what do you pack for field trip lunches that need to be disposable...no ice packs used?

[lynn]

I need ideas, please.

[zoobie]

PBJ (or sunflower seed butter if nut-free), clementine or apple, granola bar. Easy, quick stuff. Usually kids are too busy and distracted to eat much. You can freeze a juice box or water bottle or yogurt tube and use that as the ice pack.

[J-rap]

Burritos with refried beans and cheese, carrot sticks, apples, chips, cookies, bottle of water...

[Library Momma]

I second freezing a water bottle. It works well and surprisingly a brown paper bag will stand up to it's weight.

[maryanne]

StarKist Tuna Lunch-To-Go

http://www.amazon.com/StarKist-Light-Lunch-4-1000-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B00374WJFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429799667&sr=8-1&keywords=Tuna+Lunch+To+Go

 

cheese & crackers

 

baby carrots, actually I would think that most fresh fruits and veggies would be fine w/o refrigeration until lunch time.

 

single serve containers of canned fruits and veggies-sometimes the groceries around here will have 6-packs of single serve cooked/canned green beans or peas similar to the individual containers of applesauce and other fruits that are more common.

 

Ds (15) will eat a small can of pork & beans, cold, straight out of the can.

 

shelf stable single serve hummus like this http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Garden-Traditional-Hummus-Dip/dp/B000V5IMSQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429800438&sr=8-1&keywords=single+serve+hummus

 

 

 

 

[Cinder]

For ds2 I make pbj on slider buns. The buns hold up better than regular sandwich bread. I also send along an apple, single-serving bag of chips, and granola bar. He likes simple lunches when on the go; the easier the better.

 

 

[momofkhm]

You know... Back in the day, we didn't have freezer packs.  We did just fine on lunch meat, cheese, and mayo.  Not of us got food poisoning or anything.  AND I've seen on-line somewhere that if you do get sick from something with mayo in it, it isn't the mayo.  I don't know if its the preservatives or what, but it's not the mayo.

 

 

[wapiti]

"Lunchable" crackers/salami/cheese, for those who won't eat sandwiches. Boxed milk.

[LLMom]

If it's not too hot, I freeze yogurt tubes, pizza, lunch meat sandwiches, tortilla wraps because they will stay cold til lunch.

[KathyBC]

Pizza buns. (I make them like cinnamon buns, with pizza sauce, sliced pepperoni and grated cheese instead.) Cookies or muffins, juice box.

[umsami]

I usually do a PB&J (or Nutella for my son who has a peanut free classroom), apple/pear/mandarin, water bottle (sometimes frozen), and chips.  I usually put it in a plastic grocery sack with their name written on it with a Sharpie.  I find that the weight of the water bottle (plus the fact that it's a little wet from being frozen) would rip a paper lunch sack.

[Arcadia]

My older brought the dual compartment lunch bag for field trips. He is my milk guzzler so I pack a frozen milk packet and a chilled milk packet as drinks in the bottom compartment. We buy the Horizon Organic ones as he love those. For food I pack a bagel and some granola bars in the top compartment. The school bus to bring them back to public school was delayed a few times so granola bars are easy to eat while waiting for the school bus to arrive.

[lynn]

You know... Back in the day, we didn't have freezer packs. We did just fine on lunch meat, cheese, and mayo. Not of us got food poisoning or anything. AND I've seen on-line somewhere that if you do get sick from something with mayo in it, it isn't the mayo. I don't know if its the preservatives or what, but it's not the mayo.

I remember having warm sandwich and a can of warm coke (any soda was a treat then), and never getting sick but I am so caught up with food poisoning these days I am paranoid of sending foods without ice packs and get locked up trying to figure it out kwim. I will freeze Dd water bottle and yogurt tonight so she still has an"icepack" as suggested.

[katilac]

You know... Back in the day, we didn't have freezer packs.  We did just fine on lunch meat, cheese, and mayo.  Not of us got food poisoning or anything.  AND I've seen on-line somewhere that if you do get sick from something with mayo in it, it isn't the mayo.  I don't know if its the preservatives or what, but it's not the mayo.

 

Yep. My mom would put my drink in the freezer so it would be cold for a long time, but that was it. 

 

I also worked in fast food for a very long time when I was young, and you would have big tubs of mayo sitting out all day. There was a thin layer of ice underneath it, but I promise you that mayo was not cold or even cool. Whenever it ran low, whatever mayo was left in   got scooped on top of the next container. 

 

Sometimes we'll make the sandwiches and toss them in the freezer (in a ziplock) while we finish getting ready, just because we prefer them not to be too warm - of course, a peanut butter sandwich doesn't matter. 

 

If it really worries you, or none of you like not-cool sandwiches, I would just go with easy stuff like granola bars, pretzels, cold cereal, almonds or other non-peanut nuts if allergies are a concern to the group, crackers, etc. 

 

I keep it very simple. 

[lynn]

Thanks for the suggestions. I forgot about freezing water bottle and yogurt. Dd is not a sandwich eater when it comes to her school lunch so it makes me think outside the box. Ill have to add these to my list of possible lunches.

[pehp]

My son is gluten-free so we can't do sandwiches (I don't much like most GF breads for sandwiches, either)I typically do something carby (rice chex, gluten-free pretzels), a protein (cheese sticks, cashews, peanut butter and honey in a container that can be used as a dip for the chex, pretzels or apple slices), a fruit or two, a Larabar, individually-packaged applesauces, and sometimes something sweet like dark chocolate almonds.  These are great b/c I can just throw them together and go!  

[Tanaqui]

 

You know... Back in the day, we didn't have freezer packs.  We did just fine on lunch meat, cheese, and mayo.  Not of us got food poisoning or anything.  AND I've seen on-line somewhere that if you do get sick from something with mayo in it, it isn't the mayo.  I don't know if its the preservatives or what, but it's not the mayo.

 

What "we"? My parents always froze my juice boxes. Voila, instant ice pack!

 

Our standard traveling out and about lunch is two pieces of fruit (trust me, we need both pieces), carrots or bell peppers, and a salami sandwich with juice... and I exhort them to eat their sandwiches on the way so we don't have to sit down once we're there. If it's a long trip, I add a container of greek yogurt and a bag of potato chips.

[poppy]

I send whatever I'd normally send.  Food will not go bad in 3ish hours.

[SKL]

Sandwiches, fresh fruit / veg or applesauce cup, cheese stick, water bottle.  Yogurt if they like yogurt.

 

One of mine used to love Tapaz for lunch every day.  http://smile.amazon.com/Roasted-Garlic-Hummus-Lentil-Crackers/dp/B00CRM31ZK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429817322&sr=8-1&keywords=tapaz It does not require refrigeration.  Great little lunch if your kid likes that kind of food.  Add baby carrots, which can also be dipped in the hummus.

[SparklyUnicorn]

You know... Back in the day, we didn't have freezer packs.  We did just fine on lunch meat, cheese, and mayo.  Not of us got food poisoning or anything.  AND I've seen on-line somewhere that if you do get sick from something with mayo in it, it isn't the mayo.  I don't know if its the preservatives or what, but it's not the mayo.

 

Yup.  Lunch was kept in our warm/hot locker all morning long for many years.  Never ever once used an ice pack.  Didn't have those luxuries!

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh another thing you can freeze if you insist on an "ice pack" is those Gogurt things.

 

 

[lynn]

 

 

 

What "we"? My parents always froze my juice boxes. Voila, instant ice pack!

 

Our standard traveling out and about lunch is two pieces of fruit (trust me, we need both pieces), carrots or bell peppers, and a salami sandwich with juice... and I exhort them to eat their sandwiches on the way so we don't have to sit down once we're there. If it's a long trip, I add a container of greek yogurt and a bag of potato chips.

Some of us are from a time Way before juice boxes...

[SparklyUnicorn]

Some of us are from a time Way before juice boxes...

 

Yeah I don't recall juice boxes when I was little.  Either that or they just were not popular.

[lynn]

 

Yup. Lunch was kept in our warm/hot locker all morning long for many years. Never ever once used an ice pack. Didn't have those luxuries![/quot

 

Yup, warm, soggy,tunafish sandwich on wonderbread. Yummy

[Susan in TN]

Croissant or dinner roll, beef jerkey, string cheese, fruit.

[Murphy101]

This is exactly what MREs are for.

 

If you REALLY want your kid to make an instant friend, pack a second MRE they can share bc all the kids think it is soooo cool.

[wapiti]

Some of us are from a time Way before juice boxes...

 

Oddly enough, I don't remember there even being water bottles (there must have been??).  I remember going on a field trip with a can of 7up.

 

If you REALLY want your kid to make an instant friend, pack a second MRE they can share bc all the kids think it is soooo cool.

 

Not long ago, dh found a stash of MREs he had hidden in the basement.  They were Very Old.  He and the kids ate one.  Apparently it still tasted ok.  (Come to think of it, it's entirely possible that he put the rest back where he found them.)

[Anne in CA]

By Very Old, do you mean Y2K old? lol

[Storygirl]

Oddly enough, I don't remember there even being water bottles (there must have been??).

 

There was no such thing as individual bottles of water during my childhood. I'm in my mid-forties. In fact, I remember when the bottled water craze began that it seemed crazy. Why would anyone pay for something they could just get out of their faucet for free? I thought the whole idea was crazy.

 

Says the woman who needs to add a case of bottled water to our grocery list, because DD just took the last one from the stash today.

[Murphy101]

I didn't have water bottles either. We all had to line up to use the water fountain.