What do u send your preschooler for lunch & when do u prep?

mummiedearest

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 5:19 pm

my kids are no longer preschoolers, but I don't see anything different. I send them with"

sandwiches
macaroni and cheese
meatballs, rice/pasta/baked potato
yogurt
broccoli kugel
chicken, rice/pasta/baked potato
cold cuts
potato knishes, cottage cheese
general leftovers

add fresh sliced cucumbers, carrot sticks, pepper sticks, pears, apples, grapes, or melon to any of the above options.

when do I prep? I make a weekly menu (kids' lunch and family suppers) in the beginning of the week. many of the kids' lunches are based on the assumption that there will be leftovers from the night before. I don't want to give them leftovers every day, though. they'd rebel. so occasionally I will cook up a large batch of something and freeze in individual portions. I currently have macaroni and cheese ready for the lunch boxes in the freezer, as well as pineapple meatballs. I made those last week, this week I'll work on something else. I don't defrost these, I just take the frozen container out of the freezer and stick it in the lunchbox. it defrosts by lunchtime. my kids are fine with cold food. if lunch is a sandwich, I make it that morning.

MiracleMama

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 5:26 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

I'm curious... I see you have milchigs and fleishigs... are there designated days at school or you can send what you like any day of the week? Curious because I am having a very hard time with our school's policies and wondering what other schools do.

mommy1108

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 5:27 pm

My little guy is so picky!!!! Can't send him much adult food so I try To make sure he has a protein and carb along with some healthy snacks/fruit/veggies

-pb on whole wheat
-toast w goat cheese
-bagel and cream cheese
-macaroni/ pasta w sauce and parm
-chicken nuggets
-yogurt w a bag of cereal
-whole wheat pita and chummis
-pizza

He gives me requests which I think is easier bc that will ensure he eats

I pack everything nonparishable before I go to bed and have the parishables waiting in an accessible spot where I won't forget them in the fridge.

I would love to try a salad and cheese and see if he'd eat it!

mummiedearest

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 5:27 pm

oh, and I forgot to mention hard-boiled eggs. simple and kid-friendly. if you want to make it fun, buy some egg molds:

http://www.amazon.com/APT®-plate-Heart-Rabbit-Shape/dp/B00ENZLB92/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1410125139&sr=1-1&keywords=egg+mold

I only use these for special occasions. they're totally fun Smile

also, you can use a cookie cutter to turn a sandwich into a fun shape.

another idea: set up the crock pot before going to bed. wake up to freshly cooked food. pack in container, send with kid to school. simple suggestion: chicken and rice. if you want the recipe, I'll post.

mummiedearest

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 5:30 pm

MiracleMama wrote:

designated days. one kid has fleishigs twice a week, the other only once. however, if you send in the wrong thing, one school has a separate table set up. the other school offers special trays as a hecker. call your child's school and find out what the procedure is if you send in fleishigs on a milchig day. they should have a policy. I do plan their lunches around their school lunch schedules. here's a tip, though: if you are sending in a par eve cream cheese sandwich, label it clearly. not all teachers believe kids when they say things are par eve...

mummiedearest

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 5:36 pm

mommy1108 wrote:

Oooh just saw the cottage cheese idea! Never thought to send that (imagine the mess on my son!) I'd like to try that. Thanks! What kind of container do you put it in?

any leak-proof container. the real mess is when they don't close it properly after eating and the whole lunchbox smells Smile

if you eat chalav stam, breakstone's sells individual cottage cheese containers. they have "snack sized" which come in a four pack and are four ounces each. they also sell "breakstone's cottage doubles" which are cottage cheese with a side of fruit jam (separate compartments). I get the doubles for my kids as treats sometimes. those would save you from lunchbox cleanup.

granolamom

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 7:16 pm

my preschooler is very picky. most days its a cup of yogurt and a bag of life cereal. sometimes mac and cheese, sometimes crackers and string cheese. I always add some cut up fruit or veggie, usually oranges or cucumber (her favorites) or whatever I happen to have in the house.

pobody's nerfect

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 8:14 pm

My picky boy eats cheese and bread in various forms. Sometimes noodles. Occasionally yogurt- he likes the tubes. He used uto take scrambled eggs but won't touch them anymore.
We also send lot of soy products- morningstar "chicken" nuggets, soy hot dogs, soy deli. And Dr. Praegers fish nuggets. Always with a not-so-little tub of ketchup.

I can't wait to pack for my 3 year old one day.... She eats adventurously and loves fruits and veggies! I have fun with cute plastic toothpicks, lots of containers, and cookies cutters.

mummiedearest

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 8:18 pm

gazingblue wrote:

I'm not the op and don't want to hijack this thread, but it caught my attention. So can I ask you ladies for ideas for dd (kindergarten). She is allergic to dairy and school does not allow meat lunches. Any good suggestions? TIA!

do they allow peanut butter?
is she allergic to all dairy, or just cow dairy? if she can have goats/sheeps cheese, your menu is a little bigger.

-any form of nut butter, if allowed.
-pasta with marinara sauce/plain
-hard boiled eggs
-soy-based dairy substitutes: yogurt, cream cheese, sliced cheese, etc.
-omelette sandwiches
-veggie sticks, pretzels, chummus
-fruit salad (include an umbrella toothpick for fun eating)
-fish sticks
-tuna fish in a number of forms: sandwich, patties, stuffed in a pepper
-egg salad
-rice, potatoes, etc with any of the above proteins
-quinoa salad (I do not have any recipes, I'm sure someone here does though)

MaBelleVie

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 8:21 pm

gazingblue wrote:

For proteins you can do fish sticks, chick peas (plain from a can or roasted), green beans, chumus, eggs in all forms, and whatever nut butters her school allows.

For starches you can do bread, crackers, pita chips, pasta, waffles, and rice.

I try to include a fruit and vegetable every day as well. One of my kids like to dip stuff in guacamole.

gazingblue

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 10:58 pm

Thanks for the suggestions. FYI her school is a nut free school--so no nut butters. I can't even send in her almond milk (she hates soy milk).

For those suggesting fish sticks, how can I send it that it doesn't get soggy and stays fresh?

chatouli

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 11:16 pm

My DS's preschool doesn't allow meat lunches but I spoke to the Morah and told her that he is lactose intolerant and must have a lactaid pill when he eats dairy. She is willing to give him the pills, but she asked if I'd like to send him meat lunches a couple times a week since even with the lactaid, it's easier on his stomach. I said yes please!! So no harm in asking the Morah if she can make an exception - meat is not the kind of thing that will cause a reaction in another kid like peanut butter, they just have to watch the kids more carefully and enforce the no sharing rule that is probably already in place.

Otherwise, whole foods sells a pareve "chicken" nugget that my kids actually ate.

MaBelleVie

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 11:29 pm

gazingblue wrote:

You can try pea butter, it's nut free. My kids never complained about the fish sticks being soggy. I send ketchup in a separate container.