Packed lunch ideas

[permaquandry]

Hi need some packed lunch ideas for dd (6). She eats very small quantities and isvery slim so needs a lot of calories and 'good' fats.

Typically, PL will consist of a sandwich or breadsticks with ham, cucumber, packet of crisps, small cake and a yoghurt.

It comes back half eaten. I left the crisps out last week and she still left most of the
sandwich.

Also, school is 'nut-free' Thx v much.

A little tubbaware with fusilli pasta and grated cheese..yum!

I think kids get bored of sandwhiches tbh. I have a 7 year old neice who will leave half a ham sandwhich but when she has a pot of pasta or a sausage roll she polishes the lot off.

Could you mash avocado with something else she enjoys and use that as a filling in a wrap/sandwich? IIRC they are highly calorific and full of good fat.

Will she eat olives and feta? You could do a tub of greek salad. Cucumber, tomato, feta and olives with a pitta cut into slices.

Chicken drumstick(s) with some new potatoes, or potato salad with cucumber, tomato and lettuce.

Chicken/tuna and sweetcorn pasta. You can make a few days worth in one go and it will keep in the fridge ok.

Wraps. Chicken caesar with lettuce. Chicken with salad and mayo. Ham with cream cheese and salad.

You can get the half size wraps, a pack of 5 for under £1. Sometimes they have the packs of 8 full size ones on offer for £1 in Tesco.

I have a "thermos" bowl thing that keeps food warm, I often do leftover pasta, or sausages and beans, soup in it.

will she eat oioly fish, my daughter loves smoked mackeral ( not often due to the salt content)

Watching this thread as my DD also 6 is exactly the same!

Ta for the replies. All she ate today was 4 breadsticks, some ham and a few chunks of cucumber. I don't know how she's not starving? I asked her and she said she was fine?!

I will try hummus/breadsticks and pasta too. What worries me is a packed lunch often contains a vast amount of processed food, unless filled with just fruit and veg, not sure if this is totally avoidable?

Permaquadry - both DS1 (8) and DS2 (6) would eat about that amount (a few bread sticks + ham + cucumbers) and would be quite happy. I often pack a yogurt or a piece of cake/flapjack/cookies just to add to the calories. But I think at lunch they are more concerned with sitting with and misbehaving chatting to friends...

As for processed food - I try to replace ham with things like cheese, boiled eggs, grilled meat or fish.

Their favourite, however, is sushi ... which I make now and then ...

UptoapointLordCopper, you make your own sushi? Is it difficult?

permaquandry, with a bit of grilled chicken and salad in a sandwich the most processed part would be the bread, butter and any mayo/dressing. I don't think pasta has any additives.

You could try making your own parsnip crisps. I'd like to try these at some point but don't have a fryer. I think they'd be ok cold.

TotemPole - our sushi is not difficult. Learnt it from youtube. Nori sheet, rice, tinned tuna, cucumber + mayonnaise. Like a tuna sandwich but with rice and nori. And we almost always have these things at home. It's a backup plan when someone forgets to defrost the bread. Takes a bit longer and a bit more planning than sandwiches but so yummy ... Practise first at other more leisurely meal time before launching into making it in the morning, then you know how long it takes and what you need at hand.

In fact most of this ingredient would go nicely with pasta too, except DC are a bit weird about tuna mayonnaise except in sushi.

You can also make onigiri - just rice balls. That's easy and goes with anything.

My favourite packed lunch site. (Yes yes yes I should get a life ... )

What about the rice, is that difficult to make. Do you make a batch and keep it in the fridge. Sorry for all the questions. I love sushi but the pre-made packs are a pretty expensive lunch, it would be great if I could try making it myself.

I like that bento site, I've bookmarked it.

Have you seen this one? I think my favourite is the Salvador Dali

permaquandry, sorry for the hijack.

I make the rice first thing in the morning (or just before I sit down to eat my toast) - preparation takes no time and it cooks in about 10 minutes and you leave it to cool. I think there is suggestion that you could make it ahead of time but I don't because I can do it in the morning and I'm dead paranoid about keeping rice for too long...

There is another rice thing you could make which I do make the night before (hence revealing myself as a hypocrite regarding rice safety): compressed rice (google nasi impit - served with satays in Malaysia.) Just cook rice as usual (any rice but basmati, I think) but stirring now and then while it cooks. Then squeeze and compress into a tray. Leave to cold and cut into pieces. This one is dead easy.

I don't hold with cute food. It's all wrong. Life is too short for that . Though may accept Salvador Dali lunch. HOw long do you think it takes to do that!?

Heart-shaped hardboiled egg. >

Thanks i'll look it up.:)

Those bentos must take ages.

I don't know how you get the time, you must be way more organised than me. I find it hard enough to get the time to make a simple salad for me and sandwiches for DC and DH in the morning.

Getting back to the question would your DD eat quiche? Its nice cold and you could make it ahead and then just keep it in the fridge until you need it.

jemjelly I don't do this everyday! Most days it's either leftovers from the night before or a plain old sandwich.

Thanks for the replies and no worries re highjack! Quiche is a brill idea. I also have realised that maybe I was putting too much in her, leaving out the crisps from now on.

My ten year old barely eats lunch when at school and has been like this since about halfway through year one. He's more concerned with getting outside to play! Yet when eating lunch at home.. he eats tons!

I have struggled with this especially at first so now I encourage him to make his own lunch (therefore no comments of "I didnt like what Mum made" which I have had ;) ) and I insist on something carbohydrate, some protein and some fruit plus a drink.

Now in year 5, he has started to eat a little more again - still brings stuff home but now takes a snack for break time and will eat something on the way home as well as something else when he gets in.

Don't stress over it - perhaps encourage a bigger breakfast and then a snack straight after school.

What about a slice of fritatta? You can make them really easily and they're fine to eat cold. I just mix up thawed spinach or peas with the eggs and whatever cheese I have on hand. Chopped ham if we have it. Sauteed onions or mushrooms if you're feeling ambitious. The basic idea is a cup of grated cheese to 5-6 eggs.

You can also do individual eggs in ramekins. That being said, I did send DD to nursery with a mini fritatta yesterday and was told, "She didn't eat her lunch. Yeah, she didn't eat that thing."