Lunch box ideas

[Night Elf]

Did I ask this already this year? I must have but we're stumped. Dd needs ideas for a school lunch. I can put a small ice pack to keep something cold. I have small thermoses to take soup. She's tired of sandwiches. We'll do soup more often but what else can go into a thermos to keep it hot or cold? She doesn't like nuts. Her go to is a turkey or chicken deli sandwich. What am I missing?

[DawnM]

I got nothing.

 

Last year we did Co-op and my youngest got one of those thermal Bento boxes and took hot lunches......rice, meat, veggies.

 

My oldest is now in school.  He wants the same thing every single day.......traditional.....sandwich, cheese stick, cut up veggies, chips, cookies.  Maybe a yogurt or apple sauce cup.  

[Miss Tick]

There is something to be said for routine and minimizing decisions, and in that vein I took essentially the same lunch to work everyday for 8ish years. Hahaha.

 

What about salads, bean salad, coleslaw, pea salad, rice. Crackers and cheese and veggies? I guess I don't know what dietary limits you may be juggling.

[Um_2_4]

Is it a wide mouth thermos?

If so, pasta dishes maybe? Add some breadsticks and fruit.

Rice pilafs with meat and veges?

Rice with curry?

A wide mouth thermos really opens up options. DH used one when he worked at an off site office without a lunchroom/kitchen.

[happypamama]

Pasta dishes

Whole wheat banana bread and peanut butter

Pita bread and hummus

Leftover dinner  (That's what my DH takes for lunch most days, but he does have a microwave at his office.)

Chicken salad

Tuna salad

Fish/chicken/shrimp and rice

If she doesn't eat eggs for breakfast, hard-boiled or deviled eggs, or even an omelet sort of thing.

 

When I packed lunches for camp last year, it was some sort of deli meat, some type of cheese, bread or crackers, various cut up veggies, and various cut up fruit.  I'd have done PB, hummus, or yogurt but was concerned about mess; in a school cafeteria, I wouldn't have worried about that as much.  (Well, and I didn't want to do PB in case anyone was allergic to it because it was a small eating area.)

[Night Elf]

She has no dietary limits. She likes pasta salad but we've tried some prepared ones from our local grocery store and she thinks they are all oily. I made a pasta salad one time and I thought it turned out well but she ate little of it. She likes hummus and chips but I don't know how to buy that. Does it need to be cold? I have flat ice packs about the size of a sandwich that i was putting in her lunch box when she was taking cantaloupe every day. She switched to oranges and so we haven't needed the ice packs. I'm not sure how well they worked anyway. A salad might not be a bad idea. It can fit in the thermos and I can get two of them in her lunch box.

[gardenmom5]

pot stickers,

teriyaki

chow  mein

dutch baby (we've stuck left over breakfast db  in a thermos)

pizza -same as a db. cut it up, and stick it in.

spaghetti or other pasta

chicken salad

bbq pulled pork  (we make it in a crock pot) - bun is separate

taco filling - tortilla is seperate

chili

hot dog - in a drink thermos in hot water. drain the water first then you can remove the hot dog. bun is separate

 

eta: hummus is usually served at room temp. though I think it needs to be refrigerated after opening.

Edited March 28, 2016 by gardenmom5

[Night Elf]

Yes, it's a short wide mouth thermos.

 

I like the idea of rice and veggies or meat. Someone give me an idea on what they that would look like. We had meatballs that she put in the rice but I had to throw them out because she decided she didn't like them. She likes white rice best.

[zoobie]

She has no dietary limits. She likes pasta salad but we've tried some prepared ones from our local grocery store and she thinks they are all oily. I made a pasta salad one time and I thought it turned out well but she ate little of it. She likes hummus and chips but I don't know how to buy that. Does it need to be cold? I have flat ice packs about the size of a sandwich that i was putting in her lunch box when she was taking cantaloupe every day. She switched to oranges and so we haven't needed the ice packs. I'm not sure how well they worked anyway. A salad might not be a bad idea. It can fit in the thermos and I can get two of them in her lunch box.

 

The hummus will be fine in a lunchbox without an ice pack (assuming it's with her and not in a hot car). You can buy Sabra individual packs at Costco. Ice packs do work fairly well in an insulated lunch bag. Really not that big of a concern though if the bag is in a climate-controlled area for just a few hours IMO. (And I'm usually on the TOSS side of things with those threads, lol.)

 

There are tons of ideas online: 

http://www.easylunchboxes.com/blog/ 

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/category/children-adapting/school-lunches/

http://www.thekitchn.com/thinking-outside-the-lunch-box-10-sandwich-free-kids-lunch-ideas-222906

 

If you're on Pinterest, zillions more. :)

[Farrar]

I like having little bento box options. It makes it much easier a lot of the time. There's a set number of compartments. They're all small. I fit whatever we have in there and it's done. It doesn't matter that it doesn't match. I feel like it's often like making the kids some homemade lunchables or something. I generally try to do a little fruit, a little veg, some protein. Just whatever we have - leftover bits of meat, rolled up lunch meat, cheese into cubes, some carrots or celery or cukes or tiny tomatoes or whatever, a few slices of apples, some berries, a clementine, hummus or peanut butter in the little container, some nuts, a cheese stick, a tiny pile of crackers or chips, a little leftover roll... I've put so much random stuff in there together and it's fine. It's a nice way to use up all the last bits of things - that last chicken leg, that last couple of meatballs from dinner, etc.

[lewber]

We do pasta in a thermos here. After some experimentation we've found orecchiette stands up best:) we just serve with butter and salt or red sauce depending on the mood. Fruit, cheese cubes, yogurt, chips and salsa- beans in the salsa would be a good protein- piece of dark chocolate. These are our go-to's. Pretty much the same thing every day.

[bolt.]

My kids might be particularly accepting, because I intentionally normalized this kind of cold lunching from a young age, but we simply eat cold meats cut into bite size pieces (sometimes with dips) for protien.

 

Separately the lunch also includes any kind of cold veggie, various fruit, and a mostly-whole grain/starch item. My dairy-eater sometimes adds cheese, yogurt, or a hard-boiled egg. Occasionally the some bread and meat/cheese morph into a sandwich, but not very often.

 

For the meat, it's often bite-size chicken breast, pork chop, steak, leftover roasts of any kind (including turkey), crumbled spiced ground beef, taco filling meat, meatloaf fingers, burger fingers, cold shrimp, even cold leftover fish. I also go for processed lunch meats from time to time.

 

That used to sound weird to me too, but it works. I often cook batches of meat specifically for this purpose. I cool it, slice it, portion it for 2 or 3 servings per bag, and freeze the portions.

[Annie G]

A Cobb or chef salad with meat, or a chicken caesar salad is pretty filling, especially if you add a starch like a roll to have alongside it.  

 

My kids loved cold homemade chicken tenders, either alone or in a wrap or in a pasta salad. 

 

I make a soup every Sunday and put it into mason jars and dh takes one and heats it up for lunch every day.  Currently he's into a white chicken chili and it's very filling.  But there are tons of hearty soups that you could make and your dd could take in a thermos. 

 

Fruit is super portable and will round out any meal.  We usually keep things that are easy to grab and go- bananas, oranges, apples, or if I have grapes I bag them into snack size servings.  

 

 

[Chris in VA]

Dd takes her lunch every day. In addition to already mentioned items, she occasionally likes a Lean Cuisine-type meal. Just cook at home, and place in the thermos. It ups the variety. You can do more healthy options, like Amy's or other more organic varieties. Even just taking that once a week can add enough variety that it helps. (We like variety--ymmv!)

 

As far as "what does meat and veg/rice look like" just mix them. Chicken and rice is good, and stews or anything you throw in a crockpot (so, leftovers, basically) work great in a thermos. Dd's is only a cup or so, which means she needs other stuff in the lunch, too. Fruit salad or apple slices, hummus and carrots or pita (we just scoop it out of the container and put it in a tupperware-type container with the bread either wrapped up or even right in the container--it's thick enough not to move around), cheese (she likes the little round babybell with crackers or grapes)...

 

You can also do things she can make at school--put pulled pork in the thermos, for example, and bag the bun separately. Tacos, same way--include shells or tortillas separately, cheese with lettuce and tomatoes (or whatever you use) and then the meat in the thermos.

 

You can even do a small baked potato.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Chris in VA

[Carol in Cal.]

Tupperware has some great little salad sets for which the dressing is kept separate from the salad until right when you eat it.

To me that is crucial for a salad to really be presentable hours later.  They work well for dips also--the hummus or ranch dressing in the well, and pita chips or carrots in the salad part.

 

Tupperware also has smallish containers that I like. You can fill one with peanut butter, and dip wheat thins or celery in it at lunch time.  

 

Medium sized ones--fill with assorted cheese chunks.  Monterey jack (or pepper jack if she likes spicy food), sharp cheddar, farmer cheese, gouda, or swiss cheese fit the bill.  These are very filling.

 

For the thermos, I'd make chili, tortellini soup, black bean soup, white bean soup, many bean soup, won ton soup, or Greek lemon soup.  Those all are hearty, tasty, and hold well.  Also, if you have pasta casserole recipes (think 'feeds 6-8 people' hamburger and noodles dishes from the 70s) that you like, those would hold well in the thermos also.

 

 

 

 

[redsquirrel]

Do you have a freezer? I make calzones and freeze them. I also make spanikopita and freeze that for lunches.  I make them all sized to fit in the lunch box entree holder of course.  I pack things frozen the night before, they sit in a fridge overnight, and by lunch everything is thawed but cold. I've never bothered to send an ice pack and it's always been fine. But we live in the NE so for most of the school year its fairly cool.

 

I make soups and freeze those in thermos size potions and then make a grilled cheese sandwich and send those together.  Sometimes I add peeled apple slices to the grilled cheese and is a big hit. Some nights I make a tuna melt instead. I currently have lentil soup, split pea soup, and ministrone in the freezer. I just make it for dinner and then freeze whatever is left over. I specifically bought some containers that hold just the right amount for the thermos. It's easy to take them out the night before to let them thaw. Then I just heat them up and pour them into the thermos.

 

I make a lot of wraps, like I buy a spicy 'chicken' patties (we are mostly meat free) and heat it up with a slice of cheese, add some avocado and baby spinach and roll it up. Those are very popular. Or I make a refried bean and grated cheese with avocado roll up and send some salsa for dipping. Hummus and provolone cheese makes a good roll up as well.  I buy mini-pizza bottoms (like boboli but flatter) and make a pizza. I do have to cut them into quarters to fit them in the container, but that isn't a problem.

 

I save up leftover rice in a bag in the freezer and then make refried rice for lunches. It's so easy if you add some frozen carrots and peas and then whatever protein you like. We use tofu but you could use leftover chicken. Add some soy sauce and a dash of toasted sesame oil and it's delicious.

 

I keep big bags of frozen fruit in the freezer for lunches. I can just scoop up some blueberries or mango for his fruit serving. 

 

All our lunches have an entree, a vegetable and a fruit, but sometimes I skip the fruit and pack a hard boiled egg or some greek yogurt and fruit.

[HomeAgain]

My kids like to have cheese tortellini w/pesto, cold sliced grilled chicken with a cranberry dipping sauce (really a chutney), bread, and cucumber slices.  I can make extras the night before during dinner and throw it in the next day.

Another favorite is biscuit balls - shredded chicken, bbq sauce, and cheddar or taco meat & cheese inside a canned biscuit.  I can make those on a Sunday and have enough theoretically for the week. :P

Falafel, quinoa salad, linguine with thai peanut sauce or chili & ginger...tamales, since they're individually wrapped...um...We have Laptop Lunchboxes and bento boxes, so really it's whatever I throw in.  I'm not a fan of food art, but will keep things to the right size for the small containers.

[Wabi Sabi]

 A salad might not be a bad idea. It can fit in the thermos and I can get two of them in her lunch box.

Oh goodness, I would not put a salad in a thermos! They're fine in just a regular container and you can put dressing on the side so it doesn't get soggy.