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What was in your school packed lunch when you were growing up?

191 replies

Enjoyingthesedays · 06/09/2023 19:14

How did it compare to your child's packed lunch now?

OP posts:
Nellieinthebarn · 06/09/2023 19:37

I wasn't allowed pack lunches because I got free school meals in primary school. Once I got to secondary school the free meals children had to go and collect a ticket from the office when everyone else paid with cash. This was so humiliating I went hungry all day. This was the 1970s.

I made sure my children (80s/90s) got a lovely lunch of cheese, ham, fish or egg sandwiches, a packet of crisps, fruit and a small treat. I later found out that my DD was swapping her sandwiches for her friends jam or marmite ones and gave the fruit away to anyone that wanted it. DS was a human dustbin, so at least ate his.

My DGDs have cooked lunches at nursery and school, apparently they eat most things that they never eat at home and both seem to be starving when they get home.

My point being is that whatever you give them you don't really know what they are eating.

TolkiensFallow · 06/09/2023 19:38

I was at school in the 80’s/90’s and had a white bread sandwich - cheese, ham, paste etc, crisps, fruit, club biscuit or similar. Everyone had that.

on school trips however I could choose a posher sandwich - prawn or egg and would get really good extras like sausage roll or pork pie or cake …

to be honest I can’t see a massive problem with a sandwich, apple and packet of crisps today but spend forever trying to work out what healthy thing to put in my pick dd’s lunchbox that she will actually eat …

APurpleSquirrel · 06/09/2023 19:42

Either a ham sandwich or tuna & salad cream sandwich.
Packet of crisps
Piece of fruit (orange, apple or banana)
Flask of squash
Chocolate biscuit like a penguin/viscount/club

DCs packed lunches aren't too dissimilar - water instead of squash, more variety of fruit (melon, berries), ham sandwich, small chocolate biscuit & crisps. Sometimes veggies like pepper, carrot or cucumber.

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Bananaspliff · 06/09/2023 19:47

White bread sandwich either sliced chicken or ham, bag of crisps, yoghurt and a biscuit of the penguin/viscount/trio variety.

I started reception in 1990 and I remember feeling really lucky because most of the kids bought their lunch to school in old ice cream tubs but I had a proper pink My Little Pony lunch box.

TallerThanAverage · 06/09/2023 19:49

Secondary school 82-89
white bread sandwich (marmite, sandwich paste or jam)
penguin biscuit
that was it

Syndulla · 06/09/2023 19:49

Paste sandwiches 🤮
No frills crisps
Penguin.

JaiynDough · 06/09/2023 19:50

Haslet on white sliced bread.
Kia-ora or um-bongo.
Beef monster munch.
A trio or viscount.

Guess how old I am 😂😂😂

2chocolateoranges · 06/09/2023 19:50

My packed lunch at primary was a sandwich, a piece of fruit , a packet of crisps, a biscuit and a carton of fruit juice high school was a sandwich, hula hoops crisps, chocolate biscuit and a wee bottle or can of diet irn bru.

my kids had a ham sandwich or a cheese wrap. 2 pieces of fruit, a bag of mini cookies and a bottle of water.

TallerThanAverage · 06/09/2023 19:51

Syndulla · 06/09/2023 19:49

Paste sandwiches 🤮
No frills crisps
Penguin.

We both had crap lunches. Still don’t eat penguins now.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 06/09/2023 19:51

Cheese and soggy tomato sandwich cut into two rectangles with more margarine than the cheapest, mildest, rubberiest, cheese sweating away in half a ton of cling film. Penguin. Carton of own brand orange drink. Ignoring the inconvenient bit about me a) preferring triangles, b) hating the texture and smell of wet cling film, the smell, taste and feel of wet bread, chocolate, Penguins in particular, biscuits in general and sugary drinks, c) being Coeliac and lactose intolerant and d) wishing food wasn't something I had to endure for the first 18 years until I moved out and learned how to cook (and season) food, it wasn't exactly the most exciting thing to experience every day.

On special occasions (school trip at the end of the year) I was given an egg and salad cream sandwich with no margarine instead. Although I should probably call it a salad cream sandwich with one overboiled egg.

DDs had a selection from sandwiches of their choice (frequently ham), tuna pasta salad, crackers, their favourite cheeses cubed, cream cheese, ham, pork, chicken pieces, cocktail sausages, grapes, satsumas, cucumber, raw carrot sticks or shreds, fromage frais/frubes/muller corners, cherry tomatoes, nuggets after they came back from a party saying they liked them cold as well, mini pizza they'd made, pom bears, pitta bread soldiers, a chocolate filled pancake/pain au chocolat/whatever sweet thing they actually wanted that fitted in with the rules that week and whatever drink they liked. DD1 was more of a traditionalist, DD2 preferred multiple small things that could be either eaten quickly before dashing off to playtime or saved until the walk home.

Mine were depressing and made me feel like crap. Theirs were at least varied.

IHeartGeneHunt · 06/09/2023 19:52

Leftovers in a flask in winter, or cheese sandwich and yoghurt in summer. Plain homemade very sour yoghurt!
Daughter has ham sandwich, fruit and digestive.

Harrriet · 06/09/2023 19:54

A sandwich with either sandwich spread,chicken paste or luncheon meat and an apple or a orange.

ReadRum · 06/09/2023 19:54

Cheese roll from the freezer
Salt and shake crisps with the blue salt package removed
Apple
Penguin
My kids have school dinners, but in general I hope I am feeding them nicer food than my parents did as the food they eat is awful.

soupmaker · 06/09/2023 19:54

Late 70s at primary. Bloody boiled eggs, ham out a tin on white bread sandwiches, cheap crisps, a carrot, penguin biscuit or that solid yoghurt in weird flavours.

My kids eat ham or chicken salad wraps, raw veg sticks, melon, grapes or apple, a fruit juice, oatcakes, crisps once a week. Home made banana loaf on a Friday.

wasahoarder · 06/09/2023 19:55

Cheese and sandwich spread sandwich. Sometimes a triple with ham slices. Penguin/rocky bar/club/ gold bar. Crisps - usually skips.
An old tango bottle with squash in it.
On Thursdays I was allowed school dinners because it was spring rolls and curry sauce which I thought was the height of sophistication

soupmaker · 06/09/2023 19:56

JaiynDough · 06/09/2023 19:50

Haslet on white sliced bread.
Kia-ora or um-bongo.
Beef monster munch.
A trio or viscount.

Guess how old I am 😂😂😂

Same age as me! Um Bongo was considered proper exotic in my packed lunch. I'd forgotten about the bloody haslet - have got the taste in my mouth now!

staybyyou · 06/09/2023 19:56

Marmite sandwich on white bread
Hula hoops or mini cheddars
Apple or grapes
Munch bunch yoghurt
Penguin, kitkat or those mini Jaffa cakes (which I loved!)

evtheria · 06/09/2023 19:58

Peanut butter and jelly (Smuckers grape, food of the gods) sandwich

Indomie mi goreng, when we were low on groceries. It's an entirely different thing when it's been chilling for a couple of hours, I seriously recommend it.

Pesto pasta

BLT sandwiches, which were delicious and made with crispy rashers... all my friends would ask to swap.

Snacks were Arnotts pizza shapes, a (American, fruit flavour junk) roll up, apples, crisps, homemade cookies, mango, Tim tams but these tended to melt because our bags were outside in 28° heat.

We didn't get a canteen until I was already in secondary, it was run by the PTA and (bless them) served only unhealthy meals to us. Deep fried doughnuts. Spag bol that was oddly sweet. Greasy, deep pan pizza.

Anni1234 · 06/09/2023 20:01

I had an A-Team lunch box with a cheese & jam sandwich, or a honey sandwich, or a flask with Heinz tomato soup and bread.
also an apple, plum or banana, with quavers/wotsits and a penguin/Kit Kat/club. And a carton of Ribena or um bongo 😂

My LO lunchbox has falafels/humous/variety of veg/ variety of fruit/ cheese/.natural yogurt
No crisps, chocolate or juice 😂

evtheria · 06/09/2023 20:01

I definitely wouldn't give my DS the same packed lunches (maybe the snacks, if he was allowed any treats in school) but I look very fondly back on mine!

Itcanhappeninanysituation · 06/09/2023 20:03

sandwich spread sandwiches 🤑
cheap crisps on Fridays.
flask with cold hot chocolate.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 06/09/2023 20:03

Sandwich - cheese & cucumber, ham, cream cheese, or my favourite pâté and cucumber. Sometimes a flask of Heinz soup (favourite was cream of mushroom), crisps, a piece of fruit and a chocolate biscuit (penguin etc).

My dc had slightly healthier and sometimes slightly more interesting packed lunches (noodle salad, pasta salad, quiche etc).

DontBeAPrickDarren · 06/09/2023 20:03

Wow, penguins were popular!

My high school lunch was three chocolate bars and a can of fizzy drink. No wonder I have seriously disordered eating patterns as an adult!

Hibernatalie · 06/09/2023 20:03

Cheese sandwich on white bread, packet of crisps such as frazzles, chipsticks or golden wonder and a chocolate bar like a penguin or curly wurley.

My kids now always have fruit and things like yoghurt or babybel.

Elmerchecks · 06/09/2023 20:04

I went home for lunch which was a bit middle class in those days.