Ideas for packed lunches

[notwittywithusernames]

Ok, so I've got all the uniform, shoes, pe bag etc but the little me has decided she wants packed lunches - ive not experienced a school packed lunch since I was at primary (many moons ago!).

What goes down well with reception age children and lasts in a lunch box? Shes a bit picky with bread but will eat a jam sandwich. Loves yoghurt, fruit and veg slices are ok. Pasta is a hit and miss.

Just some inspiration of what works well would be great👍

Frozen yoghurt keeps everything chilled.
Ive had 3 dc I'd say what ever you give them make sure they can open everything independently.
Also check what school will and will not allow.
One of mine has gf diet and afrid so I was limited but savoury rice or pasta salad could easily be varied.
Also lots of snack food a piece of malt loaf, cheese cubes and crackers or mini samosas, chunks of chicken, sausages or falafel.
I think the trick with little ones is familiarity but also vary over time so they dont get board. I always gave 5 items a fruit, vegetable, yoghurt then 2 other things on rotation. Stops you having to think too much too.
Also check what drinks they're able to have some schools say only water..

When my dd went through a phase of not wanting sandwiches, I did:

Two carbs e.g. rice cakes, cheese straws, breadsticks, mini muffin, Soreen bar, salted popcorn…
Two protein e.g. cheese string, Babybel, cocktail sausages, yogurt, rolled up ham..
Fruit e.g. grapes, easy peeler, box of raisins, pot of blueberries
Veg e.g. cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, red pepper sticks..

Just water, which is thankfully fine as she prefers that, only rule is no nuts. Hadn't thought of frozen yoghurt to keep things cool. Cheese cubes is a good shout thank you amd the frozen yog will help that

My child isn't old enough yet for packed lunches but often has a "packed lunch style" meal.
Pinwheels - cheese and tomato, cream cheese?
Breadsticks /pitta strips and dip like houmous/guacamole
Jelly pot
Cocktail sausages
Cheese cubes/Babybel/cheese string. Possibly a dairylea dunker
Ham and cheese roll ups
Quesadilla with a filling she enjoys
Little fruit salad pot or an easy peeler

Sandwiches or wraps. Try get into the habit of different fillings now so she doesn't become mindlessly obsessed with just jam or whatever. I used to buy par cooked baguettes or rolls and do those in the air fryer in the morning somtimes too. For DD, she liked things deconstructed so that was good - she could have her roll, then a separate pot of chicken and a separate pot with some avocado or whatever.

Muffins - sweet or savoury.

I've been seeing loads of social media posts recently with sort of mini quiche type jobs cooked at start of the week. Would have been great for DS when he was taking this sort of lunch. Basically all just done in muffin tins. Worth checking out.

We always did a babybel or a bit of feta or similar in a pot and sometimes I'd let DS have some sort of meat thing - biltong if we had it, or chorizo or ham or similar. But lots of people are horrified by this!

Does she eat hummus or other dips? Works well with carrot sticks/cucumber etc. DS, who is a good eater, quite liked a little salad with a mini fork to eat it with!

yoghurt pouches are very handy.

Individual bags of popcorn. Great to increase fiber and acts as a "treat" vs crips or biscuits etc.

Fruit - always two types. One for snack time and one for lunch.

I always just bought small insulated lunch bags and usually didn't bother with any actual ice packs. They keep things fine until the ridiciulously early school lunch! For holiday clubs or longer days I'd put a frozen small bottle of juice or water in which would then also defrost and give them something nice and cold later in the day.

I use to make lots of little fairy cakes, not iced, and freeze them. Then in the morning pop one in the lunch box as their treat and they thawed out through the morning. Or, flapjacks made with jam rather than golden syrup. Buttered bread is fine, you don’t need a filling. Cucumber slices, cheddar cheese cubes, raisins or sultanas in a little pot. They don’t eat as much as you’d think so give them a good after school snack when they get home like cheese on toast, or peanut butter on toast with a bit of salad or fruit and then dinner later.

Also, cold pasta pesto is ace!

I make frittata for pack ups,
we all have it but I also use the frozen yogurt method to keep things cool.
wraps are a great alternative
veggie sticks with hummus
savoury muffins
Rice cakes sweet or savoury
jelly

at the moment tho all infant aged kids 4-7 ALL benefit from the “universal” free school meals regardless of income and so I’d be encouraging this as it’s free for you and helps kids widen their choices by trying different things and they often have a “picnic bag” option along side the others. It saves a fortune as when you pay it’s £3 a day here for a school hot meal.

Thank-you, lots of great ideas, she's just a flipping fuss pot but some good ideas to try. Wish me luck 🤣

I tend to go for a formula of 5 items.

1 main - e.g. sandwich, savoury muffins, pitta pizza, frittata, cheese and crackers, falafel and hummus, pasta salad, cold sausages or chicken drumstick

1 vegetable - e.g. carrot sticks, cucumber, tomato, olives, sliced pepper, sugar snaps etc

1 fruit - berries, apple, pear, kiwi.... whatever really!

1 dairy - yoghurt, cubes of cheese, cheese string

1 treat - popcorn, crisps, flapjack, biscuit etc.

They take a flask of water as it's the only drink school allows and either an orange or banana for snack time as it can be chucked in their bag and they don't need to open up their lunchbox for morning break.