What are your new reception children having for lunch/what sort of things should i give DD?

[Adikia]

Yes, I am panicking over stupid things but has anyone had any thoughts about what they are doing for lunch? and what drink will you send in?

My friend spent most of last year moaning about how the school kept complaining about the choice of lunch and I'm starting to think theres some secret rules I don't know! (although her DD was sent in with chocolate spread sandwiches, quavers, a mini cake and a fruit shoot every day so the school may have had a point.)

I have this terrible feeling I'm going to send in something and the dinner ladies are going to secretly judge me!

I knew I should of gone with school dinners but I've seen DD's table manners!

[Fuzzymum1]

Put in similar things to what you would give at home, and less than you would expect her to eat would be my advice.

My DS3 isn't that keen on sandwiches so he usually has a selection of small tubs with mini bread sticks, houmous, veggie sticks, fruit, cheese cubes, bits of ham or chicken (or a few prawns if the weather isn't too hot) a yoghurt pouch and small cake and a bottle of squash.

DS2 is a lot more fussy and takes a sandwich (either jam or ham), a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar but as he's now at high school I don't have to worry about the school snooping moaning.

[Fuzzymum1]

Also if he's had pizza the night before for tea he will have a couple of slices of leftover pizza instead of the breadsticks and houmous.

[PeanutButterOnly]

I'm dreading it because the only sandwich DS likes is peanut butter, nutella or marmite and he can't take peanut butter or nutella so will have to be marmite. I may try to sneak a bit of cheese spread or grated cheese in. Sigh, what a bind having a fussy child. He's only just turned 4 (double sigh). I may have a chat with him about sandwiches in the next 10 days and try and get him to try other things. He could have school dinners on a Friday for the fishfingers but the rest of it would be completely alien to him as he's refused almost everything .

[num3onway]

Most schools are part of a scheme I think where children get a free drink of milk each day until they are five

[MrsCakesPremonition]

School dinners - much less stressful.

[HarumScarum]

the only sandwiches she'll eat are marmite though. Would that be awful everyday? And what to pad it out with? Argh!

I had this with DD a couple of years ago and my standby is now marmite with cream cheese. Good for calcium, tasty and can be as marmitey as your child desires.

[DalmationDots]

I used to do a sandwich/wrap/pitta, two pieces of fruit/veg, one of the mini cheeses/pepperoni/lunchbox healthy snack things (and back in the day when it wasn't illegal frowned upon a biscuit or bag of mini cheddars - nowadays I'd substitute that with some of those healthy bars/crisps available.)

I wouldn't send DD with soup or pasta or anything potentially messy as knowing her it would be such a hassle to eat/for the dinner lady that it wasn't worth the effort!

[Adikia]

butterflies Have tried making some pizza bread with DD today as Id never heard of it before, she had great fun helping and she says 'its yum, yum, yummy, in my tum, tum, tummy' Thank you.

[Ett36]

my DDs school is reasonable. mine have sandwiches/bread roll etc, a pudding, usually chocolate based so mini cake or homemade biscuit or mini choc bar, a fruit juice so counts as one of five a day and at least one if not two pieces of fruit/veg e.g. cucumber, carrot sticks, pepper sticks, a small apple, raisins.

[PeanutButterOnly]

Phew Harum I just tried out a sandwich with marmite and cream cheese and I think we might get away with it....

[HarumScarum]

Yay. DD still has marmite and cream cheese about three days out of five. I quite like it too.

[TheDayOfMyDoctor]

DS has a wrap or sandwich (cheese, tuna & sweet corn or ham with red pepper usually), a mini sausage roll or falafel, carrot/cucumber sticks and grapes (or some other fruit). Also sometimes has babybel, chunks cheese, cold pizza slices, malt loaf.

[WildebeestH]

Am i the only one thinking that since reception children will all now get free school dinners i don't need to worry about this?

[Bumpsadaisie]

Free school dinners from Sept 2014 ...

[zingally]

Speaking as an infant teacher, don't go for too much! I've seen some little Receptions with lunch boxes bursting at the seams! I look in them and think "I couldn't eat that much!"

Particularly in those first few weeks, as they adapt to the noise of the dinner hall and the new routine, keep the lunch reasonably small. The children are very good at reporting home if the lunch was too small, but aren't so good at reporting if it was too big, and some can find a mound of food quite overwhelming.

4 items is more than enough. 1 sandwich, perhaps into 4 squares, but even 2 squares can be enough, particularly at the start of the year.

Something like a yoghurt is good, although I'd advise against Frubes, as Littles can find them hard to open. A "normal" yog in a pot, with a disposable plastic teaspoon is a better bet. If the spoon comes home, great, it can be washed and re-used. If it doesn't make it home, no biggie.

Something fruity, some apple slices, a banana, a pealed Satsuma, grapes, or cherry toms. Something prepared for small hands/mouths.

And a "treat" of some sort. A small bag of crisps, cookies, or something like a kitkat or penguin.

Oh, and a drink. A juice carton is fine if there is plenty of other opportunities for the children to drink if they are thirsty during the day. But if there isn't, or you have a "thirsty child", a larger plastic bottle might be better.

[PeanutButterOnly]

Aren't they all getting free school dinners? Not that my DS who is currently in reception will be happy to part with the packed lunch. I sneak cream cheese in with the marmite

[SE13Mummy]

DD1 had school dinners throughout KS1 but in Y3 started having packed lunch twice a week (something that has been outlawed now that the school is 'outstanding' :-(). She's always been a hearty and healthy eater so school dinners felt like decent value for money £1.40 per day when she was in Reception.

In September, DD2 started school. She's always been a fan of breakfast plus one other meal a day but has never really eaten much at lunchtime. Turns out that she ate very little of her school dinner too.

Both girls have recently swapped to packed lunch. DD2 asked for a main thing, a banana and a bottle of water so this is what she gets! DD1 likes a main thing, lots of cherry tomatoes, houmous, crudites, crisps, yoghurt pouch, satsuma/grapes/strawberries and a bottle of water.

The 'main thing' comprises sandwiches, DIY wraps, pasta salad, giant couscous salad, bagels or chopped up pitta with a small pot of houmous (decanted into a plastic pot - cheaper and less messy than the shop-bought mini pots).

[steppemum]

zombie thread alert!!!