Help with packed lunches

I give my DD13 pesto pasta. I cook a batch and then microwave it in the morning. I think pesto pasta survives cooling down but the thermos keeps it pretty warm.

Second the thermos suggestions. Worth investing in a decent one with a wide neck and pouring boiling water in for a few mins and putting the lid on whilst you chuck stuff in the microwave. I tend to batch cook and then freeze the contents for lunch in individual portions in little freezer bags.
-Macaroni cheese
-Curry and rice
-Golden veg rice (cheap microwaveable packet)
-Baked beans (can pop in toast and/or grated cheese
-Bean stew and cous cous
-Paella

ill often make too much dinner so that I can keep some aside for packed lunch next day

My dd is going though a picky stage and when it’s really bad I just send a random lunch. Like a create your own buffet of what’s in the fridge.

So a little tub of cucumber, a tub of cherry tomatoes, cheese grated or chopped sometimes A triangle, lettuce, then some strawberries or grapes with a hand full of sausage rolls(veggie for you) then and a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar. Surprising the crisps and chocolate bar are uneaten on those days where as a pre made wrap day the junks eaten.

We got some flasks on temu (shoot me) and they seem to be warm enough come lunch but I fill them with boiling water before putting the food in. So far we have done masala noodles and basic pasta in a basic pasta sauce.

Also send in cold cold pasta with grated cheese and potato salad but I don’t use the flasks for that I use a normal tub and pack two ice packs so one under and one on top in a thermal type lunch box.

but honestly there is nothing wrong with a boring same old lunch. My Oldest just had two cheese wraps a bag of crisps and something snack wise so a chocolate bar or cookies, that’s all he wants even when asked.

My teen dc just take a wrap or sandwich everyday and couple bits of fruit. cheap and cheerful

I’d second her taking responsibility for her lunches. Also, maybe take her to the supermarket to choose what she likes and/or online delivery. Spend time choosing what she likes.
My dds made their own lunches the night before from the age of 8/9. We wanted them to have school lunches, but hated them, the compromise was that they made their lunch the night before as we both work ft.

Savoury muffins are an easy winner in our house. There's loads of recipes online for them if she fancies them. They can be frozen too so cuts down on prep.

Personally I'd avoid rice that's going to spend the morning getting sweaty in her backpack because it's very easy to get food poisoning from it.

Good luck, as a ND parent of a ND child I know how hard these things can be.

i make alot of muffins, usually mini but can be any size and often savoury - cheese and veg eg peas, corn, carrot, broccoli, zucchini, peppers, olives - I have so much fun trying different combinations haha also add in different spices/ herbs etc - curry powder/ coriander/garlic etc.
and vary types of flour - plain, wholewheat, cornmeal (so it’s more like an cornbread muffin) made mini pumpkin muffins recently and they were so good! (But sweet not savoury btw).

Batch cooking and the freezer are your friends here.
Lots of tasty veggie stuff keeps well in the fridge - a jar of pesto lasts for ages, and is really versatile. With pasta on its own added to tomato sauce, soups etc. good on chicken..check packaging when buying things like veggie sausages and samosa and freeze in portions, just defrost what you need.
We often get jars of red pepper paste/sauce - delish on its own, good as a dip, in a wrap with cheese, added to cooked food to add depth and sweetness.
A simple packed lunch for a vegetarian shouldn't be more expensive than a meat one.

Burritos. Also handy as you can just load with what they like so if one likes beans and one likes chicken and both like rice and one likes salsa the other sour cream you (or they) can just build it suit.

I do DS7 light pesto pasta with a little grated Parmesan, works well cold.

Quorn Swedish meatballs
Quorn scotch eggs
Will she eat sushi?
Rice with peas and marinated tofu ( cauldron so nice prepared marinated tofu pieces)

@MumMumMumMumMumMumMum I think this is bang on. Kids in secondary school should be able to construct their own lunches. Of course buy the stuff she wants. When I was 14 my mum just gave me a budget to buy my own food to eat / cook for the whole week. She bought her own food only. When it's gone, it's gone, lol. Bit extreme at 12 but sometimes less is more when guiding teens around food.

I'm vegetarian and take my own food in when in the office. I tend to eat things like:
Cheese and salad sandwiches or wraps
Pasta salad
Couscous salad
Mini pizzas that I made using English muffins cut in half for the bases (or french bread)
Cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches
I also tend to take fruit and a snack of some sort (crisps, graze bar etc)

My son would also tend to have things like veg sausage rolls or cheese and onion rolls, and Quorn picnic eggs, little cubes of cheese, yogurts etc but he's grown up now so I don't have to feed him any more...

Hi OP - I have neurodiverse children so understand the need for lunch to be as low stress as possible.

I try to have leftovers a couple of times a week that can double as a lunch. Would she like a cold pasta? Pesto, or cheese?

Also, we use wraps as pizza bases with just some passata, pesto, spinach and cheese on top.

I make coleslaw (just grated carrot, finely diced red onion and mayo) and they love that - I make a big tub and it lasts a few days in the fridge.

Couscous salad with veggies in as well, again a big tub and it keeps for a couple of days so I can just portion it out.

If you check out Little Lou Cooks on instagram; she does a lot about batch baking or cooking things then freezing them. Her cheese scones have been really popular, I just have to take them out the freezer the night before and they defrost overnight. It also means there is a variety of things in the freezer so they don't get too bored as I can rotate lunches.

Something that worked for us was to look at the Tesco app together and they pointed out things they liked the look of - it got the conversation started. Might help her if she's feeling overwhelmed at thinking of things she'd like.

For what it's worth, I know you said you didn't want to repeat what her Dad is giving her...but maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Especially if she is struggling with her mental health (and it'll take the pressure off you a bit!)

Savoury muffins (cheese and courgette etc) make a batch and they freeze well

Homemade veggie sausage rolls - just wrap sausages in puff pastry. Also freeze well uncooked

Mexican black bean tacos? Black beans, chopped spring onion, pepper, tomato, dressed with coriander and lime juice. Keeps for a couple of days.
Cold Spanish omelette?
Rice and bean salad?
I think you can also get those prepacked lentil/bean/quinoa salads if you’re in a rush (although more expensive).

If she struggles in the morning she can make herself up a cheese and salad wrap the night before surely. Sounds like you're making this way harder than it needs to be.

What about making crustless quiche for her to have with a bit of salad? Super easy, put whatever veggies she likes into a shallow dish and pour on beaten eggs and bake. My kids devour that. Make one on a Sunday and it would do as many days as you needed! Can freeze too.

We have an 11 year old on packed lunches who isn’t keen on sandwiches everyday. Second the food flask idea, I make a batch of homemade soup, leek and potato is a favourite, and that does 3 days with a bagel on the side. Other treat lunch is pasta, baby corn and chopped up hot dogs or sausages in the food flask, easy to substitute with a veggie alternative. And the deal is if she wants to stay on packed lunches she is responsible for making a tray bake at the weekend so she has a flapjack or similar for lunch every day. We’re not allowed pesto or humous at school so that’s out fir us.

Does she have to have a variety if she doesn’t mind the same thing? Ie houmous sandwich (can add salad bits if she likes), is fine every day for 4 days imo. Add some snacks/ fruit/ muffin and he will
be fine

I say this with a fussy nearly 4 year old. He’s had a cream sandwich sandwich, with fruit and raw veg every single nursery day for the last 18 months. It’s the only packed lunch he will reliably eat. I don’t worry about it tbh. It’s max 5 meals a week (out of 21), and I vary the fruit

Sorry, me again - I'm just fizzing with ideas apparently!

If you want to do the croissant thing - the frozen ones are very reasonably priced and also cook well in the airfryer. We put them in for 11 minutes.

You haven't asked, but just to toss out there - breakfast is a big deal around here as DS' meds means he often skips lunch. We do waffles a surprising amount - very little added sugar and they're actually very easy to make.

Also banana pancakes (also, no added sugar) - takes a bit longer, but still pretty easy.

Eggs, but I think you said she doesn't like eggs?

I make batches of 3 muffins in the air fryer - 2 is a breakfast, one is a snack to go alongside something else like a smoothie (made with oats).

Re lunch - tomato based pasta sauces will stay hotter for longer in a pre-heated flask. Feel free to nuke them aggressively before you put them in!

Edited to remove the pointless bacon sandwich suggestion!

Could you make your own veggie sausage rolls? Or just cheese and onion ones etc? Pastry is cheap to make and they can be frozen until you're ready to use them?