Dreading packed lunches

[thetwinkles]

Back to school Wednesday and I'll have two in secondary school. I can't afford to fund school lunches/canteen for two as it's work out around £30 per week/£90 a month. But I just don't know what to put in their boxes it just gets so monotonous! Any ideas? Help

Yep, get them to do their own!

Ask them what they want to eat (within reason) and leave them to make their own lunches. My DC like monotonous and apparently having anything more exotic than sandwiches and crisps is "weird" anyway (they do sometimes take soup in a flask in winter).

Make your own version of lunchable (cracker, cheese, wafer chicken), batch cook some tomato pasta, sandwiches/wraps

Thank you all!

Do you know I never actually thought about getting them to do their own! I'm not joking either. It's always something I've done on autopilot. One will be year 7 and the other year 11

I agree, let them make their own.
As for school lunch, I give mine 20.- month each. This way, they can choose / plan their food and manage their money.

My DS has always made his own. He prefers wraps to sandwiches though.

On a Sunday, I mix up egg mayo, tuna mayo, cook a load of chicken drumsticks and grate cheese. Then all he has to do (the night before) is get some filling of his choice, chuck in some lettuce and mayo, job done.

He also has crisps, nuts, sausage rolls etc as well.

I have done some lunch box planning today in readiness for Weds. Both of my DC get a bit bored with sandwiches so cheap and easy alternatives we often have are

Pasta, pesto, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and chicken for DS if leftover from dinner

Aldi packet couscous with either some veg, meat, chorizo etc added (again usually leftover from night before)

Salad of new potatoes, hard boiled egg, tomato, cucumber, sometimes pepper (they don't really like leaves)

Frittata (great for using up whatever is in the fridge)

If there is leftover pizza they take that (though it is rare!)

Snacks include the usual babbel, fruit, crisps etc plus sometimes houmous and carrot / cucumber / pepper

This term I am planning on increasing the salad repertoire (for me and DH as well as the kids!)

And like @Swisskit DD prefers a wrap and we if a sandwich type lunch we mix up wrap / thin / roll / sandwich. The kids (13 & 14) are very much involved in their lunch making and also have to plan and make a couple of meals each per month so basically one meal a week is done by one of them.

Mine just do it all themselves. Surprised you are still making packed lunches for a 15 year old! Dd tends to have a wrap with loads of salad and ham in. Sometimes she uses taco shells instead of a wrap. Or a roll with tomato, mozzarella and salad.

mine started making their own in year 5 and 6. they actually enjoy doing it. Hubby sometimes insists on doing it because he says they take too long and get in the way when he is making his but I like the fact they get involved. This way they choose which cheese/cold meat, cake/biscuit etc they think they would like the next day. I have been lucky they have been very sensible, never tried to put in stuff they wouldn't be given by us and it saves me a lot of hassle.

I used to use a Thermos King Flask & send them in with pasta & sausages in the winter. With a tiny bottle of ketchup as DS has to have it on everything
The King is a bit pricey but I got them on offer in Robert Dyas. Keeps the food hot until lunchtime, comes with an integrated spoon, wide and squat with a large opening
Chicken wraps in the summer - roast a chicken on Sunday and it lasts a week's worth of wraps for 2 every day

Just checked & the King is currently a third off at Sainsburys - £13

My DC like monotonous and apparently having anything more exotic than sandwiches and crisps is "weird" anyway.

This.

My eldest is 10 and she informed me last week that if I gave her hummus and peppers people would laugh at her.

Also, if she takes in "homemade" dunkers (ie, a scoop of dairylea and some breadsticks) people will think I am a "cheapo who reuses bathwater and cooks lasagne in the dishwasher." :o

I would love to be a fly on the wall in her school as she really does come out with the most random stuff.

Anyway, she is away to school today with hummus and peppers so I will ask her later if anyone laughed.

I say get them to make their own, and if they get fed up with the monotony they have to come up with new ideas.

£3 per day seems quite a lot to be paying for lunches at school, it is certainly noticeably more than the hot meal option at DD's school.

Could they get something at your price point to save you the bother? Most systems these days allow you to set a daily spending limit. You could tell them to drink water, and take snacks from home.

It's £2.80 for the hot meal at ds's school, and you can't set a daily limit which is annoying.

I have a shopping list on the fridge and ds can specify carb/protein/snack/fruit and veg and then sort out his own pack lunch within that parameter

Definitely get them making their own - I did at secondary. Let them have input into what is bought for their lunches (keeping within the budget).

I wouldn't worry about it being monotonous -I took pretty much the same thing every day for 5 years when I was at secondary and it never bothered me.