Ideas for v v fussy packed lunch eater

[MadauntofA]

Teenager who is v fussy, but more so when it comes to packed lunches. She eats a reasonable mix at home, so I just want a variety of foods that will give her energy in the day.
Canteen food is v limited at the moment so she wants to take mostly packed lunches and I have run out of ideas
These are her stipulations
Sandwiches- nothing that "smells" - includes anything fishy, hummus, even smelly crisps are a no (just to illustrate - she is quite sensory!)
Fed up of cheese/ cream cheese
No soups/ pastas in a jar
Pescatarian, so no meat and doesn't like substitutes
Doesn't like eggs (including omelette) unless poached or fried - don't really last

We are down to a plain bagel with token mini tomatoes/ cucumber and yogurt
Or mix of yogurt with fruit, chia seeds and granola
She'd quite happily eat cake/ biscuits but trying to avoid too much

Please give me ideas!!

Malt loaf
Cheese or fruit and seed scones
Ryvita
Corn cakes
Rice cakes
Sushi
Popcorn
Cereal bars
Flapjack
Vegan sausage rolls
Brioche
Tuna salad
Greek salad
Giant couscous

You could make lentil pasties? They freeze well before cooking, and you could make them as bland as she prefers.

Falafel
Bulgur wheat, cous cous or pasta salad
Savoury muffins

Wraps? Avacado/salad.
My DD sometimes takes pasta and pesto (made at home, not a bought pot)
Babybels (I know they are cheese but a different type of cheese)
Cheese and onion 'sausage ' rolls
Carrot sticks

I don’t think you should run around grasping ideas

Give her a weekly food budget for lunches. £15? Take her to Asda and let her buy her own lunch food. Tell her to make healthy but tastes choices.

Vegetable sushi
Cheese and crackers
Cold pizza
Bread sticks
Crudités with a non smelly dip
Home made cake
Jam sandwich/cream cheese and jam
Cinnamon bagels with butter

I have a very fussy child, to be honest it got to the point I would rather send her with what she would actually eat than trying to make her eat healthily when she would rather go hungry than eat outside her comfort zone. DC is small for their age, does yours have a healthy weight? If they are not over weight I honestly think (and Dr advised) it’s better they eat ‘unhealthily’ than very little.

Cous cous with vegetables eg roast carrots, onions and red peppers, or celery, cucumber chunks and shredded carrot

A big box of salad with nuts

Cold pasta salads eg bow-shapes with dressing and pine nuts

Chuckling all the showing off with fancy shite no kid would ever eat! It really isn't a competition of which Mum feeds the fanciest food to their kids! It's really not!

OP, I too have a fussy eater and after lots of attempts at a balanced packed lunch, her teacher suggested I trial her on school lunches and see if she'd be more willing to try new foods whilst surrounded by her peers. The teacher offered to step in and would make sure she ate. She does! All kinds of things that she point blank refuses to touch at home, even though she loved the very same thing at school! So now it's school lunches allll the way

She's a teenager!

Apple. Bottle of tap water. Note saying 'grow up'.

'Stipulations' my arse.

For all my kids the choice from yr7 onwards for all food was always ‘take what’s offered, or do it yourself’.
My two most stubborn kids ended up as quite respectable cooks as a result; the others quickly became less fussy. Win-win.

A jam sandwich and whatever fruit she eats.

Why are you scrabbling around for ideas on what to feed a teenager who is being so picky?

Tell her that she's plenty old enough to sort her own packed lunches now, and let her know what day you get the food shopping so she knows when she needs to add stuff to the shopping list by. Problem solved.

You're going to get two types of answers - either weird and wonderful ideas she's unlikely to eat or 'get her to make her own'. As a fussy eater myself, at her age I'd have happily made my own, it wouldn't have been healthy and it would have likely been the same each and every day.

Personally I'd recommend the 80/20 rule. 80% is her choice and her responsibility - it will likely be very boring or unhealthy by your standards. 20% you buy healthier and more adventurous extras/snacks. She'll never starve, you don't waste a lot of food and who knows she might pick up some new choices.

you could make your own hummus without the garlic?

Lots of ideas, a few I'm sure she could make, and yes she does make her own lunches!! Left to her, she will just take a bagel and is happy with that.
Thursday is my shopping day, so I was after some ideas to give her more choice in the fridge. Giving her some money and making her do a shop is a genius idea - I might try that and see what she gets (with stipulations of my own - I.e. not all chocolate!!)

@Alwaysinpain

Chuckling all the showing off with fancy shite no kid would ever eat! It really isn't a competition of which Mum feeds the fanciest food to their kids! It's really not!

OP, I too have a fussy eater and after lots of attempts at a balanced packed lunch, her teacher suggested I trial her on school lunches and see if she'd be more willing to try new foods whilst surrounded by her peers. The teacher offered to step in and would make sure she ate. She does! All kinds of things that she point blank refuses to touch at home, even though she loved the very same thing at school! So now it's school lunches allll the way

What are you on about?! There's some really good suggestions here. Not all kids are brought up on chocolate sandwiches and cheesey wotsits, you know!

@Porridgeoat

I don’t think you should run around grasping ideas

Give her a weekly food budget for lunches. £15? Take her to Asda and let her buy her own lunch food. Tell her to make healthy but tastes choices.

Totally agree with this. She should be responsible for making her own packed lunch.

I have a fussy eater too and I used to add a little whey powder to my baking to get a bit more protein into him.

I’m always very envious of the no-pandering posters on these threads who have no idea how lucky they’ve been

Is she actually running out of energy in the day?

Surely if she has protein for breakfast and a decent evening meal then a bagel with a few tomatoes and a smallish piece of (homemade) cake is an adequate lunch? *Assuming she makes the cake herself of course.

My DS had exactly the same packed lunch throughout his whole primary and secondary school career

Grabbing some ideas for my picky 11yo, thanks OP.

She won't have meat, eggs or fish in a pack up, but is 'bored' of cheese (🙄) and won't touch yoghurt. At the moment the three of us are having a pasta and pesto phase with added tomatoes, mushrooms and the odd olive. But getting protein into her is tricky- but it was worse at primary with a no nuts or seeds policy due to allergies in other kids.

Previous phases have been bagel and cream cheese, thins, wraps, sandwiches.

Make cakes with courgettes, carrots etc - a slice a day and keep the rest in the freezer, or make in cup cake sizes.

Does she eat rice? Rice balls like japanese onigiri either plain or with a filling.

Rice cooked in coconut milk with cashew nuts (are nuts allowed at school) can be eaten hot or cold. You can add different veg for variety.

I cook smoked haddock with rice in a 50/50 orange juice and water mix - it might be a bit smelly though.

To make a dip mix equal parts of mayo and greek style yoghurt then add flavourings - my go to is garlic but that obviously smells but she could add pepper or crushed nuts, take veg to dip in.

Avocado and pesto mayonnaise sandwich/roll/wrap (I normally have chicken with it) avocados are brilliant nutritionally.
If the school allows it, nut butter (cashew is my favourite) either with carrot sticks, apple, crackers iron a sandwich. Banana is really nice with cashew butter too. Again good fats and protein.
Greek yoghurt with compote, honey, granola.
Falafels?

My dd, 13, isn't fussy but is getting better at healthier lunches since I bought her a 'grown up' lunchbox with small fork and compartments from Lakeland.

Today she took a big salad with tomato, fried halloumi and croutons. She also likes cold homemade pizza, fajita style halloumi and salad, wraps with chicken/salad, cold quesadillas with cheese and ham, Greek salad, salad with melon, mozzarella and iceberg. These are choices she wrote on her list. Being honest, I make it alongside my younger sons lunch.

Basically anything which isn't a bread roll!

Lunchbox is by 'black & blum' - yes expensive, but makes homemade lunch appealing.