Extravagant Pack Lunches

I love watching Youtube videos of packed lunches (saddo). Some of the lunches the Japanese mamas prepare for their kids are like works of art. 😋

This OP seems incredibly mean-spirited towards the parents of a young child because they've committed the heinous crime of sending their offspring into school with <shock horror> a lovely lunch. Must be nice for parents to know those kind of TAs walk amongst us.

@KillerMounjaroif OP calls it a pack lunch that’s what it is. My DPs family call it a “pack up”.

Mmmm, haven't had that in ages! Love it! 😋

It sounds like the parents are making it alongside their own. Would you expect parents to make a nice lunch for themselves, then think “best put the good stuff away and get the value white sliced bread and the square ham”?

Its healthy. Would you rather a crap lunch? Pepperami, crisps, white ham sandwich & cake?

The school I work at would be thrilled if children brought lunches like that! As it is we have several children bringing in last nights takeaway kebab & chips leftovers (cold) or cold chips. No fruit or veg, maybe a Mars bar if they’re lucky (which they aren’t supposed to have according to school rules) and they refuse school dinners as they aren’t used to pasta, potatoes etc. Its really sad.
I’ve just made my kids lunches for tomorrow, they have cheese and crackers, carrots, peppers, tomatoes and cucumber. They’ll also help themselves to mini cheddars or crisp and a cereal bar. I have the same lunch. We sometimes have quiche or cooked chicken pieces but cheese is a regular feature along with fruit and salad. All their friends eat like this too, sandwiches seem to be a rarity now.

I don't know what 5-year-olds eat but I see absolutely nothing strange in any of these foods. Quiche lorraine for me would be a basic cheap packed lunch if I can't be bothered to do better, it breaks down to less than a pound per portion. Cream cheese bagel, similar, easy protein, easy to make, lazy tasty take-to-work lunch.

Salmon is just standard food, as is steak. I had salmon and vedgetable today without giving it a second thought. What's acceptable? Chicken? Turkey? Does one need to go out of their way to stock cheap foods to make an acceptable packed lunch? I'm sorry but I don't put things like crisps, fizzy drinks or processed white bread into my body, so if I had a child, absolutely no chance in hell they'd be getting these foods at any meals for the sake of fitting in.

In fact... What you've described is largely what I eat day to day, greek yoghurt with kiwi and chia for a meal, fish and veg for another. I'm now really puzzled as to what I'm supposed to eat to be socially acceptable.

This sounds fab!
I admit that packed lunches are one of my favourite part of primary school parenthood. Kiddo seems to agree.

I used to have taramasalata in my lunchbox 40 years ago at a pretty normal village primary school!

Dd3 is 2q she often had a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon. She liked it ate it all and was full .. i really dont see the issue there.

My son is under a dietician and she also recommended babybels for my son who has a limited diet.

I mostly agree but just wanted to say that a paediatric dietician advised Babybel's are excellent snack options for children.

They are high in protein and calcium, full fat, not ultra processed, no preservatives or additives or emulsifiers etc.

Yes, it sounds great and better than school dinners. If parents choose to use their time and money and the child loves it, aren't they doing the right thing? Unless they're criticising other parents who couldn't afford that, which would be mean, then why not?
Some parents will buy their children tons of books, take them to exciting museums/destination holidays, and not everyone can (wish I could afford to do more, but I don't grudge anyone else as long as they don't judge me)/

I think it's a bit mean of you to judge the kids' food

Good to know that when I was putting all that effort in to make healthy exciting lunches for my foodie eldest child the school staff were sneering down their noses at me. I’m sure you’ll be relieved to know that my youngest is very fussy and just eats the same cheese and onion sausage rolls every single day, is that okay with you?

I am one of those council estate, minimum wage earners (or I was when my DD was at school anyway) and about as opposite to fancy as you can get and I don't see anything wrong with that lunch, quiche isn't fancy, I used to make a crust less one for my DDs lunch because it was cheap, filling and fairly healthy and we've had smoked salmon yellow label going ood plenty of times, and I used to send her with carrot or/and cucumber sticks and hummus because it's cheap and she liked it (I can't stand the stuff personally) she also now prefers plain yoghurt and compote - which is basically a home made fruit corner!
You're being ridiculous and I suspect like to think cool and edgy by scoffing (no pun intended) at lunches that are healthy when there's been so much emphasis on kids having lunch boxes policed for being unhealthy.

Mine would have eaten all that. I don’t see the issue.

I work in a primary school. I don't even look what's in any of the children's packed lunches. Partly because it's none of my business and partly because I don't really feel any urge to be nosey. I'm more interested in my own lunch!

Hurrah for them. People in this country who actually give their children proper food instead of factory food. Smoked salmon is hardly expensive is it. Doesn’t sound ‘extravagant’ to me - it’s hardly beluga.

We used to give our eldest Brie and crackers in her packed lunch. We quite often do couscous and bits of steak from the night before, or sourdough with butter on now for both DDs lunches.

we do eat like this at home, but actually neither of our children eat sandwiches, which is a bit fucking tiresome when rummaging in the fridge at 7.30 on a Friday morning trying to make something different and novel which doesn’t include chucking a sandwich and some crisps into a bag with an apple.

If the child eats it, who cares?

My son has a restricted diet and he has the same bog standard packed lunch of ham sandwich, crisps, fruit, yogurt etc every day.

It sounds like a lovely lunch! My DD is mega fussy (in some ways) and completely unfussy in other ways. She won't eat a sandwich (wish she would sometimes!), but will happily take in a food flask with anything from a risotto, stew or pasta meal, to a pho or panang, or molokhia, bamia, maqluba etc (we're from the ME originally). What she takes into school (or as a packed lunch for when out and about) is leftovers from meals we have at home: I want to know that she will eat a good, balanced, filling meal whilst at school (or when out and about), hence me going for this way of doing things. It's definitely not to be showing off or extravagant. Also helps with ensuring food isn't wasted!!

A wind em up and watch em go thread by the looks of it.

I think the school you work in should be a bit more particular about the sort of people they employ as TAs.

I want every single one of those!