I don't know what is acceptable in a lunch box today

[Bluepeg]

Due to my disabilities my children get free school meals and I, gratefully, haven't had to make a packed lunch for 8 years!
We have had multiple letters about what is not allowed in packed lunches over the years. Having never thought it would be applicable, I didn't pay attention.
The school can't provide a meal next week for my daughter, so I need ideas and tips please! I don't want him to have his lunch confiscated, so I am asking for help.

I know it is unreasonable for me not to know, I've just not had to know and I have heard horror stories of Miss Trunchbull -esque dinner ladies taking food from children - is that true?

KS2 btw

Have you got a class or school page/ group? Your best bet is also to ask other parents, as above some schools "advise" a healthy lunch, others are completely bonkers.

I have read on here that a school was happy about cereal bars or flapjacks full of sugar, but completely banned chocolate.

So check how yours stands.

I’d ask another mum how strict your school are - ours is no nuts / crisps or chocolate .... most kids have crisps or chocolate daily and nothing is said at all.

Today my son has:
breadsticks
thinly sliced beef
Snack Jacks
carrot sticks
mini pepperami
2 satsumas

Some days he'll take a food flask with chicken curry (and a naan) or meatballs/bolognese with pasta or pasta-pesto. Stays hot till lunch.
I'll cook the pasta on the day, but the curry, meatballs etc are leftovers from family meals that I freeze in portions.

www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes

www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/school-packed-lunch-inspiration

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/school-lunch

realfood.tesco.com/curatedlist/lunchbox-ideas-for-kids.html

Generally so sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks.
Some schools do allow crisps and some don't, better to avoid if you are not sure.

No nuts! No sugar items.

Juice or water
Fruit
Yogurt
Mini cheddars
Roll/sandwich or wrap
Cheese
Chicken bites

Basically no crap

Mine would have had

A sandwich - variety of breads and fillings according to their current likes.
A pot of fresh fruit - berries, apple, grapes, etc.
A bottle of diluted juice (personal preference not 'virtue signalling').
A small 'treat' - homemade cake, mini muffin, cereal bar, type thing.

My DDs were more adventurous so would change up a sandwich for pasta salad, rice salad, leftovers (one was happy to eat them cold 😱) or a selection of crackers with cheese and ham.

Anything they weren't allowed in a packed lunch could be had as an after school snack. And often were!

Crisps are fine in most schools, never heard of crisps being a bad thing. Mine have - mini tortilla wrap with either Ham or Cheese, occasionally Tuna.
Crisps, Baby Bel, Yogurt tube, Fruit.
Sometimes older kids will make a cold pasta dish and take that in.
You'll be fine. :)

My Yr 6 daughter has the same every day and woe betide me if I stray... Salami Milano in a wholemeal pitta, a granny Smith apple, an innocent smoothie, a yoyo bear fruit thingy, a packet of salt and vinegar chopsticks and a Mr Kipling chocolate cake. Bloody spoilt rotten she is. Also 5'6"! As tall as me and she's still only 10.

I'm just a bit that despite you getting free school meals for your child, they can't provide them! If their kitchen is down, then they HAVE to provide an alternative.

I keep it basic. Ham or cheese sandwich (best of both bread or a roll).
Goodies carrot sticks/spicy tomato crisps, Goodies Claws (fruit drops shaped like claws), a yogurt, sometimes a brioche. Satsuma/banana.

I don't do all the little bits in tubs and pots and all that. My DC like a sandwich and some sort of crisp as a basic, but I wouldn't put normal crisps in as too salty and processed, so I get the Goodies ones as it's not salty etc but I can keep it all in stock so the only thing fresh I have to have in as a basic is bread and cheese/ham. Obviously fruit I usually have in but I'm not bound to it with the Goodies packets of fruit drops.

At first I was like "what's wrong with a choc biscuit bar/cake etc" as it seemed a bit OTT and wholesome especially compared to my 80s lunchboxes, but I have changed my thinking. I'm not against chocolate/biscuits etc at all (far from it) but I do think that they should be available as treats randomly and not as a routine part of a routine meal, which lunch is.

My DSS is in year 2 he has
-sandwich on wholemeal bread (1 slice) - usually ham and or cheese

• a babybel

-a cereal bar

• pot of fruit ( grapes apple melon or whatever we have in)

-a little pot of jelly

• mini box of raisins

He is a very tall child with a big appetite for his age.
Think all school vary but avoid nuts chocolates and sweets as others have mentioned and you should be fine.

Op have a check of “banned” foodstuffs on the school website, if not available, and you’re able to, give the school a call and request a list sent out.

Once you have that, I’d recommend posting again and provide a list of foods your lo will happily eat and see if we can offer some ideas.

(It’s not unreasonable, EVER, to ask for help btw)

Fascinated by this (live abroad where birthdays are celebrated by bringing cake in to class.) What is the thinking behind no home made cake? Is it to stop DC eating bought cake with additives etc?

RaaRaaee I completely agree with cutting grapes in half. I don't think that's OTT at all. Especially when there's a large group of kids together, eating and laughing and talking at the same time. It wouldn't take much for them to swallow a whole grape and choke on it (and it not be noticed straight away in a group). Same for cherry tomatoes.

Sistercharlie I imagine it's something to do with hygiene/health and safety. Not everyone has sparkling kitchens and high hygiene standards or washes their hands after going to the toilet. (grim I know).

What is the thinking behind no home made cake

I presume it’s the sugar police

i imagine it's something to do with hygiene/health and safety. Not everyone has sparkling kitchens and high hygiene standards grin or washes their hands after going to the toilet. (grim I know).

Actually I don’t think it is that.

Cake is one of the very last foods you’d get food poisoning from. The danger from home made cake is negligible.

Mine take a sandwich, a yoghurt and either a piece of fruit or some carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes. The primary school has quite strict rules, but I don’t think they’re enforced particularly well. The only thing they’re really strict about is no nuts.

Mine will have a sandwich. Fish fingers. Two kinds of fruit. Pita triangles with hummus or carrot sticks with hummus. A yoghurt carton.
Or pasta (I put it in a thermos container). Again two kinds of fruit. Maybe some cheese sticks. Yoghurt.
OR
Rice and chicken. Peas on the side. Fruit. Cheese. Yogurt.

You can't go wrong with something like this:

• A sandwich, wrap or roll with some kind of protein in - cheese, cheese spread, ham, etc.
  If your DC doesn't like sandwiches you could give cheese and crackers or pasta salad.

• A piece of fruit.

• Some veg / salad - cucumber sticks, cherry tomatoes, carrots sticks, etc.

• A cereal bar of some sort, or a couple of slices of malt loaf or fruit bread.

A bottle of water.

Avoid nuts, crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks, squash and cakes to be on the safe side.

A cereal bar of some sort, or a couple of slices of malt loaf or fruit bread.

You say that you can’t go wrong with this, but cereal bars are banned at our school

Oh I’ve also been told off for sending grapes that are not cut in half!

To be fair, grapes are a huge choking hazard.

Why can't the school provide a meal for your daughter next week? If you are entitled to free school meals they should be making alternative arrangements.

"The fruit often enjoys a nice outing to school and then comes home again."

I am pretty convinced that every single piece of fruit I put in the boys' lunchboxes during their Primary school years came back untouched, @JassyRadlett! Sometimes a piece of fruit would make several visits to the school, before it became too battered and had to retire.

Indeed, my first ever mention in the MN Roundup was for suggesting that it would be more sensible to use plastic fruit - it would pass a cursory glance from the dinner lady, and could be re-used indefinitely!!