School Lunch Ideas

pretty sure I ate a ham sandwich every school day for 10 years LOL. How about baked or fried chicken drumsticks?

Previous suggestion of hummus is a good one--pack it with cucumber spears, carrot sticks, pita chips, pretzels, etc.
--pimento cheese sandwich & a side of cherry tomatoes
--devilled eggs & whatever raw veg the kids like
--yogurt & fresh fruit, plus granola that's heavy on the nuts
--mac n cheese in a thermos
--homemade "lunchables" with triscuits/crackers, cracker-cut mozz, and a little bit of pizza sauce. You can buy the re-useable multi compartment tray to make it just like the storebought kind
--almond butter & their favorite jam, on a sandwich

Homemade cookies are the best part of a packed lunch. Oatmeal, loaded with nuts, will get some fiber into 'em, as well as some protein from the nuts.

I love those suggestions but they can’t bring nut products to school. Both kids have classmates with anaphylactic nut allergies and the school will not allow the kids in their class to bring nut items. They will actually throw them away and force the kid to eat the school provided lunch if caught.

I honestly do understand it. I don’t like it but you have to be careful with young kids that don’t fully grasp the gravity of what could happen if they give their friend a cookie with peanut butter in it.

Oh well. Any other suggestions? I like the ones that have been given so far. My kids love hummus and pretzels. I don’t know why I have never thought to send that.

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I wonder if those would stay hot in a thermos??

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Mostly depends on what time they eat lunch. My kids didn't have a big issue with eating them on the cold side.

I saw a video where they filled the thermos with boiling water to heat it up while they prepped pizza rolls and then poured out the water just before putting them in. I might have to try that.

But I guess if they are ok with the cold lunch able chicken nuggets (gross), they would probably be fine with room temp pizza rolls.

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But I guess if they are ok with the cold lunch able chicken nuggets (gross), they would probably be fine with room temp pizza rolls.

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I can't believe I did it as a kid, but I would take a hot pocket in its little sleeve it was microwaved in to school every day and I guess I ate it room temp because I ate it in class hours later.

I imagine there are enough preservatives and there's enough acid in pizza rolls that it is totally fine, and I'm weird about food safety normally.

For sandwiches - If your kids get tired of lunch meat, you could get more creative with the sandwiches. Even just assembling the sandwich and pressing it in the George Foreman or heating it in a pan can change it a lot.

- Chicken/tuna/egg salad
- Toasted pizza sandwiches (pepperoni, mozz, pizza sauce)
- Chicken parm sandwiches (Tyson chicken patt, mozz, red sauce). The Tyson chicken patties are great for various versions of chicken sandwiches.
- Hot dogs, you could even pack your thermos chili and they can make chili dogs
- Turkey melt (pickles, honey mustard, etc.).. can even add bacon and make it like a club sandwiches
- Make any sandwich into a wrap for a change of pace. Can press the wrap on Foreman/in pan as well. For cold wraps, slice them ~3 times and have mini wraps/pinwheels for easy eating. Google pinwheels recipes...there are tons of ideas. I always loved the one with cream cheese and salsa in it.
- Quesadillas - You can even use canned chicken if you want to go easy. And they don't just have to be Mexican. Buffalo or BBQ sauce, cheese, canned chicken, etc. Even just cheese quesadillas work.
- Veggie sandwiches or wraps with hummus as the condiment is really good, if your kids are veggie eaters. And they're served cold
- Guacamole cups with veggies and chips for dipping can be good
- Pasta salad is a great cold option, if your kids like pasta salad. And you can eat on it all week.
- Bagel with cream cheese, possibly

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I ate cafeteria food my whole life and loved it.

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It varied, but I brought my lunch most of elementary and I hated it. I wanted the cafeteria food that everyone else was eating.

When we finally switched to eating school lunch in high school, it was public school and drastically worse than what they were serving in the Catholic schools I came from. Go figure.

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a pizza or chicken nugget lunchable which is the grossest thing I could possibly imagine

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I can still crush a pizza lunchable. It was always a good day when you got one of those for lunch. I can't speak much for the chicken nugget one though...

My 4.5 year old almost every day brings a ham and swiss on a King's Hawaiian roll...with a side of ketchup for dipping. He's a freaking savage

Instead of sandwiches, sometimes we send deli ham/turkey and sliced cheese rolled up.

Cantaloupe wrapped with prosciutto

My 2.5 year old is basically vegan, he eats cashews/pistachios, fruit, and veggie straws in his lunch every day. He also likes to take a few slices of bacon in his lunch a few days a week

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-Chili in a thermos w/ a bag of Fritos
-Taco meat in a thermos w/ tortillas and cheese

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I used to take a thermos of beef stew, vegetable soup, chicken soup, spaghetti, etc. Whatever leftovers we had that could go in a thermos