Brown Bag Special??

[mommy2boyz]

Brady will be starting a 3 day-a-week parents day out program at a local church in the fall. I have to pack a lunch for him. I'm struggling with ideas for healthy lunches to pack besides the usual sandwich, fruit, pita pocket or pb&j. They do have a microwave handy to heat up the food. He's not a picky eater, but I wanted to try them out here at home first. I'd hate to send something that he wouldn't eat and he be hungry for hours. So, what ideas do you have? What do you feed your kiddos for lunch? What do you pack in their lunchboxes?

 

[AlliJ2008]

I can't believe I am even going to admit this online in a public forum but my son will not eat meat. This has lasted much longer than I ever anticipated (we are going on about 2 years now) so I have to get really creative for lunches. Plus his preschool has a no nut policy (like many schools these days) so I can't even make him pb&j.

I do use almond butter sometimes after having gotten permission from his school. I also pack him hummus & pretzel crackers (at my SuperTarget they sell this in a little travel one serving size set which is great for lunch if your son will eat hummus), yogurts, juice boxes, apples/fruit, dried fruit/sometimes trail mixes, cheese cubes & crackers, bagel with butter, tortilla wrap with cheese, granola bars, I'll come back if I think of anything else we put in lunches. This is such a hard one for me & I struggle all the time with my picky eater!

 

[talktoheather]

Well. Since my kids are all out of college now... Err I mean. Since I can't help you with personal experience, I will direct you to one of my favorite blogs. http://thislunchrox.com/ her ideas are so creative and I love her photography too. Totally a win win. Hope that helps.

 

[arisu]

I like homemade hot pockets. They aren't /super/ healthy (ham and cheese), but they aren't that much unhealthier than sandwiches and they are so yummy!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/07/kids-week-homemade-hot-pockets.html

I pack spaghetti and meatballs for myself sometimes.. Let's see. What else did I pack? I LOVE caprese salads. Mozzarella, tomato, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil. It might be a little more grown up though.. and it leaked a few times..

One of my favorite lunches with beef stir-fried with lettuce with some rice. Sushi is fun too!

 

[mommy2boyz]

All great, yummy ideas guys! Thanks!

And Heather...wow!! That's just what I'd been looking for...a great blog full of fun, fresh, healthy lunch ideas! Perfect!!

 

[lmccandless]

I do modified Bentos for my kids. My little one will eat pretty much anything if I cut it into cute shapes. My oldest is gluten free so that takes some creativity. There are tons of Bento sites with ideas for healthy, Americanized lunches.

Here's one of my favs. She has some really good ideas on how to get started and fun combos.
http://www.anotherlunch.com/p/my-favorites.html

 

[mommy2boyz]

Wow! Another great website, Laura! I'd never heard of Bentos before...of course I'd never had a kid who needed to pack a lunch either! LOL!

 

[groenhop]

I was going to recommend the same site that Heather did. I have to send lunches with my son to school everyday because of allergies. It gets hard to come up with new ideas.

 

[Sara]

Ohhh I'm watching this thread too! Bugga will be headed to Kindergarten and we have to send lunches every day as well. So I'm in the market for creative healthfyl lunch ideas with a side of "how to help my picky eater eat well". Great recommendations so far!

 

[crystalbella77]

anyone that wants bento boxes and things can pm me and I will sell them cheap! I have all unused stuff that I do not need

My kids are sooooooooooo picky I couldn't get them into bentos either. The boys anyways. Stella loves anything little and cute. hahaha! I love all these ideas!!

 

[Kelleanne]

I am so glad you started this thread. My kids are soooo picky that I literally make them the same lunches day in and day out and they aren't nearly as healthy as I would like them to be. I am going to go check out some of these ideas.

 

[amandajane]

I do bento sometimes too and love anotherlunch.com.

Some other things my kiddos really like are cheese and lettuce sandwiches, cheese crackers dip and vegie sticks, summer rolls and sushi, cheese and baby spinach quesadillas, pasta salad with cooked pasta ham cherry tomatoes and a little pesto or fresh basil, and the favorite is chicken caesar salad with cooked chicken nuggets cut into thirds cos lettuce and ranch dressing in a container.