Can I ask for your suggestions for packed lunch ideas for teen please?

[ChopinandChangin]

This sounds simple but ….

Teen is underweight, can get school dinners in canteen but most days says they’re inedible. There are a couple of dishes will be eaten but really only one or two. Has recently seen dietician who has recommended that, given teen won’t eat what’s on offer in school, they take a packed lunch. Must have carb, protein and fruit or veg. Sounds simple?

It’s not! On the won’t eat/doesn’t like list are: sandwiches, rolls, wraps, tuna, egg, cheese, chicken, hummus, coleslaw, salad stuff, peanut butter. Basically everything that has been suggested isn’t eaten/liked/sometimes ruled out before trying. Will eat crackers but what about the bloody protein, where does that come from? Gave a small portion of cheddar today, it got nibbled at and rejected. I’d tell anyone else, just say they have to eat it, full stop, end of. Except, knowing my child, I can tell you they won’t. Said child is 15.

So, please hit me with any ideas you might have in case I have missed something obvious. Thanks!

Smoothies?

It’s so hard - but if the dietitian has given “rules” then it might help to approach it as a joint task and explore the options with her (?) so you agree one thing in each of the categories - so you can both say you’ve done the right thing.

With our underweight dd we just chipped away at the problem - “ok if you don’t like this, then how about that for a protein, and this for a carb” - and spent an absolute fortune on out-of-season fruit like mango that we knew she would eat. There were some odd combinations at first but we did eventually get to a reasonable set of meals.

I agree with a pp that all it takes is one friend to comment on her food and the impact is huge. So allow her to to lead on what is “acceptable “ but with the boundaries that she needs to follow the rules…

Thank you so much for all the replies! A bad eater at home too! Evening meals are a struggle with fish, potato, rice, curries, pies, anything in a white sauce out! It’s awful!

We’ve been pushing high cal for months and getting very slow but steady weight gain but it’s the fact the dietician wants protein at lunch. For now we send hm sausage rolls, little pastry twirls with philadelphia and bacon or ham but some days these are nibbled at, others not. An issue seems to be having a sort of packed lunch when others don’t. She, yes it is a she, I should just have said (!), is ravenous at school, eats a good breakfast, takes two bars and money for vending machine if the canteen don’t have anything she fancies. I have plenty of home baking, flapjacks, muffins, banana bread but she doesn’t want those for school. The bars don’t fill her. Protein bars have been tried and are rotten (I agree!).

There are so many good ideas here but we have suggested most of them. I know that many teens this age don’t eat lunch, or a good lunch, and make up for it once home but, despite being hungry, she eats small portions at dinner and then has supper before bed. I need to keep her right, keep the dietician happy (!) and, most importantly, find something to keep her feeling full between her leaving home at 7.30am and getting back at 4.30pm … it’s a long day!

I’m off to read all these suggestions again more slowly!!

What do they eat for dinner at home? Put it in a thermos for lunch. I think you need input from your teen. It's all very well being fussy but they should write down a list of 10 things that they would be willing to eat, get them to choose types of protein, carbs, veg. Ask them what their friends eat that they might like to try. See if they will help prepare their lunch like bake a traybake to use during the week. Take them to the supermarket and let them do their shop based on their list.

I would also say something about food wastage and money spent buying lunch for them so they make considered choices. At 15 they should understand that it's partly their responsibility to know how to nourish their body adequately especially if they have visited a dietitian.

Okay, think you might have a few things that will work such as the cold cocktail sausages, cold pizza she loves but hadn’t considered for school, Marks do little chicken bites that she likes, wonder whether she’ll take a yogurt, though not a big fan. It’s standing out with a packed lunch, no room in an already desperately heavy schoolbag, that sort of thing.

To the pp who suggested a supermarket trip to let her choose stuff .. we’ve done that a couple if times and come home with boxes of cereal bars that don’t fill her 😬. And spent a fortune! And to the poster who mentioned boundaries, you are so right - she needs to take on board the advice from the dietitian and try to stick to it rather than just saying no thanks!

I’m going to run your suggestions by her and see if we can come up with some ideas for next week. Thank you again!

Have you tried deconstructed sandwiches? Bread and butter, or bread with mayonnaise, with the grated / sliced cheese separate, or other filing. Either to be eaten separately or put together just before eating?

Jar of overnight oats?

I think avoiding things that feel like ‘lunch’ and instead going for filling snacks would be good. Definitely the chicken bites - mine love those chicken satay skewers - although maybe not healthy?

the picnic range might be a good source or stuff if she likes cocktails sausages and things?

i also make sure there are 3 pieces of fruit/veg in there. Mine love the mini cucumbers but sliced cucumber in chunks also goes down well as well as apple or satsuma.

Since she eats curry at home what about curry in naan bread wraps? They're our teens current fave. The Co-op sells them.

Would she consider a smoothie with a little protein powder or even a meal replacement powder?

As a skinny teen who struggled to keep her weight up i remember having complan drinks as they were quick and looked like a milkshake. I hated traditional lunches.

These days i often have a smoothie as a snack as its easy to sip over a period of time to add to my calories.

Can you replicate the school canteen meals that she does lik?

So I'd say she likes the hotdogs and lasagna, she can have that as normal on the days they serve it in the canteen, then on the days they don't you can provide the same in a food flask for her to take in. Hotdogs work really well, DD loves it when I d9 that for her, just cook the sausages in the morning while everyone's getting ready, put a couple in the thermos the a couple of sliced hot dog buns in a Tupperware with a little pot of tomatoes sauce.

Similarly chicken nuggets or fish fingers with a Tupperware of plain wraps, some salad and a pot of Mayo. She then assembles and eats.

Full fat yoghurt.
You could roll up slices of good quality ham, or my kids like this sliced polish sausage that tastes smoked, with some cream cheese in it.
Would they eat avocado either in chunks or blended up into guacamole?
How do they feel about some sort of (high fat) dip with some crackers, veg and meat to dip into them?
Maybe make some little snack sized meatballs?
Salami sticks, chorizo etc
Mozzarella is high in fat if you can get that in there in some way. Marinated in pesto and with tomatoes is a favourite of ours, but might not be to their tatse.
Halloumi burger?
Hot dogs?
Full fat yoghurt for dessert. Could maybe see about chocolate flavour or something if they won't take natural yoghurt.

Sorry, I'm sure I've repreated a fair bit of what other people have said in that list, but hopefully you find something helpful on it.

@FatAgainItsLettuceTime that’s genius about the hot dogs! It’s about the only lunch she does eat. They could at least fill one other day.

Thanks for the additional suggestions all … off to search for mini cucumber for the novelty value as it should about the only salad she will eat. Cheese and bread are not options, unfortunately but someone upthread suggested a ham croissant which would be both calorific and have a but of protein in it. She won’t drink smoothies and didn’t like the protein shakes when I got her some to try.

Thanks again - you have no idea how good it is to get so many fresh ideas (even if so many are ruled out by her fussiness!).

I think you need to invest in some therapy to understand why she rejects so many "normal" foods. If she says she's hungry and she wants to eat, then what's holding her back?

Has she realised that you don't have to love everything you eat? It doesn't all have to be pleasurable. Sometimes it's just fuel that your body needs. Better to address it now than in adulthood.

Recovered (if I can say that) aneorxic
Chocolate
Cake
Drives
Lunchables
Ready made Pancakes
Pan au chocolate
Chocolate crepes
Oat/granola bars
Oat/granola crackers
Rice cakes
Nuts - all kind and
Dried fruit
Mouses
Party food
Crisps/ crisps and dips
Dairylea dunkers
Baby bell
Breadsticks
Baguette with butter
Scones/welsh cakes
Sweets
Mini cheddars
High calorie jelly pots / standard jelly pots
Raisins
Lollipop / chewing gum get the hunger going
Candy floss
Try metatone for appetite
Cooked cooked rice pots
Hard boiled eggs
Salad
Just cheese
Plain food I.e singular item, love of ham , just cocktail sausages, just a piece of cheese sometimes a lot of option it loads can put you right off

To be honest if there is more to it than just underweight and a worry of weight issue then high calorie stuff won't cut it and need to go for things like the rice cakes, nuts and raisins and it's tricks your brain into thinking there none / minimal calories so may eat more

My very fussy (and underweight) DD takes cold mini pizzas or falafels (with a little tub of sweet chilli sauce to dip). In the past, she would have taken soup or beans in a thermos but not anymore. Luckily, she likes the pizza or panini options in the canteen so in spite of the cost, I just let her get those most days. When we were trying to get the weight on her (also under a dietician) I just made sure she got loads of calories etc at home.

My other DD (less fussy but doesn't eat sandwiches) takes sausage rolls or spinach feta parcels things I get in Sainsburys.

It would be so much easier if the pair of them would just eat a ham or cheese sandwich!

My son is sporty so eats for England. We give him sandwiches, tuna pasta and "overnight oats" (that's a pot of jumbo oats soaked in milk overnight, with banana, honey and cinnamon - aka cold porridge or liquid flapjack). We also do tubs of grapes, satsumas, hot cross buns, protein bars, scones.

It’s exhausting isn’t it. Mine is younger but so many food issues.

I’ve made a lot of pasta salads… if she doesn’t like one type, you can eg switch to brown pasta, lentil pasta , pea pasta etc. Gluten free pasta is sometimes high in protein (tastes crap but sauces can disguise that).

Cook the pasta in the morning (not the night before it goes off so fast). Put it in lunchbox and mix in a little lemon juice or olive oil or pesto, to keep it fresh.

Get a bento box (ie lunchbox with compartments). Put the pasta in the biggest compartment, then in the others add a bit of salad (eg cucumber and carrot sticks), maybe some seeds or cold cooked peas (for the protein), or grated parmesan if she’ll consider that.

Don’t worry too much about protein at lunch as you can get lots in at breakfast or dinner. Maybe at home give lots of nuts as snacks but obviously nuts can’t go to school cos of other’s allergies.

Also get a nutribullet and blend what she likes (fruit?) with what she needs (flaxseed?)

I haven't read all the replies so it might have been suggested... but you can pack a lot into a smoothie. I have the following for breakfast and it keeps me full for hours: porridge oats, chia seeds and protein powder (blend this all together), then add frozen blueberries, natural yogurt (full fat!), spinach and water. You can add some honey if she's more likely to drink it if it's sweet. It means she can drink it throughout the day and not be so focussed on lunch.

Also people have mentioned thermos flasks but you can actually get heated packed lunch boxes so you aren't restricted to thermos foods. You mentioned cold pizza...this way she could have it hot.

Do you think it is just picky ness or is there an eating disorder there?

A lot of schools won't allow nuts/seeds, so I'd save those for home. My son barely eats in the daytime so we give nuts, protein shakes and hot chocolate fortified with extra milk powder in the evening.

Protein that doesn't smell (tuna/boiled eggs are fab but stink in a lunchbox!) is hard. What about quiche though? You can make little egg bites with ham/sausage/chicken that would be less smelly than a boiled egg. Little meatballs are nice, or things like falafels.

Aldi and other supermarkets sell protein yoghurt, protein pudding and protein mousse- my DS loves the protein mousse. I love the protein yoghurts.

Will she eat pepperami or jerky? That's high protein.

With my underweight DD I tried to make all meals at home as highly calorific as possible.
I added milk powder to all full cream milk which I then used on cereal, in baking, smoothies etc.
Smoothies every morning with frozen berries, banana, avocado and ice cream. You don't see or taste the avocado with the other ingredients. Have this with a banana muffin made with the fortified milk and some almond meal.
I added sour cream, cream, crème fraiche or coconut cream to curry, risotto or pasta dishes.
She sometimes took leftovers to school in a thermos sometimes. Things like bacon lettuce and avocado rolls and wraps also went down well. Also chicken baked with taco or Portuguese seasoning in a wrap. Couscous, rice or pasta salads. Yes to leftover pizza, that would always be eaten.
I also gave her bars, biscuits and crisps if she was refusing all other offers.
My DD also saw a psychiatrist and counsellor and was commenced on an SSRI.
We are not in the UK though so it was not very difficult to access these services.
Also consider ARFID if she is avoiding many foods. www.google.com.au/search?q=ARFID&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-au&client=safari
There is light at the end of the tunnel though so don't give up hope. My DD is now a healthy weight. We are still working through other things with her but she is eating relatively well and now understands the need to follow the dietician instructions.

It's easy to get stuck in this dynamic where one person's coming up with a million ideas and the other is just saying "no" to everything, almost as a reflex. That "no" becomes ingrained, it will be out of her mouth before she's given any serious consideration to eating the thing. You can end up just making your options list smaller as the more things you suggest, the more things they have then said a definite "no" to.

It's hard but I think the key is working with her to get an idea out of her. Anything. As soon as it's come from her, however qualified, however reluctantly, her mindset will shift a little from that automatic rejection towards being able to imagine actually eating it. And of course that's the important bit - not just acquiescing to it being in her lunch box but her actually eating it.

A thermos of dinner leftovers, soup or baked beans works well for us but hotdogs have been laughed at for being phallic in secondary school. Be prepared to think out of the box. I like to have porridge for lunch sometimes, if I've had protein for breakfast.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting lots of different ideas. Repetition is ok.

Would she eat a tesco meal deal wrap or anything like that?

Does she eat McDonald's? You can buy sausage patties so you can make their breakfast patties at home.

My DD is fussy too.
A few of the things we do:
Homemade 'lunchables' with Ritz crackers and I use a cookie cutter to cut circles of chicken (dd won't eat ham) and cheese.
Dropscones/ American pancakes I make that morning, served with two mini tubs one of choc spread one of lotus biscoff spread.
Pitta bread she will eat, but not ordinary bread. I use a toaster pocket to make a pitta toastie and she has it cold at lunch.
She will very occasionally fancy a chicken wrap.
She will eat a brioche with chocolate spread or a croissant sliced with cheese in.

I bought a wide neck thermos and her favourite meals are hot leftovers, usually soup (leek and potato is her favourite; she has feta and pitta bread in her lunchbox to eat with it) or pasta, tom sauce and meatballs, egg fried rice with bacon and peas, or pasta pesto.

She loves loves loves the lunchbox we bought - it's a "Sistema" one and she will eat apple slices, grapes, strawbs or petit filous if they are in one of the lidded pots that go in the system. They are excellent for keeping food apart and nicely presented. Apparently her lunchbox is the envy of her friends and I am sure that helps her eat.