caedmyn Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 I’m done making kid lunches. DS12 basically won’t eat anything I make for lunch and I’m over the drama. I can’t let him make himself lunch without allowing everyone else to do the same thing so the older ones can all start making their own lunches every day. I need to come up with easy, relatively low mess lunch fixings to keep on hand. I refuse to buy TV dinners and fried food (taquitos, tator tots, chicken nuggets, etc). They are all perfectly capable of making themselves a basic meal. I have sandwich fixings but they’re not much on sandwiches. What else makes for good DIY kid lunches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Making extra dinner and having the leftovers the next day. Pre-cooked chicken breast strips and a variety of sauces. Assigning cooking lunch (and cleaning afterwards) to each of them in turn. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 My 12 yo dd is not a sandwich eater. She makes herself pasta- either homemade mac and cheese or a jarred sauce and salads. She also uses the precooked frozen chicken strips. She seasons them and puts them on a salad or in a bowl with veggies. She makes rice sometimes but usually just heats up some frozen veggies or makes a salad. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Pita pizzas. Pita bread, pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, toppings of choice. Takes about 10 minutes in the toaster oven. Two can fit in my toaster oven. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Our easy lunch things when the majority of our lunch makers were 8-10: 1. Frozen ravioli+ bagged salad 2. bbq chicken sandwiches (chicken in instant pot with bbq sauce, buns) + carrot sticks 3. various pastas 4. sandwich fixings + cut up veg 5. bread, fruit, cheese, lunch meat 6. microwaveable lentils (tasty bite madras lentils from Costco) 7. grilled cheese or quesadillas 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Around here lunch is either dinner leftovers or sandwiches. I guess they could also have yogurt with granola, but they usually save that for snacks. They also know they should eat a fruit or veggie (or more than one) with whatever they choose for the main dish. They can use pita bread or tortillas instead of sandwich bread, if we have them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Hummus and wheat crackers Tuna, seafood, or ham salad and wheat crackers Peanut butter and wheat preztels Peanut butter and rice cakes Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread Carrots & cucumbers with hummus or ranch dressing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 (edited) hard boiled eggs baked potato (made in the microwave or (if I'm on top of things) in the crockpot) bagged salad, sometimes fancy bags or if plain, then they could add croutons (when we went to DIY lunches, I decided to pay a bit more for some convenience foods or out of season veg that would be easier for the kids to manage - I think it's been worth it.) my non-sandwich lovers can sometimes be bribed into eating it if it is accompanied by some kind of chip they love. In other words, "you can only have Doritos when you eat a sandwich . If you choose something other than sandwich, that's perfectly fine, but you don't get chips with your lunch." but I usually try to have leftovers available for my non-sandwich lovers. Edited January 10, 2021 by domestic_engineer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 On 1/8/2021 at 2:13 PM, QueenCat said: Pita pizzas. Pita bread, pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, toppings of choice. Takes about 10 minutes in the toaster oven. Two can fit in my toaster oven. This is what we do often. I have bagged salad and dressing available and DS can make his own Naan or Pita Pizza and eat it with salad. I also keep black bean burger patties and all the accoutrements of a burger for a quick lunch. If not, we have plenty of frozen burritos on hand. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Echoing everyone above. Adding: - Bean burritos (you can make and freeze your own instead of buying the frozen ones at the store) - On the weekend, make a big batch of some kind of filling salad- lentil, quinoa, pasta, tuna... salads for example. These are great fillers, and a slice or two of cheese, some chopped fruit or veggies, a hunk of bread... and you have meal. - An omelet with some preprepared filling options, like pre-grated cheese, chopped meat from leftovers, sautéed mushrooms/peppers/onions... whatever the kids like. - Various soups, which can be frozen into individual servings for microwave. Same can be done with pasta sauce, sloppy joes/BBQ meat, etc. My grandma, who lived alone, would make a regular size batch, then freeze into muffin tins for herself to make portions. I think it's more about readjusting expectations of what a meal looks like, rather than any true difficulty in finding food kids can prepare or serve themselves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 homemade lunchables! In other words, cheese and crackers! I put out crackers, cheese slices, salami or pepperoni,maybe hummus and pretzels. That stuff plus some fruit or veggie - apples, grapes, berries, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes - is plenty lunch. I call it "snacky lunch" usually. Oh- and I have some peanuts out as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 When I bought the Cruisinart Griddler, and we started making paninis vs. sandwiches, happiness with eating paninis >>> happiness with eating sandwiches. Why? No clue. It really is just a warmed up squashed sandwich. Quesadillas. We use pita bread or naan for quick pizza crusts. Everyone can top as they desire, put in oven for 5-7 minutes. You can either go traditional pizza, or bar-b-que sauce as your pizza sauce, or Alfredo sauce, or pesto, or probably other things we haven't tried yet. I've also done some with just olive oil/vinegar/spinach/olives/feta/tomatoes - but it works better if you toast the bread first for anything slightly potentially soggy-making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 30 minutes ago, Bambam said: When I bought the Cruisinart Griddler, and we started making paninis vs. sandwiches, happiness with eating paninis >>> happiness with eating sandwiches. Why? No clue. It really is just a warmed up squashed sandwich. Haha. I was wondering if buying a Griddler would have this effect. If nothing else, it would be one less meal I have to hear complaints about since they made it themselves. But the-one-more-kitchen-appliance factor stopped me from proceeding. Maybe in light of your evidence I should reconsider ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Everything above ^^^ Instant oatmeal with fresh fruit. cheese toast, fruit, veg cheesy roll-ups (pre grated cheese on a tortilla/heated in microwave/rolled up) You could also try having everyone pack their own lunch the night before, just like if they were actually leaving for school the next day. I didn’t stay on top of it for long, but when we did that it made lunch so much quicker and smoother! Everyone (including me) just grabbed their lunch bag from the fridge and sat down to eat. Maybe I need to try that again... 🤔 Also, it allows for a break from each other during lunch. They can grab their lunch bag and eat outside or a different room or whatever. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 1 hour ago, domestic_engineer said: Haha. I was wondering if buying a Griddler would have this effect. If nothing else, it would be one less meal I have to hear complaints about since they made it themselves. But the-one-more-kitchen-appliance factor stopped me from proceeding. Maybe in light of your evidence I should reconsider ...... I have a little George Foreman grill that my kids use for paninis in case you have one of those. Or just a pan with a pan on top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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