Lunch box ideas

will be interested to see some other ideas as well..

 

DD quite likes quiche in her lunchbox (I often make up a batch of mini quiches and freeze them and bring them out as needed). Otherwise she has some fruit, crackers (sometimes with chopped up cheese, cruskits with marmite, homemade jelly with pieces of fruit (she finds the store bought ones too hard to open), shapes crackers.

 

 

I'm a really "mean" mum, my school kids (10, 8, and 6) have to make their own lunches, and it's just breadmaker wholemeal bread with toppings (peanut butter, honey, jam or cheese), and fruit and carrots. They can pack as much or as little as they like.
But I've had no complaints from them since they started making their own about it being boring etc. We've never bought packet stuff though.
If there is leftovers from tea the night before they're happy to take them, especially sushi. (we do nori, rice, cucumber, egg roll, and usually either chicken or bacon.)
They love wraps too, countdown has the homebrand packets of tortillas, 15 for approx $4. Again they have to make that themselves, grated cheese, carrot, cucumber etc.
I've found it's been an easy way to give them some responsibility and since they've been making their own lunches they've come up with new ideas themselves.
I've said "no packet food" and it hasn't been hard for them to accept as they're taught the 5-plus-a-day, eating healthy etc stuff at school anyway.
It's a lot cheaper too. I found it's meant that they are now very interested in how I'm cooking tea, and ds is a very keen gardener as he wants to explore different types of vegetables and fruit (eg purple carrots and heirloom tomatoes, he's still getting the occasional strawberry from his greenhouse too). He loves taking stuff in his lunchbox he's grown himself. He was reading a cookbook and found a recipe for carrot and raisin salad so wants to make that this Sunday to take to school on Monday. Even DH is in on it, he's just bought some dwarf standard apple trees and two plum trees.
They know to bring home any leftovers for the compost or the chickens (neighbour's but we are getting our own soon), so I know what they aren't eating and they learn not to take too much.
Everything goes in plastic containers too (love the sistema stuff, lunchboxes, sandwich containers and smaller containers for raisins etc), so no having to buy gladwrap, baking paper etc.
The teachers have commented that they like to show off their lunches, so I'm assuming they are proud of making it themselves.
And as far as I know they aren't ogling the other kid's muesli bars etc, in fact dd8y said she told one of her classmates that his rollup was bad for his teeth and he should eat an apple instead. Not sure how that went down though!

thanks for the great ideas

will try mini quiches & little muffins. I have never frozen them before so when defrosted do you heat them before putting in the lunch boxes?

Hadlam noway to heat stuff at school...I wish though as they have been living off cheese toasties & chicken noodles these holidays lol.

tictacjunkie wow I am so impressed, think I am going to try doing what you do.

Kellz DS1 was a pkt lunch kid lol but now with DS3 at school it get ridiculous price wise. A box of bars only last 2 days

for the mini quiches I heat them up in the morning- just while I am having breakfast do doesn't take long. For frozen muffins I would take them out the night before.

 

DD has the nude lunchbox (the long one with compartments on each side plus the double sandwich box in the middle) and I love it. The 2 little containers are great for putting in snacks, chopped up fruit etc andI find its a good size to hold a pot of yoghurt (which I normally freeze overnight and then it defrosts while she is at school so its still cold) and whenever I use it I never need to use other wrappings.

Mum2ET thanks for that.

I was looking at getting that nude one x3 eeek $60 but if they are good then it will be worth it...do the lids slot in with tabs or are they fixed?

I make 95% of my boys lunch...

His healthy snack is a piece of fruit of his choice (the school does this at 9:30am every day)

Morning tea is a home made muffin. I made 3 different types and once a week I'll make another batch and so there's a choice in the freezer. I get him to choose which type he feels like that day.

Lunch: sandwichs with his choice of filling. Muesli bar (home made and I get about 18 for about $5 of stuff). Rice crackers/crackers. Another piece of fruit or some raisins. Ocassionally he will get yoghurt.

Jazzy I just had a quick look at the lunchbox and they are slotted in- but it looks quite hard to take them out.

ok so a rough calculation is $8 a fortnight. Which is $3+ on the glad 30 snack zip bags. I use 2 per child a day so a pkt a week & a sm plastic & foil roll in 2 weeks, so taking off school holidays so that works out to be $160 a yr wow so $60 for 3 lunch boxes does not look so bad now.

Kellz wrote: What do u do to keep sandwiches etc with fillings like cheese from going off? DD's bag hangs on the deck outside her class in the direct sunlight.

Could you get her an insulated lunchbox ? They have sme cool ones at the Warehouse. Then make her lunch the night before and put it in the fridge in teh lunch box overnight. Or freeze yoghurt and put that in in the morning

I either put in a small ice pack or a frozen yoghurt to keep things cool.

I think the warehouse also stocks the nude lunchboxes.