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DD1 starts school next year and she's a fussy eater. To the point that if she doesn't like it, she won't eat. I want to try different homemade snacks this year so I have some guaranteed winners for her lunchbox next year and then I have one less thing to worry about!
What do your kids love and can you share the recipe here? Looking forward to giving everything a shot.
Been thinking the same. DS is the same as your DD. He'll eat crap but I'd like him to eat healthier.
Subscribing for ideas!
My DD will be in year 1 when she goes back to school and I learnt very quickly that, unfortunately, kids will only want what the other kids have..
I once packed a little ham, cucumber and cream Cheese wrap for my DD which she devours at home but did not touch at school, when I asked her why she said all of her friends had Vegemite sandwiches and she didn't want to be 'weird'... Which made me sad..
The saving grace is "crunch and sip" which the school runs which is like afternoon tea and they all have to bring in a piece of fruit/cut up veg and a bottle of water and they eat it at afternoon tea..
I usually make sure she has a healthy breakfast and my usual lunch box is filled with:
Sandwich (usually Vegemite because "that's what everyone else has")
Le snack - which is cheese and crackers
Muesli bar - like the uncle tobys yoghurt top ones
A piece of fruit/carrot sticks
And a juice box
She also takes a drink bottle with water
I have resigned myself to this because I would rather her eat a bit of junk at school then not eat at all because the other kids will think her food is weird if she pulls it out..
On another note- make sure they can open the snacks/food you pack them.. I sent DD off to school on the first day and she came home and told me that the teacher had to open her juice box and peel her mandarin and I could have kicked myself because I realized that I had always done it for her!!
I have a recipe for a homemade LCM type bar, but i want to test out how they go in a lunchbox, cos they tend to go bit crumbly out of the fridge for too long (coconut oil is the binder).
ANZAC slice is a winner for everyone here, and it can be frozen and easily defrosts in a short while. Can post recipe if you interested.
Makes me sad that "all the others have vegemite sandwiches" is still the norm. Dd devours salads - it's her go to meal - am hoping she will still want it at kinder/school!
We are planning in sending fruit (probably a banana it apple until she learns to peel mandarins) yogurt (we buy big tubs so will send an easy open container for her, sultanas, and will have to make up muffins or slices that are healthy. From what I can gather, her kinder is very much against fruit boxes - they prefer the kids to drink water or milk. I can't work that out. I'm sure a fruit box will keep better than milk!!
It took me by surprise too briggsy! I thought in this day and age surely there would be a variety of different food in kids lunch boxes, but it seems that it's all the same food!
Muffins and Yoghurts are a really good idea!
If you make the food look cool and fun them they are more likely to pull it out of their lunchbox! I have an apple peeler that peels the skin off the apple in a really big spiral- it looks like a big slinky and DD loves it and always eats it!
The good thing about schools now is that they are encouraging better eating - we aren't allowed to pack lollies or bags of chips - but I understand juice boxes are still allowed.. I don't think I would pack milk it just doesn't keep very well!
The only milk I can think that would keep well us uht milk - big m's in poppet packs, or uht in the 1L cartons on the shelves, but I think even that wouldn't keep fantastically if out of the fridge once the big pack has been opened....
I reckon I could count on a single hand how many times dd has asked for a vegemite sandwich in the past 18 months! Will be interesting to see how we go. She has already told me if will be a fight fur the last wraps for lunches - hope she keeps that resolve!!
If I'm honest, I'd be quite happy for DD1 to give me that line! She doesn't eat what the other kids eat at kinder! Vegemite sandwich? Not a hope here!
HotI - would love that recipe, whenever you've got time.
I just talked to dh about this thread. He replied "pffft, she won't be limited to bananas and apples, we can quarter her oranges, we can send grapes or strawberries or sultanas..."
He has also suggested crackers and cheese. Dd would live to take similar snacks to me (almonds or peanuts) but the kinder is but free (and thankfully dd knows about allergies because one of her little friends has a nut allergy).
I'm finding it difficult to get my head around the notion of a set packed lunch when dd is such a grazer. It's bit unusual for her to barely touch breakfast but to ask for baked beans mid morning or a snack. Or a plain bread roll. I am really undecided on what to pack for her. I don't want her to feel like she has to eat everything we pack but I suspect she may just decide to anyway sometimes. It is going to take some adjusting for all of us I think.
I think there is a thread somewhere with healthy snacks/recipes but am on my phone so can't easily look. I am going to be doing some cooking on weekends for the next couple of weeks/months to experiment. May have to clear a space in the freezer for snack stuff.
Re fruit, if your children like berries, buy the frozen ones and put them in a well sealed container and the will be great for morning snack or lunch.
I have a white food kid. At the start of the year, that was all he ate, but with the other kids eating different stuff, he has begun to try a heap of different things.
Our kinder didn't actually allow home baked stuff, and certainly no biscuit/slices/cakes. Muffins were allowed but only little ones.
I sent in
squeezy yoghurt (I have the reusable pouches, but I find them totally gross to clean out)
cut up cucumber/carrot/celery
rice cakes
rice cracker/jatz and cheese/hummus
fruit cut up (can secure with a rubber band in it's original form to prevent it going brown)
sandwiches cut into small shapes (as a snack)
boring I know. i hate sending the same thing over and over. They however seem to prefer it.
I'm trying to think of things that DD will want for 4yr old Kinder lunch this year as she will be there at lunch time.
At 3yr old Kinder for her morning tea I packed the same thing everyday (it was only 2 mornings a week) -
Which is
Fairy Pikelets - like fairy bread
Rice Crackers
Tiny Teddies
Fruit (Grapes, Strawberries, Apple)
These are things she will also eat EVERYDAY at home - she just wants to same food all the time. I can sometimes change it up and she will have salad with ham and crackers, but don't want to do that everyday for her or she will start to refuse to eat it.
Biggest problem I have is that DD hates butter/margarine on her fairy pancakes so I use Nutella but due to allergies at her new kinder I don't know what else to use as she doesn't like any other spread of any kind.
BG - our kinder does not allow fruit boxes either. Water water water. I realise that lot of us would only ever give juice as an occasional treat, but not everyone is as aware of the sheer quantity of sugar that goes into drinks targeted at children. So it's best for everyone to just make it a rule.
Kim - you are awesome. I never thought of sticking a rubber band around the apple to put it back together! You just blew my mind! If only I'd known earlier.
Yes, definitely water here. Dd has her drink bottle for kinder and has been using it already! We occasionally have juice boxes if mum brings them over for some reason. Can't say I've bought any myself though
I like the idea of rubber band around fruit.
My DD is going into grade 2 so third year of school and has never once said that she wants what other kids have!!
She gets next to no junk, only junk would be the occasional tiny teddy pack.
I've learnt food needs to be easy/quick to eat, they need o eat quickly to avoid being left last after friends have finished and gone to play, sounds odd but it happens!!
We mostly have fruit, cheese or yoghurt and homemade energy balls or oat type slices. Hardly ever tiny teddies more inclined to put in rice cakes. It will be harder with dd2 as she only eats bananas, watermelon or dried fruit but hoping she will be hungry enough to eat what she is given.
My kids have never ever ever asked for food that other kids have. I have had other parents ask me for recipes though ;)
Yep. I have had kinder say I should come in and do cooking lessons, along with some parents saying their DD's now ask for certain food since seeing it in DD1's lunchbox.:
DD1 will sometimes comment on what someone else has in their lunch box, like share packs of lollies every day, but has not directly asked for any herself.
We put in whatever fruit is in season. Most keep ok in a small sealed container in the bigger lunchbox till lunchtime eg mandarin already peeled, cut up orange etc. Dd1 loves getting kiwi or passion fruit cut in half with her own spoon for scooping. We do sandwiches, (usually Vegemite- she's less adventurous for school than home lunches) and cheese cut off the block into 'cheese sticks' or yogurt in a tightly sealed container or pouch. Would love to do more home made stuff though, even plain plain pop corn maybe but muesli slices etc too. Hoping to read some ideas : )
Fruit, Cheese, crackers, kabana, gerkins, sandwiches, apricot balls, yoghurt, mini banana bread muffins, popcorn, salad, carrot sticks.
We live in a warmer climate, so yoghurt needs to be frozen and then kept in with an ice pack to keep safe... I make jelly for my older ones and just pack an ice pack with them. Frozen grapes & sliced watermelon is fantastic. We send salad cups (those smash/nude food containers are great) with lettuce, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, cucumber , carrot, olives, etc. ham & salad sandwiches & wraps go well. In winter we send mini thermos containers with heated up leftovers from dinners (lasagnes, pasta bake , chicken noodle soup etc).
We also have a very healthy & well priced canteen so I have no worries ordering my kids a rainbow wrap (grated carrot, beet root, diced tomato & shredded lettuce) for $3!
No juice boxes at our school for Kindy kids, just water. Juice boxes are full of sugar, I can understand the milk as it's got calcium & protein and can actually satisfy a hungry tummy at recess time. I feel sorry for any teacher who has a class full of children on a juice box sugar high lol.
DD1 is so fussy we really struggled last year.
She would have a Sandwich, 2 cupcake sized muffins or a apple crumble slice etc.., cheese & crackers, a piece of fruit, a yogurt & a small treat(Tiny teddies, snackaroo etc..)
Hoping this year she will want to try new things, we bought a special lunch-bag that is suppose to keep food colder for longer so maybe i can send more things as well....
DS starts prep in 2 weeks, We've just started filling DSs lunchbox for the day so he knows what to eat and when etc. In prep they have a brain food snack around 10am (Fruit only), Recess about 1115 and lunch at 1pm so its a bit different to home as we generally have morning tea by 10am, then lunch at 12 so have been getting him to practice having recess and lunch as he forgot to eat on two of his transition days late last year.
I've packed strawberries for brain food, but plan on sending a combo of pear, watermelon, apple and orange etc - we have one of those curly apple peelers too so will definitely pull that out. Kabana, Cheese and crackers (jatz or salada) and carrot and cucumber sticks are a hit. Vegemite Sandwiches are always requested by DS - however he'll only eat multigrain bread (as thats all we buy) so I have no problem with the repetitiveness of those. A fruit bar or biscuit do feature and yoghurt has been popular too. Things like cruskits, cheerios, muffins etc will get rotation too. He loves cold plain rice so a container of that with a little spoon will likely be another winner.
We bought a zip up cooler bag type lunchbox and the other bits and pieces are in little containers within this as this seems to work for DS.
So far the novelty of having a school lunch ready to go has been good - DS seems to understand to make sure he eats everything, hopefully when he starts school in a few weeks he'll remember to eat!!
A big drink bottle full of water will be his drink, I'm too stingy to pay for a fruitbox to send every day when he'll happily drink water :rofl:
Our school won't allow fruit boxes.
Also our preps put their food in their basket(each table has a colour)
Their water bottles go on their table in a small little basket.
They are made to eat their food at the table before going out to play.
So i never had to worry about her forgetting to eat.
Our little ones eat in their classroom as well.
We do crunch & sip. Fruit goes in a basket in the morning to share. Mon, Wed & Fri they do extra fruit with the whole school after lunch, so 2 pieces of fruit those days.
And they have their own water bottles up to year 2, provided by the school that they have on hand through the day. A fridge in those rooms too which is awesome ;)
My kids don't get juice boxes/poppers. For tuckshop on Thursdays they get an LOL. Thats it for the week. At home its water or milk.
DS eats almost every fruit possible, so its easy to mix it up for him. Nectarines, peaches, kiwi fruit, grapes. I sometimes put an extra piece of fruit in just for him. The girls are boring. Apples.
He takes sao's, some bikkies or a cupcake or something usually. Muffins are easy & healthy too. Mini quiches are also easy to eat cold. Cold chicken drumsticks.
It's funny how so many of us think our kids are fussy....I'd die of happiness if DS1 ate ANY fruit (fresh, dried or canned), yoghurt or a sandwich of any sort!! He's a mostly white foods kid, and likes things separate (so no salad, sandwiches, sauces or visible bits). I also don't buy packet foods, so that limits stuff. I make homemade biscuits, muffins, scones and pike lets regularly (Wholemeal flour and no or low refined sugar) and freeze them. Will need to modify some things as many include nuts, which are banned.
His kindy lunchbox will probably include stuff like:
Savoury vege muffins (I have a great base recipe if you want it)
Savoury pike lets
Multigrain bread and butter. NOT stuck together as that's a sandwich and DS1 doesn't eat those, lol!
(Hidden) Fruit muffins (his faves are honey banana and apple cinnamon - can post the recipe if you want it)
Orange (ie pumpkin) scones
Homemade bikkies - choc chip, ANZAC's (Emily Rose recipes has a 'healthier' choc chip biscuit recipe we like and adapt)
Water
Then stuff like cheese, plain flat bread or wraps, homemade popcorn, 'yoghurt balls' (ie yoghurt covered sultanas, but as DS doesn't like sultanas, he can't know this ;)), corn cakes, puffed corn or rice, olives. I'll include the occasional mushroom, spinach leaf, date or carrot stick as one day he might surprise me and eat it!
They also need to bring fruit or veg to share...DS loved choosing it for 3yo kindy last year but never ate a thing. For the whole year.
JLeigh can I have the fruit muffin recipe? DS won't touch any fruit/vegetable either. He's a cheese and vegemite sandwich kid. That and pasta which he won't eat cold so can't even pack him a little tub for school.
The only yoghurt he'll eat is chocolate yogo.
Won't eat muesli bars or anything resembling one.
Already dreading packing his lunch.
At DS school, each class have an esky for their water bottles which is great!
oh forgot puffed corn, thanks JLeigh.
DS loves those, he calls them motorbike helmets :D
Rouge and Astrid - I think y'all need to share some of these things that have made you such stars in the lunchbox arena ;)
I made a whole food caramel slice that my family loves and sent some to kinder, nothing was said to me but DD said "I don't think I should take that again mummy, Lynda wasn't too happy". It was dates, nuts, coconut oil, maple syrup and cacao. But it looked like normal caramel slice, which of course is full of bad things. Sigh. Kinder was a lot stricter though about what to send.
I really need to start thinking about lunch boxes... School starts in two weeks...!
Honey banana muffins
1 3/4 cups Wholemeal SR flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ or oat bran (optional)
1teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup olive oil or rice bran oil
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup hot water
Directions:
1. Stir together dry ingredients.
2. Beat oil and honey together; add eggs and beat well.
3. Add bananas and beat to combine.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, alternating with hot water; mix well after each addition.
5. Spoon batter into 12 greased muffin cups; bake at 170 degrees for 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Don't over cook or they'll be dry.
6. Remove from oven and cool on rack. Freeze in ziplock bags.
I often add a little more banana.
Replace the banana with puréed apple (or mashed pie apples as they have no added extras) for apple cinnamon muffins.
ANZAC BARS
1 cup flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup rolled oats
125g butter
1/3 cup golden syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp bi-carb soda
Preheat oven to 170 deg. Line 18 x 28cm slice tin with baking paper.
Combine flour, oats and coconut in a large bowl, then make a well in the centre.
Combine butter, syrup and sugar in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until butter melts and mixture is smooth. Add the bi-carb soda and stir to combine.
Pour onto dry ingredients and mix until evenly combined. Spread into prepared tin and smooth surface with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 20 mins. Cool in tin. Lift out using the paper and cut into 20 bars. Keep in an air tight container.
* these are favs at our place. I often cut into squares instead of bars. Great to freeze and put in lunchbox for kinder or school.
Hoti - yum!
Just a question about what is included in the 'nut free' banner....is it only nuts, or are seeds included with that? Are linseeds, Sesame seeds and pepitas ok? I generally put sesame and/or linseeds in my bikkies and muffins.
JLeigh it may depend on the class. You can actually call the school and ask if seeds are included in their nut free policy, if not, once school starts you can ask the teacher if there are any allergies in the class.