Critique my DDs lunchbox for tomorrow

[SoftChewyFoods]

She’s 6, in year 2. School are fine with what I send because DD has some additional needs and finds certain foods difficult to eat. But I want to know if I can make it healthier.

Tomorrows lunch is:
Dinosaur Turkey with a bit of margarine on 50/50 bread (she’ll pick the turkey off first then eat the bread and eat that but if I give it all separately she makes a sandwich with it all – 6 year olds logic clearly) she won’t eat normal turkey or ham fillings only either dinosaur turkey or billy bear ham
Small amount of mature cheddar cubed (as in 6-7 little cubes of cheese)
Mini Roll
4 strawberries cut up with a bit of lemon juice added
Carton of orange juice (the from concentrate stuff)

As I said school are fine with it due to her additional needs. She can’t have crunchy foods so no crisps, rice cakes or similar as they’re too crunchy and hurt her mouth (common with her conditions). She also struggles with foods that have little or no flavour. She’s ok mixing foods to give a stronger flavour though so she can’t eat plain pasta but if it has a tomato sauce on it she’s fine with it.

School rules she has to follow:

• No nuts, sesame seeds or hummus
• No chocolate flavoured spreads (due to the nut risk)
• Must be able to be eaten in their 20 minute slot – she’s a slow eater so much more in terms of food would over face her

In terms of her overall eating, she’ll have porridge or toast with margarine and/or honey for breakfast, banana or peach for playtime snack, mini malt loaf or similar at hometime and then a big meal of say spaghetti Bolognese for tea/dinner (whatever you want to call it it’s not a debate about the name of the evening meal).

I think there’s too much sugar in her diet but I don’t know how to fix it given her very specific needs. So let me have it, whats her lunch like in terms of nutritional value?

@PhantomErik

Would she eat a hard boiled egg? Maybe with some mayo to dip it in. Might make a nice change if she wants it.

My DD is 11, 12 in Jan & has a small appetite especially at school & she has:

An egg mayo sandwich (1 slice of wholemeal bread folded over - no crusts)

A tiny pot of dried fruit

A 2 finger kitkat

Pack of crisps like wotsits but usually only eats half the pack.

She often has toast with peanut butter for breakfast, sometimes with a banana.

Smallish portion of normal evening meal (roast/pasta/curry/pizza & she's not too fussy so plenty of veg etc) but loves greek yogurt with blueberries & honey so has a decent bowl of this most days.

Thats a huge amount of sugar.

I started one of these threads myself last month with my extremely fussy seven year old who we believe is on the spectrum however currently no diagnosis. I’ll list what he’ll eat

4 cream crackers (has to be basic white ones, he refuses to eat whole grain 🙄)
Sliced cheddar to go on the crackers
Pepperami
Some cocktail sausages
Cut up tomato and cucumber
A bread stick snapped in half
A cheese string
A yogurt
A soreen bar
Grapes and blueberries

The sausages, tomato and cucumber are put in a separate pot for snack
He’ll eat the crackers, cheese, yogurt and fruit at lunch and the rest gets eaten in the car on the way home.

They have such a short time to eat now that separating it up works better.

Just so you all know - honey isn't healthy. It's sugar.

Even when it's mixed with greek yoghurt.

For balance, my enormous 15 year old with autism has had the same packed lunch since he started school: 4 Hovis crackers (which I have to source in special trips to Waitrose as our local supermarket has stopped stocking them), a couple of slices of cheddar, a few grapes and a strawberry yogurt. It is the lunch of a tiny mouse, the laddie is existing on fresh air really. So try not to fret. The main thing is they are getting what they'll eat, school is not the place to be pushing the envelope.

@OverTheRainbow88

Why no hummus at school?

If that’s what she eats then it sounds great. Is it enough to fill her up? Could add a different fruit as well?

Sesame - another common allergy

My 27 year old ate Billy bear sandwiches for 5 years it drove me to distraction but it is what she ate. If this is what your daughter will eat then don't sweat it her lunchbox is healthy enough.

Another one here to make you feel better - DD has:
ham sandwich (two slices of bread)
banana (the only fruit she'll reliably eat; she'll try strawberries on a good day, no other fruit passes her lips)
some form of home made treat (I like baking), e.g. choc chip cookie banana loaf.

That's it. Interestingly, she's far less hungry coming out that she was in KS1, when she had (or, more accurately, didn't eat) school lunches.

The only veg she'll eat is broccoli, so she gets that for dinner at home!

Oh and it had to be the loose Billy bear none of your packet stuff 🙄 The only thing I will say is try adding something else to her diet at home to try and if she doesn't eat it then least you are offering .

DDs not autistic but has a muscle condition which affects her jaw, but school treat her restrictions as if she is autistic IYSWIM.

I think I'll leave it as it is, but maybe change the strawberries for other vegetables like cucumber.

She's hungry when she comes out but not starving, would happily wait without a snack but I see her friends munching an after school snack so I give her something.

@daytripper28

Just so you all know - honey isn't healthy. It's sugar.

Even when it's mixed with greek yoghurt.

Ditto dried fruit - nature’s wine gums.

I’m low carb so anything from honey to fruits to chocolate and standard bread would be off the menu, however kids like sweet stuff and I think I if someone wants to add honey to Greek yogurt, it’s not that big a deal.

@OverTheRainbow88

You'll be told you are poisoning her and wrecking her health before you know it.

Congrats, you were the first to do this 🙄

I think the PP meant that, regardless what OP was feeding her DD she'd be accused of god knows what - see recent cheese sandwich thread! There is no such thing as a universally acceptable MN lunchbox!

On its own, maybe not. But on top of dried fruit, fresh fruit, bread, crisps and a Kit Kat?

Sounds lovely to me
Only thing on the whole day is to make sure there is some veg at teatime
Maybe try eggs or something for breakfast but thats just suggestions- I think your menu is great.

We overthink this stuff sometimes

@dementedpixie
Most schools won’t accept grapes ( choking hazard )

@Shedpaint

Sounds lovely to me Only thing on the whole day is to make sure there is some veg at teatime Maybe try eggs or something for breakfast but thats just suggestions- I think your menu is great.

We overthink this stuff sometimes

My spaghetti bolognese has tomatos (both fresh and tinned), celery, grated carrot and peppers in. If I do cottage pie it'll be with peas and green beans etc. She does like veg as long as they're not too hard to eat, so can't have raw carrot but once it's boiled or cooked into a dish it's fine.

[quote Chickychickydodah]@dementedpixie
Most schools won’t accept grapes ( choking hazard )[/quote]
Our school lets them have grapes if they're precut to a small size.

OP. Don't worry about it, her lunch is fine. I'm sure that if you need to make her meals healthier then you can do so at home where there are no time constraints and no allergies to consider.

I have never ever heard of school refusing grapes and I have 2 kids that have survived primary school and part way through secondary eating grapes. Chop them up if you need to

If you want to reduce sugar and make it healthier DITCH THE OJ. Seriously, I used to drink cartons of the stuff till I saw a programme babout carton juices. They showed the liver of someone who drank loads of it - it’s was pickled, completely fucked, they compared it to an alcoholics. I never touch it now, I’m a water person and throw some fruit in to flavour if necessary. If you can switch her to something healthier there then do! The rest is fine but some vegetables would be great as bread, fruit, chocolate and juice are all high in sugar.

Dd likes the yazoo mini strawberry milk bottles you get. The kids version doesn't have added sugar, comes in a pack of 6. They like flavoured water too. Just if you want drink alternatives

I had a fussy eater with sensory issues. That's a really good attempt at a balanced diet imo. Strawberries, banana, fruit loaf, juice, bread cheese and a small treat.

I might see if she'd drink a smoothie sometimes, or eat a yoghurt - choose ones with cute faces on if she likes the dino and bear meat. Put cucumber in a few times a week so she gets used to it. You could also try little pots of soft fruit in their own juice - peach slices or mango.

I used to hide a lot of pureed veg in spag bol sauce, and add cooked peas and carrots on the side.

I would add some vegetables - carrot sticks, zucchini, cherry tomatoes.

Sounds like a lovely lunch.

My ds has
Whole meal bread with salami and gherkin sandwich. Or a left over roast chicken and lettuce wrap
A carrot, some cucumber, some tomatoes or olives
A biscuit of some sort
Maybe a piece of fruit
Water

It’s not brilliant. But it’s not hideous either. Maybe a bit salty and maybe a bit sugary. But he can eat it all in the allotted time and he likes how it all tastes. At home he is adventurous and eats lots. I’m not too worried

Dd
A marmite sandwich on whole meal bread.
Pasta with some homemade sauce
A pot of veg
A small home made flapjack
Maybe an apple
Water

@WildAboutMyPlanet

If you want to reduce sugar and make it healthier DITCH THE OJ. Seriously, I used to drink cartons of the stuff till I saw a programme babout carton juices. They showed the liver of someone who drank loads of it - it’s was pickled, completely fucked, they compared it to an alcoholics. I never touch it now, I’m a water person and throw some fruit in to flavour if necessary. If you can switch her to something healthier there then do! The rest is fine but some vegetables would be great as bread, fruit, chocolate and juice are all high in sugar.

She only has the OJ at lunchtimes, rest of the day she drinks water apart from at morning snack where she has a carton of milk. It's a tiny 200ml carton. At weekends she's allowed to change that to orange squash.