen
realfood.tesco.com/recipes/green-frittata-muffins.html
realfood.tesco.com/recipes/oven-baked-pea-ham-and-pasta-frittatas.html
Cheese and onion flapjacks www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/baking/cheese-and-onion-flapjacks

[Ricekrispie22]

Choose fillings that freeze well, such as cheese, cooked meats and tuna. Jam, marmite and chocolate spread can be used too but they can soak into the bread a little. Don’t use cream cheese as it will harden and hardboiled eggs go rubbery.
Spread bread lightly with softened butter to make a barrier and help prevent the filling making it soggy.
Traditional mayonnaise doesn’t freeze well, but reduced fat mayonnaise, with added stablisers, freezes better. Mix sparingly with tuna and canned sweetcorn or spread onto your bread instead of butter.
Don’t add salad ingredients such as lettuce, cucumber or tomatoes as they will go soggy on thawing.
Put cut sandwiches, rolls and wraps in individual freezer bags, pressing out as much air as possible. You can also wrap them in foil. Freeze for up to a week for the best results.