tired of making lunches already

i am tired of making lunches already, and only at the start of the kinder year! kinder has all wierd rules and are inflexible. dd has diff rules on what she will eat at kinder, and what she will eat at home. our local supermarket is horrid. i struggle to get fresh food that lasts for the whole week (freshness or it gets eaten), so i have to head back to shops. kinder doesn't allow homebaked goods, so that cuts out preparing stuff and freezing. to go to shops, i have to wrangle 2 energetic kids that don't want to stay in trolley plus baby. i just don't have energy for it today. however, i don't think carrot sticks only make a lunch. boo hoo me

Why don't they allow baked goods? Does this extend to bread? Savory items?

??? (*baffled*)

Ideas to try:
Zucchini slice (or similar, with whatever visible veggies the kids will eat, eg corn peas grated pumpkin, whatever)
Individual mini pizzas done on English muffin or bread roll halves
Cold homemade sausage rolls
Veggie sticks & dip/cream cheese
Fritters - any combination of grated veggies, peas, corn, potato, rice, noodles, quinoa, couscous grated cheeses, bound together with a couple of eggs, some rice flour & cooked in the pan like pikelets. Serve them with whatever sauce or chutney or sour cream. These are pretty good even when the veggies are looking a bit tired, we often have them on the day or two before payday LOL, and the kids happily eat them cold.
Leftover bits of dinner, cut into kid-friendly shapes.
Cheese & crackers

Also, I've found my kids tend to only eat salad veg that doesn't leak. So, I buy things like baby cucumbers, baby carrots, snow peas, cherry tomatoes - because you can put them in whole & they don't dribble or dry out. Throw in a variety of dried fruit & some pieces of cheese or sausage & call it a picky lunch (or as my kids would say, a "piggy lunch").

Also - if you involve them in choosing (some) and preparing their lunches they might eat more.

Also, sometimes they are just too busy & involved in what's going on to concentrate enough to eat (they tend to get better after a couple of years at school). Both of my DDs were like this. You can compensate by giving them a heartier breakfast (include more protein) and a small savory meal (homemade soup & toast, small portion of pasta, casserole, leftovers, whatever) when they get home from kindy/school. I also used to take juice/milk for them to drink on the way home because it stopped the hungry grumpies before they started. ;)

Our kindy doesn't allow baked from home stuff either, along with the usual no nuts policy. I'm a little over it too! Luckily Moo is pretty happy eating the same vegemite sandwich, crackers and fruit each day.

I'm following this because we cant do baked good, the usual nuts and no eggs either and aside from fruit, yogurt and sandwiches, I'm stumped! Especially as DD eats nothing :wall:

Wow no baked goods ?

We sort of have a rotating lunch going on because DD1 is fussy.

Sandwich
Dinner rolls
Mini cheese and bacon rolls
Cubed Swiss cheese
Cubed mortadella
Crackers
Grapes
Watermelon
Banana
Carrot sticks
Sultana bran buds
Yoghurt (we can send it on certain days in the squeeze packs)
Muffins
Tiny teddies

Have a look at your local supermarkets and see if they do a shop and pick up service. I order online and DH picks it up after work, it's fantastic because we don't have a delivery option here but I don't have to take the kids to the supermarket anymore. If I get the order done by 11am, it can be picked up same day. See if there is one on DH's route home that offers it.

Our Kinder allows baked goods if you supply an ingredients list with the baked goods. Perhaps ask the Kinder if that is acceptable?

I try and buy fruit from a Fruit and Veg shop as it's home life is longer than supermarket produce. Try and purchase fruit that lasts a while in Tupperware containers or will be fine in the fruit bowl for the week.
I have been buying apples, mandarins, bananas and oranges for the fruit bowl and things like strawberries and grapes that will last a while in a Tupperware container..then hide them in the fridge where little people can't find them on their own ;)

Funnily enough they don't allow dried fruit as it apparently then blurs the lines, so it's fresh fruit only. Yoghurt seems to be Ok.

DD has a cheese and vegemite sandwich and two fresh fruit snacks and a cheese stick pretty much every Kinder session. She doesn't seem to mind the same old stuff. One of my boys has been having a Vegemite sandwhich or roll for 3yrs for his lunch at school, he is still happy.

As long as they are happy then I am happy Lol.

i ended up making a sandwich of bacon, grated carrot and a little cheese and packing carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and dried nashi slices. only the sandwich got eaten, but that s ok cos dd isnt that keen on sandwiches (at kinder) (this month!) and prefers wraps and usually protests cheese (at kinder!).

i sent date balls a few weeks ago, and they were sent home bc they thought they were chocolate balls. home made muesli bars were sent home bc commercial muesli bars are not allowed (nuts) and it might confuse the other kids (??)

i have asked for clarification on what was and wasn't allowed, but just came away more confused. i know they want nut free, and if possible egg free (one child with allergy). child in another group has dairy allergy, but for now our group is allowed dairy. their second guidance is 'healthy food' cos they are doing the Munch ?? program, but this is where it gets confusing. plenty of foods are allowed that i don't see as 'healthy', but other great foods are disallowed. And then today, they were given zooper doopers! without checking with parents.

DD has decided she doesn't like yogurt or cheese (but will eat them at home).
she generally won't eat sandwiches, but will eat wraps with meat and salad.
tomatoes, carrot sticks, kabana are usually eaten.
grapes and strawberries are usually eaten.

she loves vegie fritters at home, but i don't think she would take them cold.
i wish she would do a basic vegemite or spread sandwich on busy days but they are off the eating list (for now!)
i've thought about tuna and bikkies etc but i think it would take too long for her to set up and then she wouldn't eat much.

i actually think all the discussion and analysis of what they have in their lunchboxes is decreasing the variety in her diet, when she has generally been not that picky.

a fruit and vegie shop has recently opened so i will try them and see if the produce lasts longer.

dd and i wrote up a chart (with pics) of what she liked for lunches a few week s ago (for dh in the postnatal period) but she changed her mind on many things soon after. i am ok with putting things in that i know she usually likes, but she then just won't eat anything and gets cranky. breakfast is also a bit hit and miss. i try to give her a smoothie if she hasn't eaten a substantial breaky on kinder days.

hoping she likes mandarins this year when they come in to season, they were good last year

Hotl. I'm not sure how else to put this so...
Tell them to go jump!(I actually thought get stuffed)!
Homemade goods are far better than the crap that comes in packets.
It's their job to teach children about self care, nutrition and even everyday foods and sometimes foods but they have NO RIGHT to dictate to you what you will and won't pack for your child to eat( except foods that are anaphylactic triggers).
I used the ban junk food but now I've grown up and have a child of my own and I'm a lot more respectful. I teach the children about which foods are everyday foods that they eat first and which are sometimes foods to eat last or take home.
If you are packing lots of healthy foods don't sweat if they are homemade. After all a cake in a package is way less healthy than a piece of cake made at home with love.
Rant over... For now.

If a child doesn't have anaphylaxis to nuts and eggs then they CANNOT ban these foods. Argh!
You balls could be chocolate or dates but they sound really healthy.
Sending you a PM.

Hotl please clear your inbox :-)

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Hotl. I'm not sure how else to put this so...
Tell them to go jump!(I actually thought get stuffed)!

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:D I would love to! The problem is they tell my dd that she can't eat food at kinder, and she is now getting antsy about what she can and can't eat.

will clear my inbox now.

What about dip like substance and crackers? Like hummus? Mine love this when they are off sandwiches. Or build your own (ie all the stuff in their lunch box and they put onto the bread what they like!

No home baked stuff wow, I'd be beside myself.

The food restrictions at your kinder are ridiculous!
I was extremely worried about DD's lunches at kinder, she doesn't like much fruit- but after seeing the other kids lunches (parent helper) I feel fine about my choices.
A favorite for DD is cut up carrot, cucumber, cheese with crackers and dip.

don't shoot me, but i kinda get the restrictions that are in place... our kinder has a "healthy food" requirement. no packaged food (muesli bars/crisps etc), no sweet food (lollies, cakes) - they try to encourage kids to eat things they can find in the garden to eat (so fruit and veg) over other things like crackers etc. cordial is not allowed. juice is a no go - milk is acceptable, but preference for water. i don't think any of the kids have actually had milk yet. yogurt is ok

when it comes to date balls and chocolate balls, especially if they look similar, it could cause issues. Child A wants chocolate balls at kinder - mum says no, they're not allowed - child B brings date balls. kinder teacher allows it, because it's healthy. Child A kicks up a stink (maybe to teacher, maybe to mum - and it goes back to the teacher and makes them justify apparent different rules). our kinder are ok with savoury muffins, will accept fruit muffins, but prefer not to have anything that may be deemed "cake-ish" except for kids birthdays.

i dont' know if i'm more accepting of the restrictions because i don't have a fussy eater (and close friends with kids that react to a lot of food, so we already restrict things a lot for them, so it's not unusual). we have basically limited dd's snacks to fruit and yogurt (apple or banana, watermelon or grapes. sultanas) and she chooses from these during the day. she takes whatever i'm taking for lunch because that's what she has always done when i'm working - so one day a week is chicken sandwiches, one is salad wrap, once a fortnight she has a "treat" of cold home made pizza or similar. She has said she is the only kid that doesn't have a plain sandwich, and she loves being different and having grown up food :)

DD has taken banana bread for a snack without drama - she had a little butter on it, and no one said boo about it...

All I'm taking from this is "OMG I have to send food to kinder?!" :-/ When I was in kinder - and eleven years later when I did work experience at one - it was sandwiches prepared by the teachers/parent volunteers/work experience girl, a bit of fruit, and milk or water. Now it looks like there's a lot more work involved from my side :lol: I was hoping for a little reprieve before "big school" lunches :p

Aside from allergy-related issues, I think the amount of control schools and kindies wield over children's food is getting ridiculous. Sometimes knowing I had a special little treat in my lunchbox made a difficult day at school just that bit easier. Food is for nutrition and enjoyment - not to give small children something to obsess over.

And frankly, there are so many different philosophies of food out there (each with its own pros and cons), that it's not really fair to promote only one at the expense of others. Should the vegans get meat banned because it's offensive to them and it might make their kids want to eat it? But then what would the paleo children eat? And you have all the thermomixers who purchased a machine specifically to be able to make healthy cake (full of chia and quinoa) who now are forced to buy commercial products anyway, but if they share that food with failsafers it will ruin the meticulously planned elimination diet their whole family has had to do for the last 6 weeks. And you could encourage them to eat home-grown vegies, but i read an article recently talking about how lots of older houses have lead issues with their garden soil due to flaking paint! It's all silliness.

Think I'd better teach my kids to live on air from 9-3 because soon there will be no eating at school!

I think the very least your kinder can do is to provide a detailed list of ideas of foods that they do find acceptable.

Good luckM:)

I forgot to add that a part of my practice nowadays If a child doesn't come with much everyday food( healthy stuff) that I request( in a friendly way) families pack some more everyday food to broaden the choices for their child. I also link it to the educational program and document the children's learning around self care and wellbeing. After all, it's my responsibility to teach the children, the parents are adults and don't need me in their faces telling them what they can and can't provide for THEIR child to eat, that responsibility of deciding what food is provided falls squarely on the parents shoulders.
I'm glad DD's FDC educator feels the same, although DD only gets healthy foods in her lunch bag and if she gets a 'treat' it might be some multigrain organic zatar corn chips once in a blue moon because that's what I love to eat at the mo!

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when it comes to date balls and chocolate balls, especially if they look similar, it could cause issues. Child A wants chocolate balls at kinder - mum says no, they're not allowed - child B brings date balls. kinder teacher allows it, because it's healthy. Child A kicks up a stink (maybe to teacher, maybe to mum - and it goes back to the teacher and makes them justify apparent different rules). our kinder are ok with savoury muffins, will accept fruit muffins, but prefer not to have anything that may be deemed "cake-ish" except for kids birthdays.

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This is one of the arguments that the teacher had. And i do kinda get it. But there will be foods on the 'acceptable' list that i won't give to my kids, and they just have to suck it up. I can fill sandwiches or muffins with heaps of non-preferable foods or send yogurt filled with sugar every day and they might be ok, but date balls filled with chia seeds and goji berries blah blah are not ok. And if i want to give my kid a treat of home made pizza or similar, or if i am just struggling and in order for my child to arrive at kinder with food for the day i want to send them with (*non-allergy) alternative food it would be nice if my child wasn't told she can't eat it.

And dd is confused by the messages she is getting, as demonstrated yesterday when i was cooking some bacon to add to her sandwich. "i don't know if we are allowed to have bacon. does that have nuts? noone else has brought it". So, she is not keen on taking 'grownup' food in case she gets in trouble cos other kids don't.

i'm probably still getting into a routine, and hopefully in a few months will have worked out a good rhythm and will laugh at my stressing.

*just making it clear that i'm not talking about the allergy food rules.

It is so hard hotI. In my dd2s class she has a child allergic to out of the normal foods, like kiwi fruit etc. she is anaphylactic, there are others with nut, egg (more well know allergies) this girls mum gets upset that the school will say no nuts/eggs but haven't included what she is allergic too. The school says they have to draw a line or kids won't get anything to eat..... But boy that must be hard when your child doesn't have the 'right' allergies.

They get the kids to eat separately, they they wash they hands.....

It does get easier. My kids eat most things but have ended up with a pretty boring routine of what they take in their lunch boxes, I've found that the mixing it up and trying new things actually causes anxiety. Same old same old until one of them ask for a change :) makes shopping/planning easier and morning packing a breeze :)

I was like you HotI at the start of last year. It seems like such a chore, a struggle, another thing to be done with no end in sight! But I found my stride, now I just whip up lunches like brushing my teeth. I hope you find your stride too after a month or two.

One thing I do, it that I make up a lunch box for my at home kids as well, while I'm doing the kindy lunches. Saves me having to prepare food twice. Plus it is fun for the at home kids and if we go out, I"m all set!

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Aside from allergy-related issues, I think the amount of control schools and kindies wield over children's food is getting ridiculous. Sometimes knowing I had a special little treat in my lunchbox made a difficult day at school just that bit easier. Food is for nutrition and enjoyment - not to give small children something to obsess over.

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YES - this!!

My eldest DD is nearly 10 years older than my youngest & the restrictions on acceptable food quadrupled during that time. Of course if there is a child at risk of anaphylaxis then absolutely YES those foods must be banned. But straight up allergens? Ummm, no.

Add to that, our 2nd kindy had a no-food wrapping clause, which is probably all well & good when you're a SAHM who can whip out to the shops everyday & lovingly prepare tasty fresh morsels just before you leave to drop your child off. But when you're 2x working parents & you're dropping your kid off at daycare at the crack of dawn, not so easy!!

Really, the no baked goods rule doesn't make sense. If it's to prevent allergens, there are as many of those (or more) hidden in innocuous looking bought foods. If it's about keeping sugar & fat & empty calories out of lunch boxes, then formulate some meaningful guidelines for parents to follow. There is a world of difference between a savory veggie muffin and a slab of mud cake. Provide lists of suggested foods, eg "Instead of .... try.... ". Teach concepts like dietary balance, or adding veggies to your snacks.

But the whole notion that child A should not bring or eat their nutrition-packed homemade food because child B might see them and think "why cant I have [horrible empty calorie] food?" is ridiculous - and counterproductive too. Child B needs to see what healthy food looks like, how it does look different to highly processed food, or you're not really teaching them anything at all about healthy eating, are you?