To think this packed lunch is fine?

[Lunchwoes]

So about a month ago DSD switched from hot lunches to packed lunch. She goes to school from our house Monday and Tuesday so I pack her lunch.

Today her Mum has text DH and said she's always starving when she gets in Mon and Tuesday so she needs bigger lunches. He said no problem we will make them a bit bigger or pack an extra snack for later as she has netball on a Tuesday after school.

Now this is the crazy bit, she said she just buys her Tesco meal deals as they fill her up and asked that we do the same!

For info she had a cheese and tomato omelette with a slice of toast for breakfast. Her packed lunch was a roast chicken and salad wrap, apple slices and peanut butter, a Greek yogurt and some celery sticks with hummus.

I will obviously very happily pack extra if she's hungry but a tesco meal deal?!

No 5yr old is hungry if they eat the whole of your lunch, if they are they likely have worms or are being overfed.

I would take the opportunity to give her a small budget and let her choose and make her own lunches, she's about the right age for it imo.

Can you please pack my lunch OP? Sounds lovely other than I prefer carrot sticks to celery. Thanks very much!

Can you report the Tesco meal deal parent to social services?

Only half joking! But yeah where I come from a 12-year-old having that for lunch would have triggered a conversation with the parents.

You CAN obvs make that a bit healthier, e.g. a salad/pasta as the main instead of the sandwich, fruit or carrots for the snack, and water for the drink but... Is that really being done?

Eating this regularly is fast-track to obesity and health problems not too far down the line.

Take her to do the food shop with you and make up the lunches together with her input

The only extra a meal deal would have is crisps. Your lunches sound perfect. Stick a banana in .

Love a mn food thread. Posters protesting the wrap etc is inadequate portion for 12yo
Yet they’ll claim an adult nibbling a cheese cube with celery stick is gluttony and no wonder everyone is obese

I await the carb and salt monitors contribution

Meal is very healthy - but I agree it may not have enough calories for a growing child doing netball after school - possibly needs additional protein or carbs? I leave as is, but add extra snacks? Maybe add a a pack of chicken fridge raiders or a protein shake/drink [you can freeze those and they act as an ice block keeping the food cold, and then taste nice later in the day as they are still cold?]

Meal deals generally aren't very large and/or filling. They can be very calorific.

Is she perhaps 'starving' at home time due to binning the healthy food you've provided, and just expressing a preference for junk food?

What was she eating when she had hot lunches?

You shouldn't be sending peanut butter to school.

It’s entirely allowed at secondary school

Yes, missed this- nuts are generally not permitted in any school in the UK these days. You need to take those out…

wrong

Course you can OP! I just ramp up fruit at breakfast and bedtime tbh 🤣

Now my 6yo wouldn’t eat all of that for lunch but if you’re looking at a period of between 9 and 5 (assuming netball is going until late) she’d have a hot lunch at school plus snacks at morning break and also food at wraparound care so she probably is having more between the hours of 9 and 5 than your SD. The difference is though mine then eats less at dinner than I’d imagine your SD does. I think you can feel confident your food is going to be much more nutritious than the meal deal though!

Do you think she might be having some of her lunch earlier in the day as a morning snack and then having nothing for sport/later afternoon?

I am not keen on packed lunches, but at 12 she should be doing her own.

A slight aside but how do you do apple slices? Don't they go gross and brown? I thought you had to put lemon juice on to stop that, thus making them unpaletable.

Seeing as that is a question not a contribution, I'll add that round here only primary schools have a nut / peanut ban. By secondary kids are expected to have figured out not to share food if they can't eat everything safely. Not sure what the kids with airbourne allergies are meant to do but I think the advice is not to try to create a nut free environment as then they expect that and aren't vigilant (so then don't carry epi pens).

I'm pretty sure my DC school is pretty relaxed about nuts I was quite amazed when one of their food tech recipes included several types of nuts!

Definitely needs some crisps or similar added, and maybe a chocolate bar (Penguin type not Mars Bar!). It doesn’t seem like a huge amount t for an active 12 year old. The fruit, yoghurt, dip etc is nice, but not very filling.

My kids started making their own lunches at 8. My daughter is 12 and brings whatever she likes - and yes is allowed peanut butter at high school and brings it often. My son isn’t allowed to at primary school.

it sounds lovely but my daughter would eat double that - she is a dancer though so eats nonstop.

She's probably getting a chocolate bar with the meal deal, no wonder she likes it!

Haha nobody needs crisps or a chocolate bar! FFS!

My 7 year old just ate a sandwich, crisps, banana, fruit yo-yo, small chocolate bar, pain au chocolate and a fruit bake bar thing for his tea, after having spaghetti bolognese for lunch!

Why so much processed crap?

Why not? It will fill her up more, which is the point! Perfectly standard packed lunch items.

I assumed she was mid primary age when I first read the post. I don’t think it’s a whole lot of food for a growing 12 year old but I’d put money on it that kids at school taking the piss out her lunch.