What do you put in your DCs Packed Lunches?

[Cloudminnow]

The lunches I provide are very boring but I struggle to find things they will eat (aged 11 and 13).

This is what they get:

sandwiches (peanut butter / chorizo / cheese spread / cheese slices / ham - but oldest one always leaves cheese or ham ones uneaten)

Froobs x1 each (often left uneaten)

Apple or banana (always uneaten)

Snack e.g. kitkat, Blue Riband etc (always eaten)

Does anyone have any ideas on what to put in packed lunches that will be eaten? (As I work I don't have time to bake things or make elaborate dishes).

Mine kids are much younger, but things I take to work are:
cold pizza
pasta salad
rice salad
potato salad
wraps

would any of that get eaten? With the salads, I make extra carbs when cooking the night before, and then add other ingredients to turn it into lunch - often shredded meat from a roast, and salad bits or frozen peas/ sweetcorn

DS 13 likes sandwiches or bread rolls/buns with cheese and cucumber, chicken mayo (very light smear of mayo), ham, pastrami or salami.

DD 11 doesn't like bread so she prefers cheese and crackers for lunch. You can buy the cream crackers individually wrapped in packs of 4 or just put four into a small sandwich bag.

Other things that go into lunchboxes could be any of the following:
Fruit salad - melon, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, apple slices
Mixed salad - cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta cheese, coloured peppers, carrots, croutons, crispy bacon bits
Fruit - apple, banana, satsuma
Yoghurt
Peperami
Cocktail sausages or mini sausage rolls

Treat, about once or twice a week might be any one of the following:
Home baked muffin or small slice of cake (usually banana, carrot or blueberry)
Mini size treat choc bars or small bag of biscuits
Bag of crisps
Pretzels
Popcorn (home made lightly salted)

Drinks, usually a bottle of water but sometimes a fruit juice, smoothie or yazoo

My DC won't eat quiche but I've seen other children with it in their packed lunch.

DS is 3 and vegetarian. He gets something like

• croissant
• baby bel or chunck of cheddar
• vege sausage
• a veg I know he'll eat like sweetcorn / baby toms / cucumber
• piece of fruit
• frube
• a few raisins

That might sound like a lot! But you might notice that half of it could be made into a cheese sandwich, but DS prefers the bits separate.

Also he used to be pretty fussy (less so now) so I'd put loads in, in the hope he'd eat something! Just got used to it now I guess.

What do they eat for lunch at home?

Ds has sandwhiches, fruit, veg pot, yoghurt, maybe a piece of cheese, and some sort of cereal bar.

I don't generally give chocolate or biscuits more than once a week.

Could you not give them their chocolate/kitkat etc until they start eating everything else? Hardball route!

Sandwich made from 50/50 wholemeal/white homemade bread with cheese or cream cheese
Or cheese and crackers

Tub with fruit or veg in it

Small pack of biscuits or similar or homemade flapjack or little fairy cake
Carton of apple juice

DS (5) has sandwich/roll - ham or cheese or phil of turkey or chick.
piece of fruit (banana or apple or grapes/strawberries or satsuma)
yogurt
fruit juice or innocent smoothie if they're on offer

he's a fairly fussy eater, so I'm always grateful when his lunchbox comes home empty. does better on 50-50 than wholemeal bread.

Crackers and cheese or marmite sandwich / or a wrap

Chopped cucumber or toms

Fruit

Fruit strings / hearts (99p shop)

Slice of flapjack or some strawberries covered in yoghurt

Fridays they get some crisps but only a small packet, again 99p shop comes up trumps as you can get a multipack of 20 mini crisps (about a handful in a packet) and they are ok salt/fat wise.

If they're eating the chocolate and nothing else, I'd say there's a easy solution - simply remove the chocolate!

I'm not joking!

I'd explain about healthy eating, replace it with something else which is sweet but good for you (strawberries?) and refuse to budge.

10 yr old DSS gets:

Sandwich (white/brown bread or pitta or bagel) - Cheese, ham, fish/meat paste, iceburg lettuce, chicken.

Small sausage roll (as in party size, if that makes sense?)

Cheese triangle or babybel (light versions)

Chocolate biscuit (basic choccy covered digestive bar)

Apple juice drink

.....his lunchbox used to be very different before living with us! (ham sandwich, 2 chocolate bars e.g. twix, mars, etc, crisps, chocolate mousse, cheese dunkers, cheese string, and coke hidden in a fruit shoot bottle!! I kid you not!...and they wondered why he couldn't concentrate in the afternoons?!)