Anyone else totally burnt out on packed lunches?

[SouthernRev]

I’ve only just started term and I already can’t face doing another packed lunch. I try to make them healthy-ish but I’m bored of the same ideas and they often come back untouched. Anyone cracked this? Or is everyone secretly winging it?

I feel the same as you. My son won't eat cold healthy food (he's a little better with hot food), so his packed lunch isn't even that healthy. He has healthy bits in it, that at home, I'd insist he ate, but at school, he just ignores them.

But the school meals are so equally crap, I don't think it's a better option.

been there my go to ham cream cheese wraps or ham sandwich occasionally egg.Once a week pasta salad i make night before but yep pretty samey

I was a busy working Mum and I booked mine in for school lunches until they were old enough to do their own packed lunches if they wanted them.

Get them to make it!

My 3 DC's are in their 30's, and I am still burnt out and scarred from those 1000's of packed lunches I had to put together for over 20 years.
Although, my last DC was kind of easy as all he ever wanted was one peanutbutter and honey on whole meal sandwich....every day for over 10 years. I made sure he had a proper supper, though.

I'm not sure a 6 year old would put together an adequate packed lunch really.

I worked as a parent volunteer at the lunch tables one year. My first day I saw a child who had a gourmet sandwich on a croissant with turkey, lettuce and tomato, and other healthy bits in his lunch pail. I was feeling quite ashamed of myself with my DC's peanut butter sandwich...that is, until I saw the cheeky little monkey dump the entire healthy contents of his lunch pail in the bin as his merrily ran off to play. His mum probably sent him off to school every day with similar since his lunch pail came home empty, but at least she had a clear conscious that she tried to provide a healthy packed lunch.

one year and one term to go...
one year and one term to go...
one year and one term to go...
one year and one term to go...
one year and one term to go...

Ahhhhrgh! I tried the school lunches but they were SO BAD she was coming home starving.

And this was corroborated by other parents - one kid kept getting the baked potato just to eat the cheese, and in general the school lunches went downhill when they became free for all (thanks Sadik, i'd rather pay £2 or whatever and have better quality food) so packed lunch it is...

one year and one term to go...
one year and one term to go...
one year and one term to go...

Yeah they can do! Have high expectations and children will rise to them. A 6 year old should be able to make simple butties and wraps.

I cook a bit extra the night before and we take leftovers

God I used to find it an absolute drudge. Hated it.

I sometimes made cheese scones and the kids liked them (and they Freeze well). Crackers / veg and houmous.

I feel you op, I really do!

DS has pretty much the same thing every day with a little variation...cheese sandwich, veg sticks, berries and a yoyo, which he seems quite happy with.

I'm lucky I only need to make 1 but I quite enjoy the 10 mins in the morning while making it...I watch morning TV on my IPad while I'm doing it and clearing up and it's a nice relaxing way to start the day. Same again when I'm cooking dinner...I always have a series on the go in the background.

He's nearing end of primary years so no doubt will change soon.

My greedy kids did usually eat all their packed lunches, I would find it pretty soul destroying making them day after day if they weren't getting eaten 😔 is it because they're not keen on cold food/sandwiches or because they can't be bothered to sit and eat when they'd rather be outside playing?

Mine definitely preferred wraps/bagels/rolls to sandwiches and they liked rice or pasta salad with chopped ham, tomato and cucumber, I would often sneak in some chopped spinach or celery too! They liked chicken salad with leftover roast chicken, halved grapes, spring onion & a herby mayo/sour cream dressing with parsley, chives and dill. They also liked 'bugs bunny' salad which was grated carrot, chopped apple, sultanas, pumpkin and/or sunflowers seeds. Would they go for something like that?

Sandwich/wrap fillings varied between ham and cheese, soft cheese and cucumber, tuna mayo with red onion or sweetcorn, egg mayo, coronation chicken or sliced roast beef and mustard.

Can your child/ren make their own lunch? I used to put post-its above the worktop listing the things that we typically had in, grouped by food type, and my kids would choose / find / make an item from each list, plus something from the 'anything else of your choice' list.

I agree that many six year olds are perfectly capable of making sandwiches - my kids' nursery got the three and four year olds to assemble their own sandwiches at tea time, i.e. choose which bread they wanted, spread on butter/marge/mayo, add a filling or two from a box of prepared stuff, e.g grated cheese, salad, tuna mayo, various meats and so on. I'm very grateful to the nursery for giving my kids a place to practice these skills and clearing up the inevitable mess afterwards.

My deal was this; make your own packed lunch, if that's what you want, or you have a school dinner. (Y5-11). One opted to make one and loved doing it, other had school dinners.

I keep flip-flopping between packed lunches and school dinners.

Packed lunches feel like the “better” option, more control, healthier etc, I know what’s in them, but honestly, I just don’t have the time or energy most mornings.

School dinners are definitely easier, but I feel bad about it when I see the beige tray come home or hear they just had chips again. Anyone else feel stuck in this middle ground?

My mother used to make a big batch of ham sandwiches every couple of weeks and freeze them, bringing out one a day for each of us.

She loved that regime.... the rest of us, not so much. When I had to make my own lunch I used to just take an apple and buy chocolate at the school canteen.

Does anyone remember a woman who used to blog the very amazing fancy vegan bento box lunches she prepared for her child? That was years ago and I bought the book, then felt like the worst mother in the world when I simply could not recreate anything (and nor did my ASD son eat it).

School lunches all the way here- but we are lucky they are really good.

I feel your pain

I rotate my kids on

Macaroni cheese
Chilli
Ham sandwich
Spaghetti

Then I add the following 'sides', 1 of each:

Fruit
Crackers
Yogurt
Muffin
Cookies
Cheese
Apple sauce

Can you prep sandwich fillings/salads the night before and then it's just a quick assembly job in the morning? I agree school dinners don't always seem like the healthier option, I did packed lunches when mine were in Primary and they generally bought a wrap or panini from the school canteen in Secondary. They were always starving after school though and had toast & marmite, wraps & fruit/yoghurt as soon as they got home!

My DSis freezes sandwiches

For 2 years I had to send a packed lunch AND a packed tea to the childminders, the relief when she started school and got free meals was huge. But she hates them. We choose at home and at least once a week she doesn’t like any of the options. jacket potato is the back up option each day, but she doesn’t like that. Quite often the choices are: something meaty with potatoes, something veggie which no child will eat (corgette bake, beetroot tart) also served with potatoes, or a potato. If you don’t like potatoes, tough luck!

but my god. I hated making packed lunches and in reluctant to go back to especially while there’s a free meal on offer! And tbh I find feeding 2 children constantly exhausting so any meal provided by someone else is welcomed.

I agree about paying a small amount. Free things are often underfunded, so the provider cannot produce something of good quality.

Get a thermos pot. In the mornings, preheat it by filling with boiling water, put lid on and leave for a couple of minutes. Microwave left over healthy meals you made for dinner in the week, pour out boiling water and add the hot food.

we’re having chicken and veggie noodles tonight mainly so dd can take them to school tomorrow. Today she took a portion of the shepherds pie I made on Monday, on Tuesday she took a portion of left over spag bol from Saturday.

feels less effort to make an extra one or two portions of dinner meals than to make sandwiches. Throw in some fruit and something snacky, done.

Oh god yes, I hate it. I do lunchboxes for my two the night before and bung in the fridge. I mean it literally takes 5 minutes or less but it’s a chore that I absolutely loath doing!

Hated them. Never did them. School dinners every day. Such a relief.