At wits end with packed lunches

[eenymeenyminyme]

DD16 refuses to eat sandwiches at school. We've tried pitta, wraps, etc but they just come home coz she 'didn't fancy them'.
She likes the idea of school dinners like her friends have but I can't afford the £50+ a month that it would cost.
I do put some money in her lunch payment account and she spends it on muffins which she'd happily eat for lunch every day but that's just not nutritionally sensible.
She's got me over a barrel as I either give her food and she'll bring it home or I'll give her money and she'll eat muffins or I give her nothing and she'll not eat anything.
What can I put in her lunch box to tempt her to eat sensibly, which isn't bready?!

@WomensRightsAreContraversial just cook sushi rice as on the packet ( rinse well then cook withjust enough water to cover) then add mirin or rice vinegar and sugar as it cools. Once cold you can shape using wet utensils/presses or roll into nori using a mat.( same method as roll up cigarettes). It's just a matter of making sure your utensils are wet so it doesn't stick and applying pressure. We have moulds so DD presses nigiri and then sticks a strip of nori round it rather than faffing with maki rolls. We also have some animal shaped presses etc. They aren't expensive to buy.

If you were truly concerned about anorexia, you would find a way to get the £50 for school lunches. If you were truly concerned about anorexia, you would be over moon that she was eating muffins.

Parents of kids with anorexia will do ANYTHING to get them to eat. They honestly don’t care what it is.

Your whole post is bullshit and downright offensive honestly.

If she likes muffins, why not encourage her to make some on the weekends , then she can take them each day. At 16 she can surely make a few healthy muffins like spinach and feta, zucchini, carrot etc. And pack them herself. My kids were doing that from about 10 onwards - just eating one "bready" thing at lunchtime isn't going to ruin their health.

I’d redo my budget to prioritise school dinners. £2.50 a day for something substantial that she is happy to eat would be worth it for me.

I’d involve her in looking at what she can reduce spendings on so this can happen.

I don't think the food itself is an issue, the issue is anything that marks you out as different at that age makes you feel crap. She probably buys a muffin as it's what she can afford from the lunches they sell; these things to teen become a big deal and she is probably getting ribbed for taking a packed lunch. Id slow down with the anorexia talk, definitely don't let her catch with of that. If she was, she would be bringing back her empty lunchbox everyday when in reality she hadn't touched a crumb. What she is doing is bringing it back to prove a point, that she wants to eat with her friends.

crosspost with shipping; search out on google savory muffins.
loads of zucchini options and applesauce can be used as a substitute for butter and often the oil/milk ratio can be reversed.
i have no issue with a nice bacon, cheese and zucchini muffin.
could easily rework the muffin to a pizza muffin with sundried tomatoes and mozza.

Could you afford school dinners sometimes? If so I'd let her have them when you can. I agree with the PP that say she's not eating because she wants to fit in.

You are on a forum, it is interactive, people do not owe you the answer you want ONLY and are entitled to ask. It's the way it works.

A search engine with links to packed lunch ideas for fussy eaters might help. Though you will soon find that the articles are geared towards under 10s from tips like 'use a dinasaur sandwich cutter'.

I was anorexic and it was about controlling what I put into my body. She's 16, she should have the choice and freedom to sort out her own lunch. You are doing her a great disservice by making her packed lunch. Ease off a bit.

All of this is with the usual MN disclaimer: unless there is a huge drip feed

@eenymeenyminyme I don’t have teens but did have younger sisters and a busy mum so, when I lived at home, I used to help out a lot more and this is what I found worked:

You could both go grocery shopping and have her more involved in the lunch making process so she not only knows the effort that’s gone into making her lunch but it also gives her tools which she can utilise when she becomes more independent.

You can buy a flask and a lunch box from amazon that has different compartments as well as silicone cupcake cases to put things in order to divide the food or for dips etc.

I also like to meal plan and would suggest you get your daughter more involved in that both for eating at home as well as packed lunch. I used to write a list of what my sisters like to eat and come up with meal ideas and then give each meal a catchy name and then I’d put them in a hat and my sisters would get to pick them out of a hat. We’d then use this for our shopping list. Having a shopping list was handy so we’d always have staples at home and can always top up and find the best possible deals but make sure everything is balanced as well as getting seasonal fruit and veg or frozen so healthy eating doesn’t necessarily become expensive.

Here are some very easy and simple make ahead lunch box suggestions that can be eaten cold and can be switched up so it’s not the same thing every week:

• Waldorf salad
• Sloppy joes with some coleslaw
• Quiche
• Pasta salad - personalise with whichever pasta/veg she likes
• Potato salad
• Pesto pasta with grilled chicken
• Mini sausage rolls
• Mini muffins - can be sweet or savory
• Mini crustless quiches - can be made with just egg whites and whatever veg you have on hand
• Greek salad
• Gazpacho
• Fruit salad
• Frittata slices - can use more egg whites for more protein
• Couscous/quinoa/ bulgur wheat with roast veg and a bit of feta
• Chickpea salad
• Chicken salad
• Chicken caesar wraps
• Buddha/burrito bowls

I sometimes used to put in yoghurt and biscuits or chocolate mousse etc as random treats. I did need to always buy plastic cutlery but felt that it was worth it since it got my sisters eat without having to worry about all cutlery disappearing from home lol.