What Do You Make for School Lunches?

[JudyMarie]

Hi ladies...I'm hoping to get some opinions on what everyone makes for their kids school lunches. My kids are going into 1st grade this year and will now both be eating lunch at school.  They are not really sandwich eaters. I'm just wondering what other Mom's put in their kid's lunch boxes? I'm thinking maybe something like a fruit salad, yogurt or cheese stick, and two snacks plus a juice box. Any ideas? Thanks!

[missingruth]

Aug. 23, 2009 at 11:04 AM

Whether or not they are "sandwich eaters", a sandwich is an appropriate item for lunch.  By filling a lunch box with snacks and juice, there is no incentive to eat a sandwich or other healthy items.

We always packed a sandwich, a piece of whole fruit, celery or carrot sticks, and a cheese stick.  Sometimes we used tortillas to make the sandwich a roll-up type, which might be a good solution for kids who don't usually eat sandwiches.  Most of the time, just a regular sandwich. And they bought milk at school - still do.

Fruit salad, while good, converts to sugar (and might require refrigeration) ... yogurt usu contains sugar ... two snacks?  this confuses me, and I can't imagine giving snacks when something of substance hasn't already been ingested, cheese sticks are great in lunch boxes - good idea!, and juice boxes are, again, sugar.  This doesn't really sound like lunch, just a snack bag.

[Gaccck]

Aug. 23, 2009 at 11:30 AM

Sandwiches - sometimes on whole wheat pita bread, sometimes on a bagel, sometimes on regular bread ... but always a sandwich.  Although one of mine wasn't what I'd consider a "sandwich eater" initially either, it is what she learned to eat.

Hard boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, grapes, apples, oranges, pears, peaches, and cheese cubes are all things we commonly pack.

I, too, don't do the juice box thing ... I prefer they drink milk.

[JudyMarie]

Sep. 2, 2009 at 3:08 PM

By snacks, I meant crackers or pretzels, etc. They have 2 snack times. Yogurt was recommended by our Pediatrician. My doctor recommends it too!  I did indeed pack sandwiches today! I'm sure they will somehow get used to them or go hungry.  Thanks for the input.

(Original Poster)