What is in your child's school lunchbox?

[enid]

Sure there are loads of threads on this but couldn't immmediately find one. Dd1 is only doing half days at school until Half term or January (they decide who starts after half term the day before - great if you are a working mum , but thats another story).

Anyway, she has do a couple of full days in the next couple of weeks - as I was describing her lunchbox to my childminder I suddenly worried that it wasn't enough - what do you put in your childs lunchbox? Today she (nearly 5) had:
a cheese sandwich (brown bread, cheese, a bit of mayo - she hates butter); carrot and cucumber sticks; a flapjack, a nectarine and a drink of water.

Yes, sounds similar. My ds has the most boring lunchbox in the world (same thing EVERY day but otherwise he won't eat it):

ham roll
two pieces of fruit (slight variation here - whoopee)
fromage frais
sometimes a sausage (dd1 likes cheese so I'd give her a mini Babybel)
cake or biscuits
juice box
bottle of water

One of the pieces of fruit is for his morning snack. If I ever put more in, it doesn't get eaten because they only have a limited amount of time IYSWIM.

carrot and cucumber here too!
slices of chicken and 2 mini pitta breads.
grapes (sometimes apple and nuts)
school bar
brioche
and a drink (usually water.. today a yakult)

DD is 3.5y

She has pasta/rice/cous-cous with pepper, carrot,tomato and peas as a base. We then add kosher salami/smoked salmon/cheese on a rotation.

Pudding is usually yoghurt/homemade cake. no drink because school provides water.

in addition to this she gets a piece of fruit and milk or water at morning and afternoon break (provided by school), and i give her a packet of sesame snaps and a carton of apple juice for after-care.

Some type of sandwich (wholemeal bread)
Pepperami (skinny ds needs cals)
cheese chunk
nutri-grain
dried fruit bar
piece of fruit/veg for snack
drinks - water & juice

ds1 (6) has

sandwich/roll/chicken satay sticks/pasta salad
babybel or similar
small pot of fruit (strawb or grapes or melon) or cut up veg (cucumber/tom/carrot/pepper)
cake/biscuit
squeezy yog

and on friday - special treat - packet of crisps

Generally.

Sandwich or Roll. Brown. With either HAm, tuna or Cheese.
Tuna Pasta Salad.
Cous Cous Salad.

Piece of fruit or Veggies
Yorghurt (Tend to by drinking ones. No disappearing teaspoons that way)

I used to but in a juice box. But she didn't drink them, when I asked why, she said coz she didn't have time. So now diluted fruit juice in a bottle.

Snack and water in School bag, as they are not allowed to go into their Lunch boxes during the day

Lunch! - sorry

Ham sandwich with cucumber, fromage frais, couple of bits of fruit, v watery squash, sometimes a small cake, sometimes things like peperami minis. Also an extra bit of fruit for break time.

It's all eaten when they get back, but they are all still starving when they come home.

Being nosey now, but do you make the lunches up the night before or in the morning? I am a morning gal.

Used to do it in the am for ds, but now with dd starting too, we have started to do it the night before. The difference it makes to the mornings is amazing!!

I'm too knackered to do it at night, so get on with it when i am doing hteir breakfast

I do dd (3)lunchbox before school although she doesn't strart till half twelve! She has her dinner as soon as she gets to nursery so she can take warm things.

On Tuesday she ahd

Two chicken legs
Stewed apple
Orange cut into quarters
Mixture of chopped carrots, brocolli and courgette with a sour cream and chive dip
Fruit juice

I think they also get some fruit in the afternoon

I can't believe how imaginative you all are!

My DS's lunchbox is so bland:

Sandwiches - wholemeal bread with either ham, cheese, dairylea or jam
Fruit - apples, bananas, strawberries, raisins
Yoghurt
Treat - choc biscuit, gingerbread man, muffin

might try some of your suggestions but ds is FUUUSSSY!

DS2 (11) has had the same lunch for years...

sandwiches, usually peanut butter on white, occasionally on wholemeal, occasionally nutella instead of peanut butter:

1 apple;

1 frube;

one small carton apple juice (ideally from Lidl as v cheap).

That's it!

I've just made up my 3 for the morning (always do them at night).

DD1 - has got tuna/sweetcorn mayo in brown bread
DS1 - ham and cheese in brown bread
DD2 - Dairylea in brown bread (only eats jam or Dairylea).

Then they have each :

carton of Ocean Spray Cranberry and Raspberry Juice
Tub of grapes
Yoghurt
Some Mini Cheddars
Dairylea Strippy Cheese-thing
2 Mini Flapjacks.

DD2 gets a mid-morning snack of fruit and juice from school. The other 2 have their water bottles.

My dds are not big eaters. They usually have:

Wholemeal sandwich (ham, cheese, honey on Fridays)
Handful of raisins
Chopped apple/banana
Biscuit or cake

I also send juice and fruit bar snack for breaktime.

The rule in school is, if it's in your lunchbox, it must be eaten - so I can't put in extras for them. They seem to have enough though - they eat a snack when they come home from school , but I have never (and I mean NEVER) heard them say they are hungry. (Even when I once forgot to give them their tea!)

I ahve pinched lots of ideas from Annabel Karmel esp her lunch box book.

My dd favourite is cut out sandwiches, hearts stars or teadybears. Another great one are pinwheel sandwiches, dairylea or if you are feeling extravagent smoked salmon and cream cheese spread on bread which has been in the fridge. Roll the bread up and cut like a swiss roll just the right size for little hands, take not much more time than a normal snadwich but kids love them.

I could a decorated mini wedding cake in dds lunchboxes .. but they'd never eat that eithe

today ds had:

Hoisin duck wrap
Kiwi fruit (halved)
Little pot of grapes
Fruit juice
Kitkat
Packet of crisps
and an apple for break time

Hoisin duck wrap!! i want that dinner.

I makes me chuckle at the efforts we go to for our kids ( and I do it myself so am not having a dig at anyone!) When my mum made my shool packed lunch many moon ago I got a soggy paste sandwich, a slightly green satsuma a bag of munster much and very watered down squash.

My ds has a brown bread peanut butter sandwich, an apple, satsuma, plum, 2 yoghurts, some pistachios and maybe a sesame snap.

today dd(5) has a luncheon sausage sandwich (on that semi-brown bread), a light babybel, a drink and two kiwi fruits chopped up. She'll also have a piece of fruit at playtime. I'd love to be able to give her some almonds or pistachios but there's a child with a peanut allergy in school and they have a very strict 'nut free' policy.

We are also not allowed any nuts in lunchboxes, as far as I not this is not to protect a specific child but on the offchance that someone may have an undiagnosed allergy.

No nuts policy at my brood's school as well. Fabulous Bakin Boys cakes are guaranteed nut free btw, if anyone is interested.

DD gets similar to all of yours then.

Sandwich (one slice bread into 2 x 1/4 sandwiches, she only eats one usually!) Hamm, Tuna mayo, egg mayo, Jam (if I am a useless mother and ham nothing else in)
Dairylea strip cheese or Pepperami (ofen returns if it is cheese)
Squeezy yoghurt
Fruit
Watery squash.

She still manages to leave at least 1/2 her sandwich and sometimes the cheese too!!