What do you put in your DC's packed lunches?

[bigTillyMint]

I was just wondering what you give your older Primary School DC to eat every day. And how much - say one round of sandwiches, etc!
thanks in advance!

And we are evil parents too, it seems.

9yo DS, eats Half a butter-fruit spread sandwich and not a crumb more. Recently he's managed one of those pre-packed lunchbox muffins, too, but he doesn't complain if I don't put it in.

I do wish dinner ladies bossed them into eating it all up, like they did when I was at school.

I don't. The dinner ladies at my kids school are awful DD was in trouble for not using a knife once (she is 5) and they are made to eat everything when they have school dinners but the servers won't give less when she asks for a smaller amount. DS1 was never given enough..

bigtillymint - have you tried raw veg and a few breadsticks with something like a homous dip? My ds (7) is so interested in dipping he doesn't really get that he's eating carrots, cucumber or pepper

Great ideas, thanks!

Furball, they both love homous. DD will dip whatever into it, but DS would rather use his finger than a raw veggie! If it is at home, I can "encourage" him, but I'm not at school

Do any of you have problems with DS's swapping food (ie healthy stuff you put in for not so healthy stuff another parent has put in)?

Mine tend not to swap, they just eat the sweet stuff and leave the things I want them to have. I think frankly the problem is more that as soon as you are finished eating you are allowed out to play, so you get more playtime if you skimp on your lunch.

That's what my DC's are hoping for - less time queuing, more time playing!

My kids usually have one small round bap or finger roll with filling.
Then salad (peppers, cucumber, radish, celery, tomatoes, lettuce)
Raw veg (carrots, mange tout)
Raisins
and a piece of fruit.

They don't get any chocolate or crisps. But perhaps on a Friday I might put a sweet in there or something.

You can also do cold pasta.
And couscous - if your kids like it.

DD (3)
Sandwich (ham, cheese etc)
Yoghurt
Crisps
Biscuit
Juice

She'll come home with 80% left over. Another with the appetite of a very very small bird!

Sandwich, fruit, biscuit or two-finger Kitkat, water.

Yeah, I forgot the water.
No juice, they have that at teatime.

Rhubarb your DC are so healthy!

but does the school let them eat sweets? At ours, they would get confiscated. Though you can have a chocolate biscuit or cake

I don't know, I've never asked. I know nuts aren't allowed (after I gave them nuts and was told not to). By sweets though I mean a bit of chocolate perhaps or a pick n mix sweet that might be left over from the weekend.

I've never given them sugary treats so they don't expect them. dd does often say that all her friends have crisps and chocolate, but I remind her that she does have treats on other occasions and if she wants to keep getting those treats she'll quit moaning!

sandwich (currently only chicken will do)
fruit (usually comes back home)

Yoghurt/frube

cereal bar or dried fruit bar

crisps or biscuit

smoothie/juice

I would be bored having same thing every day but ds seems to like it. If I try anything different he tends to leave it. I sent him n with soup in a flask once but it was rejected by school on H&S grounds.

Dd1 - marmite sandwich (2 slices) or roll and butter.
Pot cucmber and tomato
grapes or apple
frube or yoghurt
sometimes cereal bar, or cheese, or dried fruit.
Water.

Dd2 - sandwhich spread sandwich (one slice) or ham sandwich or cold pasta or cold pizza/quiche/any leftover.
Grapes or banana or pear.
Frube/yoghurt.

Dd1 eats a peice of her fruit/salad at break time.

Dd2 gets a piece of fruit at breaktime thorugh school.

DS's 4 and 6 both have similar

Wholemeal bread sandwich, one slice bread.
Yoghurt.
2 pieces of fruit.
Homemade biscuit, muffin or flapjack.

They both get a piece of fruit from school at snacktime.

I am so pleased I have read this thread. I thought I was doing something horribly wrong with my kids' lunchboxes. They seem fairly typical now phew.

Roll with ham/chees/marmite/pbutter (or any combination
Frube
Cheese thing (whatever is on special offer)
Box of dried fruit
Juice box
Sometimes I will put in a handful of organix crips OR a cereal bar.

I dont put fruit in because he eats loads at home and they dont get much time at lunchbreak.
I give them frubes because if they have (cheaper) yogurts I loose all my teaspoons.

I used to always give them wholemeal rolls but they didnt like them much and they were more expensive. Then I read that children dont really need to have wholemeal in the way that adults do - anyone else read this?

I am so unethical - I unashamedly make jam sandwiched for my step daughter in desperate effort for her not to hold me in 'evil stepmother' esteem. I even pack crisps and fizzy pop for her too. I must point out though that i make my own fruit jams from the fruit we have as overflow from the garden and the crisps are not always potato - I have one of those madolin thingys and make veggie crisps... the fizzy pop isn't diet and isn't caffeine free, but she seems reasonably happy and eats pretty much eveything we put in front of her when she gets home...

Lunch box is a minefield. I am hated for not providing jam sandwiches or biscuits/cake every day.

DS gets :

Sandwich/roll with filling - normally ham or cheese or marmite
Fruit - normally grapes or apple
Drink - apple juice mixed with water
Actimel

The problem we have is if DS needs a wee at lunchtime he only has the Actimel and a small bite of sandwich as thats all he has time for before his friends run out into the playground and he loses them. Then he is very, very, very grumpy when he gets out at 3.15 and tries to eat his own bodyweight in food.

Weds and Fris he gets a treat - small biscuit/piece of homemade cake/cereal bar