I need lunch box ideas that aren't sandwiches please

[Londono]

DS doesn't like sandwiches much and they often come back uneaten.

He will eat wraps and pasta but I don't want to overdo either of them as he also likes pasta for tea!

What else can I do that is reasonably priced for lunch?

Is he allowed a food flask for hot food? This can be a game changer if he is

Quiche?

Cold chicken drumsticks, veg sticks, crackers

Noodles
pasta salads
quesadillas
baguettes/paninis
crackers with ham, cheese
Sweetcorn fritters with fajita spiced chicken and pepper slices
Soup in a flask with bread rolls

Is it the bread he dislikes? Or the arrangement of a sandwich. Could try different shapes of bread - round burger type baps, hot dog type rolls and do them as they do in Subway. I like the big baps sliced across the middle twice so there's plenty of filling. Try dinky sized pasties with lentil and cheese filling, pastry slice with crispy bacon/onion filling cut into small slices/squares, scotch egg halves with salady stuff, precooked jacket skins with melted cheese (eaten cold, still delicious), coleslaw with grated cheese, individual cheese tartlettes If you are short of time prepare a lot of these as batch bakes.

He could take a Thermos of some kind and I have one that he could use. He doesn't like soup though.

He isn't a big bread person so he doesn't avoid it completely but it isn't something he is overly keen on, hence preferring the wraps.

He does like quiche so that could work BUT if it got mangled in his lunchbox then he wouldn't eat it - he can be picky about stuff like that.

Would a cheese scone be a suitable replacement? I could bake those but I don't know if it would be enough as his main.

Are you familiar with pizza pinwheels? That could be a contender.

Things that are filling and healthyish are good too. I can see myself sending him with endless pesto pasta otherwise.

A cheese scone would be great and I’d much prefer that to a sandwich. Looking somewhere like Pinterest, Instagram for bento style lunchboxes or the r/bento subreddit might also have some inspiration. But if he likes pasta and will eat then I’d just send him with that. How many children (and adults) have toast for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch?

@toastofthetown I guess you are right and it would be easy to make a batch of pasta and scoop a portion out each day. I'll take a look at bento style lunch ideas too, snacky bits with something filling at the heart of it would be good.

Pasties were literally invented for this purpose. Or a triangle samosa type thing.

you could do a rice salad instead of pasta? Potato salad?

Sometimes I use the dairylea snackable things for a change. In the winter my dd has a thermos so she has whatever we have had for tea the night before or soup, or macaroni cheese is a big hit for her.

I sometimes give her chicken fried rice in the thermos which she likes. Sometimes scouse, sometimes mash and sausage with gravy and peas.

I think maybe doing some hot options might work too as I'd like them to be fairly balanced and rice is another good shout.

I airfry pieces of plain chicken breast every morning for DS and throw it in a flask.

It's easy because I don't have to do anything with it. It takes 15 minutes to cook, but I don't have to pay any attention to it.

Frittata
Cold pizza
Scotch egg, the ultimate transportable lunch!
Mixed bean salad with tuna, diced chicken, diced home boiled ham, flaked salmon etc etc
Cous-cous with chopped roasted vegetables or fresh salad items, plus diced feta, cocktail sausages, hotdogs, etc etc.

Pack fragile items like quiche in their own inner box, but hopefully he will be too hungry to be overly worried about eating a slightly dinted slice of quiche.

Here for all the thermos inspo! We are just starting this and my kids are super fussy. But so far, they have agreed I can put in:

Pesto pasta with chicken or salmon in, when we can stretch to that
Sausage and mash
Chicken soup with lots of barley and veg
Leek and potato soup
Tomato pasta

With school dinners being £25 a week I have had to resort to this and I really want them to have something hot in their frozen little bellies this winter. Crossing my fingers it works well!

How old is he? I had a colleague who used to bring a meatball marinara sub to work. He got the sub rolls from Aldi, had some thin slices of cheese and the meatballs in marinara sauce in a thermos. Started a bit of a trend in the office. Obviously difficult if he's younger and less dexterous.

I do rice at the bottom of my thermos with chana masala or a leftover veg curry on top for lunch. It's still hot but (just about) eating temperature when I heat it at 7.30am and eat at 1pm. I fill the thermos with boiling water to heat it up before emptying and adding hot food.

I was also going to suggest a thermos!

Mine like couscous, leftover pasta, leftover chilli, curry.

Also cheese and crackers.

Pastries/sausage rolls/pork pies.

I sometimes make pizza for their lunch.

But just be aware a few people have suggested pesto, if his school is no nuts pesto does contain cashew nuts so wouldn't be allowed.

My dd took a thermos last year in year 4.

Some little fuckers called her weird. They had a thermos by November.

I would try grains based salads (barley, Italian spelt or bulgur wheat). You can vary the vegetables you put in (raw, like cherry tomatoes, or roasted/stir fried) and the protein (chicken, tuna, boiled eggs, mozzarella cheese, etc) so it doesn't get boring and covers a variety of nutrients throughout the week.

Another idea is to use shop bought puff pastry to make pockets with fillings of choice, they can be eaten like sandwiches but have a very different texture compared to bread, so they might go down better. I like fillings like feta and spinach, or ricotta and courgettes/peppers, but you can really get creative with it and tailor them to what he likes.

But just be aware a few people have suggested pesto, if his school is no nuts pesto does contain cashew nuts so wouldn't be allowed.

Cashews? What pesto are you buying?

Do you think it might be the texture with bread. We do pita chips. Pitas cut into thin strips, sprayed with oil and bake in the oven until really crisp. Really good with a dip, cream cheese, guacamole, hummus, Chuck in some crudités for good measure. Also works really well as part of a bento box. Other bento options, cooked chicken pieces, boiled egg, falafel, fritata.

Some supermarket pestos contain cashew nuts because they're cheaper than pine nuts.

Spanish omelette is even tastier cold the next day, and if you are pushed for time can be bought ready made from most supermarkets.

Picnic style lunch? Cocktail sausages or scotch eggs or sausage rolls for protein then veg sticks, grapes, olives? Yoghurts can be quite filling if you get full fat versions.

Is cous cous something he likes? Lovely with roasted veg and halloumi and again tastes even better the next day so ideal for making in advance.

Would he eat a substantial salad? Eg tuna nicoise with potatoes and green beans.

Chickpeas also good for non-bread filling up. Made into falafel or hummus

I make quiche 'pies' in fairy cake tins. They don't get mangled. I also make a big pizza and slice it and freeze it - chuck one in the lunch for variety. Also, gonna try puff pastry things this year - cheese, bacon maybe - that kind of thing. And cheese scones yes - stealing that!