Packed lunches - am I the boring mean mum?

[rumpleteaserspaws]

I hate doing packed lunches with a passion and am dreading doing them daily when the DCs return to school!
My DC's have had a few days at holiday club over the past three weeks, and I've had to do their lunches for that. They have been complaining (albeit nicely ) about them having a "healthy" lunch, because their HC friends have nicer (so read more sugary) stuff in theirs.

So, I'll tell you the contents and you can tell me if I'm boring;

Sandwich of choice, usually tuna or egg mayo, or cheese w/ tomato or cucumber.

Veg pot - carrot, cucumber, tomatoes.

Piece of fruit, sometimes two.

Squeezy yoghurt of some kind.

A treat type item, either crisps, a club-type of biscuit, mini Soreen loaf.

To me that seems like a perfectly normal packed lunch, mainly healthy but with a bit of fun stuff. We are not a mega healthy household in that they get sweet stuff more often than I'd really like. They certainly aren't deprived of anything. This type of packed lunch is what they'll be getting daily when they return to school, but I can already envisage the complaints I'm going to get, argh!

Sounds OK to me. DD used to have the fruit or veg at morning break. She tended to have a babybel of other piece of cheese instead of yoghurt.

Her fillings were: ham, cheese, cream cheese and cucumber, tuna and cucumber. She preferred plain but I used to use biscuit cutters to make them look prettier - often a heart or an angel.

On Fridays she got a cake - Kipling type finger.

I wouldn't put egg in a sandwich box because of the smell.

School canteens have to be open next term, so no need for packed lunches if you don’t want.

@ScrapThatThen

Sounds like what I used to do. Then when they went on trips I got them choc and crisps too. (And for some reason then stressed that the helper parents would think I did that every time).

One child I used to teach would have a tradition of bringing giant Swiss rolls in every school trip! To be fair he always shared them out!

Mine get a sandwich or croissant, with water, 3 different pieces of fruit (usually banana, apple and grapes) a yogurt, a biscuit and sometimes crisps.

How about putting two treat snacks in? So crisis and a biscuit? That would be perfect imo.

Kids have two treats but they’ve also got the healthy stuff.

My two are brilliant easters, particularly my youngest. Pretty much eats all veg and all salad and anything I put in front of him. I know that some kids can be very fussy and it’s hard for their patents to get them to eat veg etc...

So I don’t mind mine having sweet things as long as all the healthy things are eaten. So going back to your two, if they eat the good stuff then a couple of treats seems reasonable to me

Crisps not crisis 😬

Oohhh and what about a chess string, babybel?!

I don’t do crisps (dentist says they’re awful for teeth) and would only put something like cake or biscuit in occasionally.

So sandwich, piece of fruit / stewed fruit in a pot, yoghurt / piece of cheese. For all day with two snack breaks, probably another type of fruit (eg chopped up strawberries) for one snack and some sort of oat bar / flapjack for the other.

But they rarely eat all of that, even in camps with all day physical activity.

I pack the same as you op, my youngest dd likes salted popcorn so sometimes I put that in too - at least it has fibre.

I have seen some lunches which are sandwich, crisps, chocolate and yogurt and that's what your dcs are probably seeing, don't know why anyone is sending no fruit or veg though 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sounds fine sometimes I alternate the sweet thing for crisps or mini cheddars. I try and choose the small pack of crisps like french fries.
I love the veg pot I’m stealing that mine have requested those bento box things for going back to school so I could do a veg layer.
I’m a bit sad at some of the one sarnie and an apple posts. I bet the child was hungry I don’t believe a 12 year old would get enough for a busy day out of an apple and one sandwich. I agree they don’t need the crisps and bits as such but you could give 2 sandwiches as they get older. Nowhere near enough calories.
I used to get a marmite roll a piece of fruit and a bit of homemade fruit cake or similar more out of money issues than healthy options. It was enough but I would have loved the odd bag of crisps once a week say.

I've had to do packed lunches for DS for nursery since he's been back (usual cook is vulnerable) , I do sandwiches sometimes, and I must be meaner than you! No biscuits, crisps, cakes etc. I will include plain yoghurt, or a babybel and a home made piece of flapjack or mini muffin but they are made with no sugar/honey etc, I use mashed banana in both as the only sweetener, and he always has plenty of fruit or veg sticks. He eats well. I do sometimes do a cold pasta with roasted veg or couscous salad type thing with veg, tomatoes chicken and chickpeas and some spices and he really likes those. We have one of the little food flasks and an ice pack which keeps it cold and helps with variety. Nursery sometimes give him a rich tea as part of one of his snack times, I don't see the need for crisps and chocolate to become part of a daily habit. He's not two yet though, so I'm probably stricter than I would be if he was a bit older.

Oh it’s a pain isn’t it... DS nursery usually caters but because of covid we’re doing packed lunches and at 4 years old he’s ALREADY pulling the “everyone else has...” line.

He gets a ham or tuna sandwich, cheese and crackers or homemade popcorn, veg sticks, a piece of fruit, dried fruit or a fruit salad and a small yogurt. Sometimes a jelly pot if I’ve made one as a treat, or a bag of organix crisps.

Apparently “everyone else” has cake every day. he seems to be surviving on my meagre offering though.

My DDs lunches... The 'main course' box includes things like crackers/wrap/bread/pasta, cold meat/cheese/mini sausages, carrot/pepper/cucumber/tomato... So carb, protein, veg. Sometimes a handful of tortilla chips might be put in
Then a 'pudding' item like fruit and jelly, or a club biscuit.
Juice
Fruit, which they sometimes eat at break (they get fruit at school)

It doesn't sound much, but they don't always eat it all. Unfortunately, they aren't found if sandwiches.

If it makes you feel better my Dad used to make a batch of tuna and mayonnaise sandwiches at the weekend and freeze them for me to take to school as lunch, insisting they would defrost by lunchtime. They only just about did and would be a soggy mess. It makes me feel a bit sick now.

We do carb/protein main bit (usually cheese or ham sarnie, sometimes pasta or breadsticks and houmous), a babybel or occasionally mini sausages, a frube veg stick and a bit of fruit. Friday they have a pack of crisps and swap the frube for a club or something.

They usually don't each it all tbh (yr 6 in September).

Sounds Normal and exactly like lunches I make my dc except their school does not allow crisps, chocolate or biscuits.

@HoppingPavlova That is exactly what I had for lunch. Everyday from prep to year 10! Come year 11, I was working part time and sorted my own lunch out! Before then, there was always a vegemite sandwich with an apple on top on the counter in the kitchen, lovingly made by my hard working mum, ready to be stuffed into a school bag!

At my school you would not be able to pack ordinary crisps or a chocolate biscuit. Something like pop chips would be allowed or even a small packet of popcorn. I think the lunch sounds fine though.

My ds 9 has always taken a packed lunch because he doesn't like school dinners so it's just part of my routine now to make it.

He has a sandwich with either ham, cheese spread, tuna mayo, egg mayo or cheddar these are the 5 fillings he likes. A yogurt, a cheese stick and a piece of fruit such as apple, orange, pear, grapes, berries, banana or pear. Water to drink and a snack item such as crisps, mini cheddars, rice cakes or a small sweet such as a fudge or jaffa cakes.

Occasionally I might put in a dairylea dunker instead of a cheese stick but this is my general lunchbox

Your list is more or less what mine get for school lunches but minus the crisps/treat because in a lot of primary schools where I am (Dublin) sweets, crisps, chocolate, cakes and biscuits aren’t allowed. I actually think it makes the packed lunch thing easier because we don’t have to hear Luke and Emma are allowed have donuts and monster munch, why can’t we?

I hate hate hate packed lunches

child A:

ham bagel
peperami or fridge raiders
apple or nectarine
dried mango
blueberries
apple juice

child B
ham bagel
raspberry and strawberry pot
nectarine
innocent smoothie
2 plums
yogurt in a pouch frozen (defrosts by lunch)
Go ahead yogurt bar

in winter when there isn't fruit around will do apples or pears for child 2 but she is a bottomless pit

I do the same as you, although the fruit usually comes home more than its eaten!
I thought you were going to say you have them lettuce instead of bread on their sandwiches!

@HoppingPavlova

Never ceases to amaze me how much people's children eat for school lunch. Mine always had a piece of fruit for recess and a vegemite sandwich (on good quality low-GI bread) for lunch and a water bottle. They got a lunch order of their choosing, I didn't care how unhealthy, once a month. If more food was added they wouldn't be able to eat it all - and that's from Kindergarten until end of high school. I'm certainly not saying what people give their kids is too much or is bad food, I just can't wrap my head around kids eating that much.

Clearly you haven't met my child! He could eat the ops lunch three times over and still be hungry. He is a growing boy and is very active!

Never ceases to amaze me how much people's children eat for school lunch. Mine always had a piece of fruit for recess and a vegemite sandwich (on good quality low-GI bread) for lunch and a water bottle.

Never ceases to amaze me now little other people's children eat for lunch. Oh, wait, it doesn't. I don't care how much or how little other people give their children for lunch. I'm happy with my choice, so happy in fact that I do not need to put others down to justify it.

My oldest 2 have gone off to holiday club this morning - DS is autistic and is very fussy, DD has sensory issues and also a fussy eater, so I'm very relaxed about food, if they ask for something (within reason) I will provide and just be happy they're eating.

DS has taken
Chocolate spread sandwich on seeded bread
Carrot sticks
Pom bears
Apple
2 mini jammy Dodgers

DD has
2 frankfurter sausages
Breadsticks
Carrot
Pom bears
Apple
2 mini jammy Dodgers

I don't expect it all to get eaten and I won't fuss about what they've left. Across the week I will make sure they have a good balance of food groups if I can.