kbutton Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 7 hours ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said: I can do make our own lunchables but I’d like him to eat more than a few crackers and pieces of ham. My only one that went to school at that age ate massive amounts of food, and I tried not to send junk. I sent many things that were bento box compatible. They only had time to eat junk or stuff that they could slurp, so he was always hungry but came home with food. Sigh. Other kids gave him their stuff, and it came across like they didn’t want or like it so they were giving it to him, and so was annoyed that he was eating massive amounts of fruit vs. a variety (fruit had many slurpy forms like applesauce). Some fruit is fine, but at a point, it becomes extra sugar, but most kids ate lots of fast to eat fruit. When I was a kid, trading was common, so I didn’t think much of the fact that he ate food he didn’t take. The guidance counselor gently tried to ask me if we were having difficulty feeding the kids—apparently NO ONE noticed the enormous bag of food I sent daily (at home he would eat almost nonstop from waking up until lunch; he was still actually on the lean side), but a bunch of moms were slowly getting angry that they were feeding my kid. That is my “school lunches suck all the way around story.” Send things he can slurp if lunch is short, unless he does well without eating. Chewing takes too much time, and food that has to be chewed will be ignored. Mine didn’t do well without eating. Good luck. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 My kids have always preferred leftovers. I bought the thermoses that keep things warm for 18 hours (which actually means still warm at lunch). I put hot water in the thermos while the food gets up to boiling hot in the microwave. Then I use a canning funnel to avoid messes, and voila! I also have yogurt cups that first put frozen fruit, Greek yogurt, and a splash of maple syrup, and the lid holds granola separately. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Tiggywinkle Again Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Fortunately as a homeschool hybrid they have lots of leeway over lunch times and he has plenty of time to eat. He’s just picky and likes either warm foods or PB&J. Is everyone using a regular thermos? Like what I’d use for coffee? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 1 minute ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said: Fortunately as a homeschool hybrid they have lots of leeway over lunch times and he has plenty of time to eat. He’s just picky and likes either warm foods or PB&J. Is everyone using a regular thermos? Like what I’d use for coffee? Mine is wider than a coffee thermos. It has a screw on top that can be used for a bowl, but dd eats out of the thermos. This isn’t it, but it’s similar https://a.co/d/4NPgbk8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Guacamole comes in little cups which can be *frozen* and allowed to thaw slowly during the morning. I like the Walmart version better than Kroger or Trader Joes, just me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 44 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said: thermos Have you seen the thermal mugs? Yeti makes them but there are some knockoffs that will work fine. You could warm some baked beans to go in there. Trader Joes baked beans are delish and not so salty. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toocrazy!! Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I always did a thermos too. I think every day was buttered noodles. Not the greatest, but it is what it is! I also heated the thermos with hot water before putting in the noodles and they were warm at lunch. We also did cut fruit like clementines or strawberries and some hard cheese like Parmesan or cheddar. lots of kids like sunflower butter and jelly sandwiches for nut free ideas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I wonder if a thermos bowl would keep nuggets hot enough for him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Tiggywinkle Again Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 1 hour ago, Toocrazy!! said: I always did a thermos too. I think every day was buttered noodles. Not the greatest, but it is what it is! I also heated the thermos with hot water before putting in the noodles and they were warm at lunch. We also did cut fruit like clementines or strawberries and some hard cheese like Parmesan or cheddar. lots of kids like sunflower butter and jelly sandwiches for nut free ideas. He loves buttered noodles so that might actually work well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 1 hour ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said: He loves buttered noodles so that might actually work well. Tiggy, Aldi makes a brown rice and quinoa penne that has potassium, all the B vitamins but riboflavin, and some fiber. It scores higher nutritionally than typical white wheat type varieties. Do you think you could get him to eat that? With some real butter, some cheese on the side, and some fruit, I wouldn't feel bad about my youngster eating that every day to lunch under these circumstances. I have seen some thermos type soup crock containers that were single serving ish size and very wide mouth openings. Amazon had some. I have no idea what they weigh in terms of a little kid carrying one in a backpack. Might be worth checking out. My eldest boy, ever the picky eater, would eat deconstructed chicken parm. Shredded chicken, sprinkled with parmesan, butter noodles, and just a little pizza sauce on the side. He didn't like anything slathered with sauce. He would always take carrots and baby dill pickles plus an apple or banana with him to soccer. Same thing every time. I let it go. I would go nuts, but he was happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wathe Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 We are big thermos users for lunch: chili, stew, soup, butter chicken, curry, hotdogs (in hot water, send bun separately), pasta etc. You want a vacuum food jar. You get what you pay for with these. Cheapie "insulated" food jars do not keep food properly hot, which IMO is a food safety issue. We have both the Thermos King, in 2 different sizes, and the Stanley Adventure. Both are excellent. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) When my youngest kid went to pre-k, she ate baked beans in a thermos pretty much every day, with some kind of fruit, cut up red peppers, and some kind of treat. Sometimes a cheese stick or yogurt. I have a lot of kids who bring leftovers in thermoses, honestly. Usually there's some fruits or veggies and something crunchy on the side. Kids eat a ton of chips, goldfish crackers, whatever at school. I didn't use a coffee thermos, and most of the kids in my class at preschool don't either. It's something like this: https://www.target.com/p/thermos-icon-16oz-stainless-steel-food-storage-jar-with-spoon/-/A-88505762?preselect=86384001#lnk=sametab ETA: Scrambled eggs might even work in there. Not sure, would have to try, but if you follow the directions, they really do a pretty good job of keeping food hot. Edited January 30 by Terabith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 With re: to food jars, wathe suggested the two we like best. Note that you have to preheat the food jar and put in piping hot food to keep it at temp. I preheat my jars the lazy way—slide the food jar under my keurig and use the hot water button to preheat it. It’s a few degrees cooler than a boiling kettle’s water, but it’s close enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Tiggywinkle Again Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 3 hours ago, Faith-manor said: Tiggy, Aldi makes a brown rice and quinoa penne that has potassium, all the B vitamins but riboflavin, and some fiber. It scores higher nutritionally than typical white wheat type varieties. Do you think you could get him to eat that? With some real butter, some cheese on the side, and some fruit, I wouldn't feel bad about my youngster eating that every day to lunch under these circumstances. I have seen some thermos type soup crock containers that were single serving ish size and very wide mouth openings. Amazon had some. I have no idea what they weigh in terms of a little kid carrying one in a backpack. Might be worth checking out. My eldest boy, ever the picky eater, would eat deconstructed chicken parm. Shredded chicken, sprinkled with parmesan, butter noodles, and just a little pizza sauce on the side. He didn't like anything slathered with sauce. He would always take carrots and baby dill pickles plus an apple or banana with him to soccer. Same thing every time. I let it go. I would go nuts, but he was happy! We eat pretty much gluten free except for sandwich bread, so he’s used to the brown rice noodles. I will go look for those because that’s a good idea. he’s also all about freshly shredded Parmesan. It’s gotta be fresh unless it’s heavily processed McDonald’s or lunchables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 2 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said: We eat pretty much gluten free except for sandwich bread, so he’s used to the brown rice noodles. I will go look for those because that’s a good idea. he’s also all about freshly shredded Parmesan. It’s gotta be fresh unless it’s heavily processed McDonald’s or lunchables. LOL, I 100% agree with him! Parmesan should be fresh. This is the only way. The other stuff is just colored plastic shards. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said: he’s also all about freshly shredded Parmesan. Next he can try pecorino romano and go to the next level. 😄 Edited January 30 by PeterPan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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