Prep - how much food to take?

[Gigi]

we have to send a piece of fruit or veg, something for recess, and something for lunch. Plus i will bring an afterschool snack.
i found really thin icebricks in Coles for about $3. There are smaller, fatter ones (pack of three) that are bulkier (in supermarkets). I have never seen the disc ones some of you mention.

We can't send anything processed (like tub of yogurt, muesli bar, cracker n dip packets), no sugary treats like chips, cake.
Strong encouragement to ONLY put water in their drink bottles (which is fine with me).

I am imagining sending sandwich, skinny ice brick, whole piece of fruit that she can manage herself, like a banana, cut up fruit e.g watermelon pieces in snack container, a vegetable (like a carrot, that the SSO cuts up at F & V time in the morning), maybe some water crackers. I expect the first few weeks to be an experiment, fine tuning it as we go along.

so many "unknowns" (for me, a first time sending to school mum).

i have been having conniptions over WHICH lunch box, in WHICH insulated bag.
and making sure bilby could open and close those things all by herself.
Finally thought i had sorted that out, now the insulated bag doesn't fit in the backpack! fun n games.

[Phteven]

We have to send fruit for fruit break, lunch and a snack for recess.
In summer you can make sandwiches for the week on Sunday night and freeze them. If you put a frozen sandwich in the lunchbox in the morning it will be defrosted by lunchtime. Sushi balls can freeze too and so can yogurt.
DS2 seems to eat half his lunch after school because he's so keen to play that he only eats what his teachers make him eat which is generally a sandwich or a sushi ball.

[Astrid]

DD1's school has Brain food, snack and lunch. The encourage nude food.

Brain food (as it is eaten in the class room)- is either cut up fruit, veggie sticks or cheese (no crackers). On Fridays the fruit is provided for free and there is a share platter cut up
Snack: Sometimes muesli bar, choc banana muffin, pikelets, pretty much whatever I can find in the house (I bake batches of muffins and freeze them)
Lunch: Sandwiches and a yoghurt (same a Onyx, make a weeks worth at once and freeze, so important with lunch not being till 1pm). Occasionally will put in leftover dinner if it is suitable (eg sausage and salad)

Also use freezer blocks, even though some of the food is frozen.

[christy]

We sent a sandwich or something equivalent (wrap, sushi, etc), and 3 snacks, fruit, crackers/rice crackers, carrot sticks & hummous.... to keep it cooler I often will use a small ice block, but if there is sushi or something I run in and put it in the fridge (we have a small school with 15 students... K-6)