Packed lunch makers this way please!

[Twinklebum]

I'm in need of inspiration for my dc school packed lunches, what have you given your dc today?

Mine went off with tuna pasta, apple, apple squeeze and a packet of salt and shake crisps (all I could come up with out of my empty cupboards today)

Sounds fine..as long as its mostly healthy and they eat it! (I don't mind boring if they don't!)

They are sadly getting bored with it and when I ask them what they'd like I always get 'i don't know'

ds gets the same thing every day, poor kid. 1/2 an apple, 1/2 a carrot - both cut into slices. A ham sandwich. A handful of plain popcorn and a plainish biscuit. BORING. And nothing to drink because I am sick of buying drink bottles. They have water fountains at school.

Sometimes cheese straws, with tomato paste/pesto/peppers/chopped ham (naice obviously!) Or sausage rolls but with cheese/veg instead. DD1 is veggie so sometimes lentil loaf or falafels or pasta/rice salad. Soup in a flask and roll. Or casserole!

Chopped up sausage or chicken with baby new potatoes and a pot of mayo/ketchup, a piece of homemade cake or mini muffin, sometimes a savoury muffin or baby quiche, houmous and minibreadsticks/rice cakes. DD1 also likes oat cakes and cheese. Raisins, dried mango or apricot. Always a piece of fruit - today was melon. Also couscous salad goes down well. BUT I am anal obsessive about lunchboxes

Tomorrow will be:

Cheese wraps
2 small apples
Banana
Carrot sticks
Small tub of popcorn
Jam tart.

I used to send veggies - red pepper, cucumber, celery, carrots. They did not get through the morning on a coat hook well.

I made mine scotch eggs this week which went down a storm.

I give mine crackers and dip quite a lot-usually when I have run out of bread.

eggrules You actually consider what you are going to do for packed lunch before the minute that you have t make it

My DS(6) eats loads.

He has:

• Sandwich/ roll/ wrap/ pita bread/ veggie hot dog (as a very rare treat)

  Fillings: peanut butter, jam, tuna mayo or usually cheese

OR

Homemade sausage roll/ cheese pasty/ cheese straws/ pizza/ left over pasta (his request)

AND

*couple of bits of fruit/ pot of berries

• yoghurt or bit of cheese (if not in sandwich)
• couple of homemade biscuits/ cereal bar
• occasionally crisps/ dried fruit snacks

Yes, homemade scotch eggs were fab. I sometimes put a couple of the quorn ones in too. DS doesn't know they're not meat.

Not my DD, but for me : stir fried rice, apple, banana, yoghurt, and a coconut custard bun.

I found justbento.com/ really great for inspiration.

Ben10NeverAgain that made me laugh. Never knowingly under-prepared (ha). We have a tight schedule in the morning and lunches have to be made the night before. He is having school dinners today (roast, jam tart).

He loves cheese and crackers - cheese is his fave (boring). Wraps, pita, bread or crackers all go down well.

I am getting a wide neck flask for leftovers next year.

OneLittleBabyTerror I love the idea of bento. I need a team of people to help out to make it a reality.

2 Gregs sausage rolls
1 packet of pom bears
1 fruit shoot

Ooh and a banana frube for their five-a-day bit

Today DD will be feasting on mini toad in the holes, cheese chunk, some grapes, packet of S+V stars crisps and a flapjack.
She will not eat sandwiches or rolls or wraps or anything bread based. She would like a baguette but moans that it goes soggy.
I buy party food and she takes that.

DS has a very boring diet but I'll list what he has in his pack ups just in case there is something you haven't tried yet. He doesn't eat much so he has two items and a drink.

One of these:

• The trusty sandwich - cheese/ jam/ peanut butter/ cheese spread (other fillings I know but these are the only ones he eats)
• Pizza slices
• garlic bread baguette (3 pieces)
• half a bagel with topping/spread
• cheese and crackers
• cheese straws (chessy pastry sticks from bakers)
• mini sausages and ketchup

One of these:
apple/ banana/ frube yoghurt/ dried apricots / small pot of popcorn/ fruit bar / babybel/ cut up cheddar pieces

Chorizo and coleslaw wrap
Stick of cheddar
Greek yogurt
Tangerine
Apple juice
Harvest crunch bar

Same every day

My DS2 today has:
Ham Sandwich
Cucumber
Breakaway biscuit
Frube
Apple juice

He will probably come home with half a ham sandwich, and his cucumber intact, and I would be suprised if he has more than a sip of his apple juice. He always just wants to eat very quickly and go and play. He won't have hot dinners for this reason - it takes too long to queue.

Ds(who's 6) has:

• either a sandwich (made with one slice bread) or small wrap or bread roll filled with either egg/ham/tuna/peanut butter/houmous etc

• or pasta/rice/cous cous salad with egg/ham/tuna and salad veg

-or crackers/ oatcakes with cubes of cheese, cherry toms/cucumber/peppers etc

• then usually a yoghurt or piece of cheese

• 2 pieces of fruit

• piece of homemade cake or plain biscuit

• water to drink

Always eats the lot!

Some great ideas and some that I'd forgotten about like the popcorn!

Just another quick question for those of you that include carrot sticks/cucumber/dried fruit/ cheese, what do you put them in? I have lots of little plastic clip boxes but the lids keep walking at school even tho they are named

Twinkle I usually just wrap in a bit of cling film.

I put any loose stuff into small plastic sandwich bags. Bad for the enviroment, but she can throw them into the bin.

Am about to start packed lunches again as they've decided the School Cook can't cook!

In infant school they used to get leftovers from the previous evening's dinner (if there was any) - so stews, soup, curry, pasta, quiche/pie, pizza that kind of thing. If no leftovers then roll with good quality sausage or mozzarella, tomato & basil. They would like ham which I allow every now and then but in general I'm not keen on processed meats. They are not very fond of sandwiches so I try not to give them more that twice a week.
Veg - broccoli/carrot/cauliflower/cucumber/tomato/pepper.
Homemade cake or biscuit - I make a batch and shove them in the freezer.
Maybe a lump of parmesan cheese.
Water to drink.

I'm hoping that we can be a little more adventurous now they are a little older.

Today they had hot dogs (sorry) with rice and sweetcorn.

Tomorrow cheese sarnies

Yesterday was pasta but I can't remember what with. I did feed them, I know I did, I just can't recall what I fed them.