To not be looking forward to doing lunch boxes again from the 8th

[HaroldandGeorge]

I hate doing school lunch boxes. Once the kids are back to school, I’ll be doing 3 lots of packed lunches every day again. My DH is pretty easy to cater for as he will have a soup flask or porridge pot (add hot water) most days. But it’s my 2 Dc I struggle with. I want to have a variety of go-to quick lunches, especially ones you can prepare the day before. Would premade cold toasties work? They love cheese toasties...

I find the monotony of buttering sandwiches grinds me down. So, hit me with your quick and easy alternatives to ham/cheese sandwiches.

I genuinely don't get the hatred towards making a packed lunch, of all the household chores surely it isn't that hard? So many parents mothers seem to make such a big deal out of it, keep it simple - my DS had a ham roll & banana every day for school lunch for about eight years . Two ham rolls if one isn't enough. Ham rolls can be made up and frozen. There is no need to add other snacks - crisps, yogurt, biscuits, raisins, cold omelette etc. That to me is more of a special picnic lunch rather than an every day school lunch.

If there is a genuine* reason they can't eat a roll or sandwich then substitute it with something else basic but no need to faff around with different options for every day of the week .

If they don't like that - then they make their own or have a school lunch.

that would be great but not all schools have school dinners as an option unfortunately.

Obviously not all schools do so therefore it's not an option for those schools. But for the ones that do & lots of them do, it's an option.

I hate making them too, but draw the line at freezing rolls or sandwiches, tried it in the past and they are vile.

I have a special shelf in the fridge for lunch box stuff, pre sliced cheese, ham / chicken, yoghurts, pre cut veg sticks etc.

I stopped buttering bread & rolls about 6 months ago and both my kids haven't noticed.

Sometimes I cook 3-4 chicken breasts in Maggie cooking papers and slice with a small pot of Mayo and some veg sticks.

I'm lucky that both my girls & dh are not in the least bit fussy.

Mine have food flasks, in colder weather they have things like tinned spaghetti / macaroni cheese/ pot noodle (school have no idea it's pot noodle as it's disguised in the flasks😂) soup etc. I just heat up the food and transfer to pre-warmed food flasks. The food stays hot till lunch. It's easy and not had any issues from the school (also school very hot on healthy eating, not that tinned food is particularly healthy!) I should add we do have very healthy evening meals, but lunchtime I'm a bit more meh!

I genuinely don't get the hatred towards making a packed lunch, of all the household chores surely it isn't that hard?

I have to agree with this, especially as the OP has every day to herself it feels a bit rich to complain about buttering some bread...

@HaroldandGeorge

I hate doing school lunch boxes. Once the kids are back to school, I’ll be doing 3 lots of packed lunches every day again. My DH is pretty easy to cater for as he will have a soup flask or porridge pot (add hot water) most days. But it’s my 2 Dc I struggle with. I want to have a variety of go-to quick lunches, especially ones you can prepare the day before. Would premade cold toasties work? They love cheese toasties...

I find the monotony of buttering sandwiches grinds me down. So, hit me with your quick and easy alternatives to ham/cheese sandwiches.

Oh God thanks for the reminder about lunch boxes. I completely about those☺️

Make sandwiches, cheese/veggy/sausage rolls, mini tortilla things and FREEZE. I did this for ages, all that was needed was to get a lunch out the freezer the night before, pop in lunch bag with a yoghurt and out in fridge. Next morning add a banana and Fanny’s your Aunt.

Last minute realisations that they are required to take party food is my worse nightmare. I nearly always remember at 10pm the night before, or 7am in the morning! Im glad we're nearly at the end of primary (and have a petrol station open until midnight, nearby!)and parties aren't really a thing at high school.

Just a tip : look for the lunch boxes early. Mine went back today and mad panic to find them last night..

All joking aside, I find the yumboxes have made packed lunches so much easier.

Cheese and cucumber sandwich, mini roll, a frube, some fridge raiders and an apple.
That’s what my kids get. Every day.

@nanbread It’s the fact that I do the lunches first thing in a morning when I’m still only half awake. I wanted some ideas on this thread so that I could prep the night before or get it sorted easily in the mornings. If I could do the lunchboxes after the school run, I would enjoy every moment of buttering, but obviously I can’t!

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

I think I will definitely try to include my kids more in prepping their lunches and I will look to getting the lunchboxes done the night before to save the dread of having to do them in the morning rush. I will also have an easy day once a week, using cold pizza or sausage rolls or easy wraps.

Thank you also to the ones who confirmed that I’m not the only one who hates doing lunchboxes, regardless of situation.

For those not liking all the pits sainsburys do a decent size tub that has 4 sections - must easier than separate tubs. Not big enough for sandwiches but fruit or veg sticks or mini sausages rolls or something size.

I hope your DH does his own lunch and shares making the kids ones...!!!!

Personally I find packed lunch much easier than food all throughout the day whilst homeschooling and working.

My dc have carrs water crackers, cheese slices and salami, chopped fruit, a yogurt, a biscuit and get milk at school. Every day. That is what they prefer. It's boring but easy to put together and fast to eat while chatting to friends

Oh and carrot.sticks or sliced pepper or cucumber

Why do you do Dh’s?

I defo agree with people who suggested pesto pasta and peas or pasta salad. Also couscous (make with boullion for flavour) or gnocchi. Super simple, make one batch Sunday and one batch of something (noodles also good or stirfry) and whack it in a pot with a fork.

I wouldn't freeze sandwiches - the bread goes dry and is only really still nice toasted. However, sticking cream cheese or hummus in a pot the night before and whacking breadsticks or crackers and veg in the lunchbox makes a quick and simple picky lunch that often goes down well. Healthy banana flapjacks can also be made ahead just with banana, milk and oats (add cinnamon and blueberries or raspberry and coconut for flavour) and popped in. Or some chicken/veg skewers can be made ahead too. There's a few good options to do whenever you've got time and are actually awake that mean you can skip the morning buttering.

Ours are very formulaic but only take 1 minute to sort in the morning and 6yo DD has now started making them herself when she wakes up.

We have 3 Tupperware boxes that live on the kitchen table, 1 has snack baggies I prep when unpack the weekly shop of fruit and veg like mini cucumbers/cherry tomatoes, 1 has crisps/rice cakes/popcorn, 1 has fruit/jelly/angel delight pots.

In the morning, 1 thing from each box goes in her lunch box along with a yoghurt or cheese string from the fridge and some buttered crackers with a slice of cheese (buy it in pre-sliced packs).

Fill up her water bottle and she's ready to go.

This thread has massively confused me, op is saying making sarnies is too much effort and everyone chips in with things that take even more effort (and time!) as alternative options it literally takes a minute to make a sarnie. And you can do them the night before and wrap them and keep them in thr fridge, how do you think shop bought sarnies are made?!

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo

Ours are very formulaic but only take 1 minute to sort in the morning and 6yo DD has now started making them herself when she wakes up.

We have 3 Tupperware boxes that live on the kitchen table, 1 has snack baggies I prep when unpack the weekly shop of fruit and veg like mini cucumbers/cherry tomatoes, 1 has crisps/rice cakes/popcorn, 1 has fruit/jelly/angel delight pots.

In the morning, 1 thing from each box goes in her lunch box along with a yoghurt or cheese string from the fridge and some buttered crackers with a slice of cheese (buy it in pre-sliced packs).

Fill up her water bottle and she's ready to go.

Wait, you can premade pots of angel delight!?!

Make all sandwiches on a Sunday and freeze them. (Lettuce and tomato don’t do well but everything else is fine)

They take one out each morning for school.

Make double whenever you make pasta and that’s the next days lunch sorted.

Ds likes those baguette things that you buy half baked and warm up in the morning. With Philadelphia so you don’t have to butter - this goes on much more easily.

Dd would over have some pasta in a thermos mug thing with something like tuna and sweetcorn - or you could do pesto or whatever.

@Exhausted4ever yep in strawberry, chocolate or butterscotch. They're in with the custard and jelly pots in the supermarket, Usually 50p each or some kind of buy X for £X deal.

You pretty much always win the lunchbox game if you put a pot of angel delight or jelly in as far as kids are concerned.

I really struggle with packed lunches. Dd is Y2 so gets free dinners but doesn't like the option twice a week so gets packed lunch instead.

She doesn't like sandwiches, cheese, eggs, potatoes. It's a nut free school so the pesto pasta she loves can't be sent in. She loves hummus too but that also comes under the nut rule. She's not keen on cold cooked meat at all either. It's so bloody difficult!