Nut-free lunchbox ideas

I have just found out DD1's new school next year is nut free. I am really disappointed about this for several reasons, chief one being she LOVES nuts. LOVES THEM. They are a staple part of her diet AND her school lunch box, always have been, and it makes me cross she isn't allowed to eat them.

I choose the meusli bars she gets because they are crap-free, which means they are made with nuts. She loves trail mix we make together every week, and I make my own nut butters often for her sandwiches.

I refuse to give her a lunch box full of processed crap and useless food, so I need some new ideas that are TOTALLY nut free please and not boring!

I want to start giving them to her now so she can get used to it.

For main lunches or snacks? Lunches, things like salad and hummus wraps, homemade sushi rolls, bean salad, homemade savoury slices (like dill and feta). Snacks, fruit skewers or salad, crackers and cheese, dip, bread and olives, cold meats rolled up with a toothpick, sweet slice or fruit muffin.

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For main lunches or snacks? Lunches, things like salad and hummus wraps, homemade sushi rolls, bean salad, homemade savoury slices (like dill and feta). Snacks, fruit skewers or salad, crackers and cheese, dip, bread and olives, cold meats rolled up with a toothpick, sweet slice or fruit muffin.

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If you can pull off that stuff every day for your DD's lunch, you're a better mum than me!!

In fact, PZ, can you pack my lunch for me??!! ;) :lol:

Most schools are nut free these days. I just go for muffins and slices or bickies without nuts.

Lol! My mum used to make that sort of stuff for my lunch and my brother's lunch...I'll see how I go in a few years :think:

Popcorn.
Yogurt squeezies (freeze them in summer)
home made museli bars
Cheese/baby bel
savory muffins

Try googling bento boxes - although you mightn't want to get as extreme as some of the japanese mums.

Give her the trail mix and muesli bars as an after school snack so she isn't missing them totally!

My DD loves avocado and cheese sandwiches. Other things I put in her lunchbox for kinder are cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, cheese, homemade muffins/biscuits, fruit pieces or whole fruit, yoghurt, cruskits with vegemite, rice crackers.

I find this stuff so frustrating too. My son loves nuts and doesn't eat any grains so I'm left with coconut flour to make him things for school.

Mini-muffins and then everything else you can cook in a mini-muffin pan- quiches and meatloaf are good.

Anything eggs- boiled eggs, pikelets, fish cakes (I basically make these pikelet things with a can of salmon & 2 eggs).

Homemade crackers with seeds. Salted roasted seeds. All seed things are a good way to go nut free too- sunflower seeds make a good "nut" butter.

You will find that pretty much every school in Melbourne is nut-free. We have 14 kids (including my DD1) who are anaphylactic to nuts so there is a very good reason why they are nut free. You can give nuts as an after-school snack.

For lunches we pack fruit - bananas, mandarines, apples; squeezy yoghurt, wraps with avocado cheese meat and salad, dried biscuits, home made mini-muffins, popcorn, crudites and dip, home made slices

There are so many things you can make and pack that are nut-free.

We do the following for kinder lunchbox:
- Fruit salad or just fruit
- Popcorn
- Rice wheels or rice cakes
- Salada or equivalent with a non-nut spread
- Hummus
- Kabana, cheese
- Cheese & crackers
- Homemade mini cupcakes/muffins
- Cut up capsicum, olives etc...
- Sandwich

Hello,

Saw this and had to reply.

My DS has a nut allergy. I get annoyed with people's blaise attitude to it. My son isn't anaphylactic but we have regular testing and you never know... It is quite scary to watch a reaction. I'm sorry it is a pain for you not to bring nuts but I think every child deserves to be safe at school. We encounter this problem everywhere so it would be nice not to have to worry about it at the place he will be spending so much time in!

It's still annoying though, especially for children who are allergic and intolerant to other foods. My DD can't have dairy or yeast so we use nuts in a lot of things too. Doesnt leave much for her to eat. But I get it my brother is allergic to nuts.

Sometimes I think that schools need to take thing son a case by case basis.
We had a child who had life threatening reactions to strawberries and seafood at school for the last couple of years so the school had a policy where those foods weren't allowed but now they have left so it's tuna sandwiches and strawberries all round. The nut kid is still there (although no-one knows who s/he is) so we continue with the nut free policy. We're a small school so the policy can be flexible but in a large school I guess there is much less room for flexibility.
A life threatening or fatal reaction isn't just traumatic for the child who reacts. It distresses teachers and fellow students too. By adhering to a nut free policy we save ourselves the trauma of being the person who was responsible for little Suzy being rushed off in an ambulance.

I agree with both sides of the argument - and depending on my mood will side with one or the other (mature I know!!). My DD2 is a nightmare to feed but something I know she will always eat is a peanut butter sandwich so my child can effectively go hungry due to the requirement not to take nuts so others can be safe. The flip side is that I have a nephew who is anaphylactic and I would hate to think of him eating something he shouldn't. Hard to get the balance, and unless I'm in a particularly obstinate mood I will favour the side that keeps all kids safe, albeit not giving them what might be their first choice to eat.

My kids have a piece of fresh fruit, rice crackers and dried fruit (either pineapple or sultanas) for morning tea. They then have a sandwich for lunch. I'll also put in either homemade fruit or savoury muffins, muesli slices etc for after their sandwich, or plain biscuits like Scotch Fingers if I haven't done any baking.

As others have said, I save the nut stuff for after school snacks so that's when the kids will have muffins with almond meal, peanut butter etc.

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My DD2 is a nightmare to feed but something I know she will always eat is a peanut butter sandwich so my child can effectively go hungry due to the requirement not to take nuts so others can be safe.

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This has been my issue. I understand that children's lives are very important so of course we never send nut products to school but it's still frustrating in trying to care for my own child. I get frustrated with society in general that things like nut allergies are becoming so common and rather than fix our lifestyles and stop the epidemics we just ban an otherwise healthy food.

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I agree with both sides of the argument - and depending on my mood will side with one or the other (mature I know!!).

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LOL, me too.
I will admit that sometimes at 7am when I'm making sandwiches I find myself thinking less than charitable thoughts about allergies and sharing but I don't have to make sandwiches today so I'm feeling a little more well disposed to the nut kids.

I suppose when just the breath of a child who's eaten a peanut butter sandwich can be life threatening it's easier to understand. It does make it very hard to pack an interesting lunch though.

I actually think that nuts are used and eaten more than we ever used to. Go back hundreds of years and did they eat peanut butter? It's something I'm curious about.

I'm lucky the school I'm sending DS to next year takes allregies quite seriously. Apparently they have a girl there that they describe as being allerguc practically to everything and they have managed to keep her well.

We've never been huge nut eaters so I don't find it to be such an annoyance to exclude it, even before DS' allergy.

I'm curious as to the lifestyle changes that would eradicate allergies? I would have thought obesity would be at the top of the list of things that should be fixed, that causes many many problems for individuals and society yet that is swept under the carpet. I often get upset looking at the rubbish people eat then my boy gets the allergy when we eat very well (sigh)

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I suppose when just the breath of a child who's eaten a peanut butter sandwich can be life threatening it's easier to understand. It does make it very hard to pack an interesting lunch though.

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Apparently that lady of the biggest loser lost her son to anaphylaxis, not sure what caused it. It is very sad and very serious.

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I'm curious as to the lifestyle changes that would eradicate allergies? I would have thought obesity would be at the top of the list of things that should be fixed, that causes many many problems for individuals and society yet that is swept under the carpet. I often get upset looking at the rubbish people eat then my boy gets the allergy when we eat very well (sigh)

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Hopefully Meow will pop back in and reply but.....
there is a large body of research that suggests that our homes are too clean (because of all the amazing cleaning chemicals we use) and that children benefit from eating dirt more often. An allergic reaction (not an intolerance) is an out of control immune response. Basically we have an immune system that is designed to cope with a certain level of dirt and parasites and without the dirt it can react to harmless stuff. In one study they gave people who had allergies tape worms. In most cases the allergic responses they had reduced and at the end of the study a lot of them chose to keep their tape worm because they had coped so much better with life while they had parasites.
Also processed foods and the traces of nuts - apparently the traces might cause allergies because in traces the body mistakes it for pathogens not food.

And I don't think that obesity is swept under the carpet. Every time I go to the shops I go past the signs for the swap it campaign.

And if you go back hundreds of years they may not have eaten peanuts in a spread but yes, they did eat nuts. We eat more of everything than we did before.

Spare a thought for the bee-sting kids - it's not like anyone can ban bees :(

Kids are taught to take it very seriously (at least at my DD's school). She won't eat peanut butter or nutella at all at home because she says it could get on her hands or clothes and she could smear it on something in the classroom. She also worries about breathing peanuts on her classmate.

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Hello,

Saw this and had to reply.

My DS has a nut allergy. I get annoyed with people's blaise attitude to it. My son isn't anaphylactic but we have regular testing and you never know... It is quite scary to watch a reaction. I'm sorry it is a pain for you not to bring nuts but I think every child deserves to be safe at school. We encounter this problem everywhere so it would be nice not to have to worry about it at the place he will be spending so much time in!

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No, you actually didn't "have" to reply at all - especiialy since you didn't actually address the question. But thanks ever so much for turning my thread asking for help into a debate, without contributing to solving the original question posed (which one would imagine you could do given your position of having to live nut-free 24/7).
It isn't a "pain" as you put it, it is beyond a "pain", as my daughter has *other* intolernaces and diet restrictions that mean nuts are an integral part of her diet. So NOT being allowed to use them at all poses a very real issue for me in practical terms, hence why I was asking for help. I use nut-based flours, oils, spreads, whole nuts...in everything from cakes and slices to frying and her meusli. Her standard snack is nuts. She has been to a day care, a kindergarten and a primary school here where despite them having nut-allergies in the school, they do NOT enforce a blanket nut policy, which I appreciate, as it isn't JUST nuts that cause problems for some kids and in fact the nuts that are the SOLUTION to those families.
So, I assure you, I am not blasé about anything, simply trying to find a solution to a problem that is *frustrating* to me and many others.

If you would like to debate, vent, or otherwise argue the merits for or against these policies, or societal responses to allergies or obesity or anytring else UNhelpful to the OP, please start a thread. Otherwise, would appreciate you stepping out or offering something valuable to the question posed.

Maybe you should approach the school regarding an exemption and to find out if there are currently any children at the school with life threatening reactions. Because some schools are nut free just in case and that's, ummm..... Nuts.

lol Yes, there are actually several kids with nut allergies in the school. The nut-free thing is fine with me, but it is frustrating for some people, myself included, just as I am sure *having* the allergy in the first place is frustrating to those families.
Hence why I have asked for some help in finding alternatives that can work for us.

"and it makes me cross she isn't allowed to eat them."

I didn't have any intention of hijacking your thread, I got upset when I read the above. No need to get nasty, don't write something like the above if you don't want someone like me to comment on it. If you had simply asked for suggestions and that was it I wouldn't have needed to reply like I did. I was actually going to give you suggestions until I read the tone of your thread.

That is how I feel, how I felt when I wrote it. I didn't invite comment on it, nor was it a tone for anything. I asked for suggestions for the situation I was in, nothing more. When I want a morallity and ethics lesson from you, you can be sure I will spell it out plainly, not in a passing comment on my state of mind.

I find it really difficult to feed my boys nut free for the same reasons, other dietary restrictions mean that nuts are a valuable source of protein, fats and other micro-nutrients which aren't addressed by many suggestions. the school says "sandwich and fruit" but doesn't suggest what a sandwich for a vegetarian child could be. Lunches would be boring and not eaten because of the lack of variety. I personally feel that if the school wants to have food policies they should be feeding the children. I was told that any nutritional deficiencies caused by not having nuts or eggs in food should be addressed outside of school hours (regardless of whether there are ANY allergic children at the school the policy remains in force) yet they insist on having "healthy eating policies". Grrr. but anyway I would love some helpful nut and egg free and filling suggestions for vegetarian children that can be prepared in advance. Pasta, rice and noodle salads don't get eaten unfortunately:( so I am running out of food that will last them the distance!

TBH I didn't realise how easy I have it in relation to food choices for my daughter. I did post what we give her for lunch & snack for kinder however, given there are other food intolerances/allergies I have no idea if they were helpful or not? There is a website that is gluten, dairy & wheat free called the naturopaths kitchen and in addition Janella Purcell does do some lunchbox ideas that are a little the same way inclined & she is much more vegetarian friendly as she eats that way everyday. Perhaps have a look at those sites Jessiebean & Limeslice (?) and see if they are of some use. I hope you can find something suitable and not so boring for your little poppets.

Falafel
Vegetarian mini pizza
Salad wraps
Veggie skewers

our kinder is nut, egg, seasme and smearable dairy free ,hard cheese is allowed)
but our school has no restrictions as a whole...and there are kids with serious allergies so i assume its done on a class by class basis

We pack a variety of different things and I try to do any "baking" stuff on the weekends. But here's a snap shot of what dd gets for snacks and lunches....

"the Deli Select" aka kabana, cheese, rolled up ham.
Popcorn
Crackers and dip (hommus is the fav)
Vegemite sandwhiches
Plain butter sandwhiches (I dare not argue)
Home made mini muffins
Veggie sausage rolls
Chicken schnitzle (we have to have it for dinner once a fortnight so she can have left overs for school)
Fruit tubs
Yoghurt tubes
Ham and cheese with crackers
Sausages
Cucumber sticks
Mini tomatoes
Mushrooms

Good luck. I find lunch boxes to be very frustrating at times!

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TBH I didn't realise how easy I have it in relation to food choices for my daughter. I did post what we give her for lunch & snack for kinder however, given there are other food intolerances/allergies I have no idea if they were helpful or not? There is a website that is gluten, dairy & wheat free called the naturopaths kitchen and in addition Janella Purcell does do some lunchbox ideas that are a little the same way inclined & she is much more vegetarian friendly as she eats that way everyday. Perhaps have a look at those sites Jessiebean & Limeslice (?) and see if they are of some use. I hope you can find something suitable and not so boring for your little poppets.

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Thanks for the tip offs for the websites I will have a look!
olive-wow sesame and smearable dairy free as well.. I would just cry! I feel for the parents who have allergic children but I think I would just have to choose another kinder as that list takes out most of the food I make!

http://www.phoenixallergynetwork.org...lylunchbox.pdf
this has some more interesting ideas.
I am stuck on muffins and pikelets at the moment and biscuits for the egg free school lunch (chocolate is allowed however!)

its not that bad tbh...egg is fine in muffins etc..just not boiled etc...
DD has stuff sucn as fruit, hard chesse, a mini muffins, vegie sticks, rice crackers etc..

I had a think overnight here is a list (which I want to expand on as I am not happy with variety)
pizza scrolls (or cheese and sweet chilli or spinach and cheese)
toasted seeds(pumpkin and sunflower with soy and sweet chilli)
carrots
muffins
yoghurt with berries
fruit
cheese and crackers
honey and tahini sandwiches
cheese sandwiches (avocado as well for five year old)
pita chips and dip (tbh the dip is rarely eaten unless we are at home)...
will wrack my brains for more after school run...
there is so much cheese on this list!

Chickpea patties, pita bread filled with spinach, olives, capsicum, cucumber, hummus, focaccia with roasted veggies, tuna and rice, grain salad (grains, capers, sultanas), homemade veggie chips. The list goes on. There are SO many lunch options without nuts, even without meat and dairy, it's just a matter of getting creative.

popcorn
pikelets
red capsicum strips...
Ok now I am becoming obsessed and must find lot's of ideas and add them to my pinterest...

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Chickpea patties, pita bread filled with spinach, olives, capsicum, cucumber, hummus, focaccia with roasted veggies, tuna and rice, grain salad (grains, capers, sultanas), homemade veggie chips. The list goes on. There are SO many lunch options without nuts, even without meat and dairy, it's just a matter of getting creative.

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...and finding things that actually get eaten- our eldest is given 10 minutes to eat so anything like noodles or sushi or pita stuffed with salad is off the list- he doesn't have time to eat it with his five year old hand eye co-ordination! TBH he even finds cheese sliced up on a sandwich a challenge when eating on the run which is why scrolls work well for him.

Just on the subject of variety...... I know that all children are different but mine actually seem to thrive on monotony. I suspect that variety is more important to adult than children. Every day for 2 years I have asked DS2 what he wants on his sandwich and every day without fail he says hommus. Once he astonished me by asking for philly cheese and honey but then 2 minutes later he said that he'd changed his mind and he wanted hommus. About once a week he asks if he can have peanut butter even though he knows the answer is no. DS1 mixes it up by which I mean that he usually asks for the same thing for 3 weeks and then he changes to something new and asks for that for 3 weeks. I try for a bit of variety in the snack department but I'm pretty sure that they would be ok if they got the dame snacks and fruit every day.

Wow I envy you actuallly, our boys are real divas when it come to variety, both of them cope poorly with being given the same food more than 2 days in a row, the three year old doesn't like anything 3 times in a week. It's pretty funny actually to seem them throwing their weight around about their food (sometimes) but can be very exhausting too. They really liked bran muffins for a while ... I might try to make them with more wheatgerm adn less bran (too much fibre for tiny guys!)

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Chickpea patties, pita bread filled with spinach, olives, capsicum, cucumber, hummus, focaccia with roasted veggies, tuna and rice, grain salad (grains, capers, sultanas), homemade veggie chips. The list goes on. There are SO many lunch options without nuts, even without meat and dairy, it's just a matter of getting creative.

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There are several restrictions to that though - like them being able to eat it unassisted, time constraints of how long the school gives them to eat lunch (if they don't finish it in time, they can't go out and play), their normal likes/dislikes, how long it takes to prepare these things at home, how long they keep vs cost (especially if it is something only C is eating). Needing to be creative is one thing, having time to find out the hard way what works and what doesn't, whilst being a full-time studying, part-time working, single mum of 2 kids, is the hard part. ;)


Really loving all these suggestions! Thanks :) And those links are really helpful, too.

Onyx - this is another issue - changing her mindset about it. Her lunch is most days a variation of peanut butter (with celery and cheese; honey and banana; carrot and cheese; onion; vegemite lettuce and cheese....yes, all though WITH peanut butter, she is wacky! lol) But that is what she likes, she *likes* eating PB everyday and enjoys it. So the monotony is there, I vent my variety frustrations on her snacks usually (lol) but it is going to require changing her mindset. That's why I'm asking early, going to start trying things out on her and see what she actually likes and doesn't like before school starts. FX! :)