Please help me with a definitive school packed lunch list

[ponygirl]

I have two children at school (7 and 5) and another shortly to stay at pre-school for lunch and am stuck in a rut with what to give them. I thought I'd try and crib suggestions from you lovely lot. What do you give yours?
I usually do a selection of these:
Sandwich (or roll/pitta bread
fillings of tuna mayo/tuna & sweetcorn/cheese/cream cheese/jam or honey (occasionally)
Fruit/veg
Tomatoes/grapes/raisins/celery/dried apricots/satsuma
Other (savoury)
Cheese and crackers/malt loaf
Other (sweet something)
Chocolate brownie/jam tart/flapjack/cake
Plus a drink.
If I'm too repetitive, they seem to get bored and stop eating it, so I think we need more variety. I'm fed up of throwing food way. Ds of course wants packets of crisps or bars of chocolate but that is not happening, even though (apparently) everyone else has them. Hmmm...
Help please!

Your sounds a pretty comprehensive list tbh. Here are some more ideas.

Some kids take flasks of soup to school.

Tuna pasta salad.

Sandwich fillings ... humous and peppers/grated carrot, Grated cheese and celery in mayo/gk yog, crudites and dip, quinoa salad (with stuff like cheese, olives, tomatoes, lentils, or whatever they'll eat).

Plain or Greek yogurt with eg, dried apricots and toasted oats.

Oooh, I like those spidermama, thanks. Wonder whether ds could be trusted with soup...?

My ds isn't allowed to take soup sadly

His limited range of sandwiches are;
egg mayo, smoked salmon (yes, expensive tastes) and tuna and sweetcorn. He'll only eat grated cheese in a pitta. Also likes wraps with cheese. really wish he'd eat hummous.

fruit
apples (cut up as wobbly tooth!)raspberries, grapes, carrot sticks, orange cut up into quarters (known as 'footie orange' in our house) olives bananas

Sweet things
I tend to limit this to a yoghurt or fruit leather, or just a roll with jam in it or some choc spread. Sometimes he has a brioche roll with choc chips in it. Once a week he'll have something like a penguin. If I have made fairy cakes I would stick one of those it though.

I dream of him eating pasta salad at school (maybe will try him again with it at home).

My ds isn't allowed to take soup sadly

His limited range of sandwiches are;
egg mayo, smoked salmon (yes, expensive tastes) and tuna and sweetcorn. He'll only eat grated cheese in a pitta. Also likes wraps with cheese. really wish he'd eat hummous.

fruit
apples (cut up as wobbly tooth!)raspberries, grapes, carrot sticks, orange cut up into quarters (known as 'footie orange' in our house) olives bananas

Sweet things
I tend to limit this to a yoghurt or fruit leather, or just a roll with jam in it or some choc spread. Sometimes he has a brioche roll with choc chips in it. Once a week he'll have something like a penguin. If I have made fairy cakes I would stick one of those it though.

I dream of him eating pasta salad at school (maybe will try him again with it at home).

Thank you puddle! Does the apple go brown by lunchtime? (I have this vague obsession with this: my apples go brown if cut and left, but why do Boots' pre-packed apple slices not, when they say 100% apple? What do they do to them? I think I started a thread on this once... Mental note: get out more!)

think adding lemon juice to them could stop it?

yep, lemon juice or a bit of apple juice does the trick.

Ahhhh! [Lightbulb dings above head!]

Bump. I'm still interested!

ds likes bread sticks in his, adds another savoury rather than sweet. also loves tubs of grapes and strawberries cut up, or a raw carrot and a tub of plain pasta

Breadsticks! Good one. Thank you.

pleasure! blimey i actually gave a useful tip rather than talking a load of drivvle!

A small box of pasta & sauce or couscous goes down well with my dd3.

my dd loves these - get some tortillas, cut into shapes eg stars, hearts, etc sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake in oven til crisp

she will also eat, yoghurt covered raisins, ricecakes, carrot sticks, you dont mention yoghurt, the frubes are good as they dont need a spoon

Some great suggestions here, thank you all!

I put cocktail sausages in ds' as it is the only protein he will eat in his packed lunch (won't eat cheese or yoghurt ). Also hot cross buns, lemon curd sandwiches. Will watch this with interest as his packed lunch is very inadequate!

Some good ideas

\link{http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/webpage/lunchboxes2005\here}
and

\link{http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2004/sep/lunchbox2here}

Am going to print this off myself!

sorry

\link{http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2004/sep/lunchbox2\here}

Mercy, that's a fantastic link!

There really are some brilliant ideas on this thread. I hope lots of people get some inspiration!

Mercy, thanks that link is really good, has given me loads of ideas.

OK, it's Monday, and we've all just had to face the packed lunch demon. What did you do? Any more great ideas I can pinch?