My kids are always complaining that they are sick and tired of the same peanut butter and jelly in their lunchboxes everyday. I can't afford to get them hot lunch or the Lunchables. Any ideas on how to make lunch more exciting?
By Hannah from USA
I used to make my own lunchables. I would slice or cube up ham and cheese, and add some crackers.
Do they have access to a microwave? I also sent my kids tv dinners (banquet) that when on sale I could get for 50 cents each after using a coupon.
Another favorite was tacos. I would send the ingredients in several separate contains (bought as a set from the $1 store), and a couple soft shells. They would make their own tacos at lunch and be the envy of the lunch room. Have a small thermos? If so, send soup or chili.
I also used to make my own lunchables. Pepperoni & crackers was always my son's favorite. Hot water in a thermos and put 2 hot dogs in. The hot dogs will be warm & bun ready at lunch time.
Chicken salad - freeze a water bottle & put in their lunchbag to keep cold.
Leftover cold pizza - oldest son always like this
Wrap - use ham or turkey, lettuce & some cheese. Mustard or mayo if your kids like it.
Some days I would sneak a note in to say hope your having a good day or encouragement for a test. The best was a note to say I would be picking them up after school, a big surprise since I work full time outside the home. A note to say we would be going for ice cream when I picked them up. Good luck
Hannah,
My kids loved the following in their lunches. I large red delicious apple, leave peel on, but core apple.
Mix 2 tbsp peanut butter, and one tbsp each raisins and honey. Blend well.
Fill the apple core with this mixture. Wrap apple in tin foil and place in refrigerator overnight. Place in child's lunch box and give milk money.
Cold Potato Soup - In warmer months, this was one of my kids favorites. I put in thermos and sent along some crackers and cheese. Nancy
Scrambled egg sandwich was also one of their favs. Just scramble egg, place on sandwich bread with a little mayo and wrap a dill pickle in tinfoil to go with.
I was going to say we make our own lunchables sometimes, but I see mom-from-missouri beat me to it. :) We use small cookie cutters to cut fun shapes in the meat, but the cheese we just cut in squares. The kids then just add fun stuff that they want for the rest.
Cut up some apple, orange and get some grapes. Slice up a few different cheeses ( you can buy the blocks on sale cheap.) Then add some crackers and they have a great fruit and cheese plate. Use different fruit like kiwi or strawberries, melon, whatever is on sale that week. You can put in a thing of yogurt or jello.
bento lunches
some are leftovers from the night before and some are just creations from that morning
some bento lunches get more creative with pictures and shapes
this site gives me lots of ideas: community.livejournal.com/
you can either buy the expensive boxes or use some of your own tupperware with muffin cups/silicone cups
i just bought my own knock off bento box from a sorta Japanese store that saved me lots of money instead of buying it over the internet.
When you make meatloaf for dinner, save some for their sandwiches the next day. Add some pickles or whatever seasonings they like. Also send some carrot or celery sticks. You can do the same with leftover chicken or whatever leftover meat you have on hand.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My kids are starting to take their lunches instead of buying them. In an effort to save money, they are taking lunch 3 times a week. Any ideas for the "main dish"? They are already tired of sandwiches.
Hi Lisa, Here is a good one. Heat some water in your microwave or on your stove and plop a hot dog in the water so it heats up as well. Put the water and the hot dog in a thermos. Then, all you have to do is make sure and bring a wrapped bun fixed how you like it. Voila`! A hot hot dog for lunch!
If your kids like pizza they can maybe take some leftover cold pizza. If you "train" them to eat things cold or at room temperature, then you could serve them various things. A lot of people have been trained that lunch has to be a sandwich or something heated. They miss out the variety.
I have started taking flour tortilla's, put peanut butter and jelly on it, roll it up and cut it into three pieces. Also peanut butter and crackers or cheese and crackers make a good lunch along with a fruit and carrots and dip. Anything left over can be sent as well as soup or canned products when put in a thermos. I have put left over chili, spaghetti even mashed potatos. (my son loves mashed potatos) Another thing my son likes is a peanut butter a jelly sandwich made with waffles. Salad can even be sent, just make sure the salad dressing is sent in a seperate container. Add some croutons or chow mein noodles a piece of fruit and a peice of left over candy from halloween and your set.
Since when are sandwiches boring? If you only make peanut-butter-and-jelly and bologna-and-cheese, yes, that's boring. However, there are many other lovely ways to make sandwiches.
The deli method: check over the many varieties of cold cuts and sliced cheeses. I'm sure you can find store brand or generic prices on these items; cotto salami, pickle loaf, chopped ham, swiss cheese. There may be other varieties as well. Also consider pimento-cheese spread, chicken salad, and other pre-made spreads. Shredded cheese works nicely in a sandwich if there is enough condiment to stick in in place. Lettuce and sliced tomatos are a nice touch, as are pickles sliced for use in sandwiches.
The home-made method:
You can make many yummy sandwich fillings at home. Of course there are the many salads -- chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, ham salad, etc. Depending on what you have on hand, you can use any cooked meat in a salad-type spread. If you mix in vegetables, such as finely diced celery, relish, chopped or sliced olives, grated carrot, etc, you can make it both balanced and tasty. Then, beyond those, there are other nifty fillings, like the pickled beef heart I did lots of one year. You can slice or shred any of the hard cheeses for use in sandwiches, adding to the variety. You can make various vegetable pickles as well. If you check an old cookbook, you will find that people of the past ate very well indeed, even away from home.
The left-over method:
Dagwood Bumstead of the Blondie cartoons used to make awesome sandwiches. He would raid the fridge in the middle of the night, and put some of everything in there! There are very few limits to what you can put in a sandwich if you just let your imagination run. What is wrong with a spagetti and meatball sandwich? I grew up loving meatloaf sandwiches. An authentic Dagwood sandwich includes baked beans. If it won't spoil before eating, and it won't make too much mess, it can be put in a sandwich. If you are hesitant to assemble creative sandwiches for your children, why not ask them what they would like? Maybe some youthful genious will point out that a de-boned pork chop would make a lovely sandwich, especially with some well-drained kraut, or that the last four fish sticks are just the right size to fill two slices of bread, along with a dollop of ketchup or tartar sauce.
I've already addressed how to make sandwiches anything but boring, but that is not the full extent of my lunch creativity.
There are other main courses that work well for lunch. If you can keep it really cold, I like a nice sushi lunch -- of course, I make my own sushi, which keeps it frugal. If you are less daring, you can have a nice slice of meat loaf, a hard boiled egg (include salt and pepper), a hunk of cheese, peanuts, a tin of sardines, or some other protein-rich food.
Many uninspired lunches contain, along with the sandwich, a bag of chips, a cookie or brownie, or other such junk as you might find in individual packages at your grocery store. If someone else is making the individual portions for you, you are paying too much. If you want to serve those same snack foods, at least portion them yourself, using washable resealable bowls or snack-size zip bags. You'll get more variety too, because you can use shoe-string potatoes, salted or unsalted nuts, various candies, home-baked goodies, and more flavors of pudding or gelatin.
However, I do not consider a lunch of mostly store-packs or homemade variations an original or particularly satisfying meal. I like to have a real meal, and include things like fresh fruit, salads, side dishes, and so on. Mac-and-cheese is a very portable side-dish, and it can be enlivened by including any added vegetable you like. Ever eat cold mac-and-cheese with hot salsa? Who needs a microwave! Pasta salads are very apt for lunches, and can be so beautiful with colorful veggies that one's co-workers or co-scholars become envious. Lettuce salads work too, if you put the dressing "on the side." Many of the same side dishes you would serve at home are quite portable and tasty as a cold lunch -- raw or lightly steamed vegetables, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, to name a few. Fresh fruit is easy to pack, and the choices are not just apples and oranges; consider bananas, pears, tangerines, plums, peaches, grapes, or go even more exotic once in a while and include a star fruit, or some fresh figs. Grapefruit segments can be presented in a zippd snack bag, and fruit cocktail can be put in a resealable container. Dried fruits are also tasty, and handy when other fruits are not in season.
It is almost traditional to include pickles and other relish tray goodies in bag lunches. Carrot sticks, stuffed celery, olives, radish roses, can be included if you package them suitably.
If you use enough imagination and ingenuity, bag lunches can be more exciting than the expensive (and usually unhealthy) alternatives from the cafeteria and fast food joints. Who would prefer a greasy burger over a home-made imitation crab meat sandwich? Who would rather eat a fried slab of fish or chicken with boring "special sauce" instead of a nicely sliced turkey with honey-dijon spread on rye or a crusty whole-wheat keiser roll? Who would prefer creamed mystery-meat on toast to a smooth delectable deviled egg or real baked beans that didn't come from a can? Homemade is not only cheaper, but often much tastier and more elegant. Fine dining is not mass-produced!
I've never liked sandwiches, and when I was in school, my mom made me soup. Cup of soup was my favorite, and she'd make it before I went to school and put it in one of those thermos' made for hot stuff and when lunch time came, it was still hot. She also made spaghettio's, and one can would make two meals.
CHILI RICE!!!!!:) ADD CHEESE,ONIONS,EVEN JALAPENOS OR BUTTER!
save your leftovers from those great dinners you make--freeze even in single servings--easy and tasty
cold enchiladas are awesome--anything cheesy is great cold
another tip--mom used to have us put lunch together on sunday night for the week:
(no mayo)
sandwich--ham,mustard, cheese
juice box
other freezable snack
freeze for week
throw in chips before school, packet of mayo
drink is nice and cold at lunchtime
or, just freeze the juiceboxes! they keep everything else cold too
make your own Lunchables--see store for ideas
pop top foods--tuna,pasta,vienna sausage,refried beans
ramen makes fun "chips" season if you want with the packet
Ok. How about some ham and cheese wraps. Just take a slice of ham and put some cheese in the middle. Roll it up and there you go! If your child likes fish how about some tuna and crackers. And kids like to much on things. So maybe some baby carrots, cubed cheese, small baby pickles and celerey. Give them small different dips like ranch, honey mustard and cream cheese. Hope this helps!
Invest in a sandwich maker. Yes, those once infomercial now available at Walmart for ten bucks Hamilton Brand (or other) sandwich maker. We've made stuffed sandwiches with everything from traditional bologna and cheese, to "pizza" pockets, to stuffing them with hamburger meat and sliced cheese and more. It's a great way to get rid of leftovers too! :)
Boathoff has a great idea about hot dogs in a thermos! I never would have thought of that and can't wait to try it!
My nieces started a new preschool and we have to pack them a lunch. That's not hard, but the lunches can't be heated and cannot have nuts in it. So I'm stuck with absolutely no ideas. Please help with any ideas you may have. Thanks.
By Elizabeth from KY
Make your own version of Lunchables, some crackers, cut up lunchmeat and cheese. The child can stack them up and eat. Cream cheese on mini bagels or ritz crackers. String cheese with crackers or buttered mini bagel. Make sandwiches and cut them into small pieces, American Cheese, tuna salad, turkey and swiss, whatever the child likes.
I buy the boxed 100% juices to send. My son is picky so it's washed grapes in a ziplock baggie with cut up cheese and Ritz crackers or a yogurt cup. He loves the big frozen pretzels. I thaw and cut it up and put it in a sandwich box. He eats it. He will not eat a sandwich no matter what so I try to get some protein in there however I can. A handful of nuts is a good substitute, also.
My daughter likes cheese sandwiches, so those are pretty regular. I pack them in sandwich sized plastic storage containers, to cut back on plastic baggie waste. I mix it up with a thermos from time to time. I found it at Target -- reminds me of the kind that used to come with lunch boxes when I was a kid (inner stopper, and the cap can be used as a cup/bowl). She likes Beefaroni, so I'll put boiling water into the thermos for about 5 minutes to heat it up. Meanwhile I heat the Beefaroni in a bowl (substitute whatever soup/pasta/stew your kids like). I dump the water, and add the Beefaroni. It's still hot at lunchtime. She pours it into the cup to make it easier to eat with a spoon. Today I put the boiling water into the thermos, and added a hot dog. I packed a bun in a ziplock baggie. She assembled the hot dog herself (they have catsup and mustard in the cafeteria). She said she really liked it.
For something sweet, we usually do the little cups of mandarine oranges or pudding, or she also enjoys those tubes of Go-Gurt. I keep them in the freezer, and it's still cold (but not frozen) at lunchtime. Sometimes I'll put in mixed dried fruit, but she doesn't get very excited about that.
I'll put in a mini bag of chips, or the individual cups of Pringles. Sometimes I'll put in a ziplock bag of crackers (like Goldfish or Cheez-Its). If she starts leaving part of the sandwich but finishes the chips & sweet, I'll skip the chips for a while. She gets the message and starts finishing her sandwiches again.
For a drink, I pack apple juice (in boxes). She doesn't like other flavors of juice boxes, and she hates the Capri-Sun type drinks. If I'm out of juice boxes, she just buys milk in the cafeteria.
Once every week or two, I put a little note in her lunchbox. I do a lot of crafting, so I just put a pretty stamp on a scrap piece of carstock and write a little note like, "I hope you're having a great day! Love, Mom." She seems to get a kick out of that.
My kindergartner has been begging me to let her take her lunch. I finally caved and here are a few of the things we've tried: *mini bagel sandwiches (we got mini bagels at Aldi - a great store for a good deal if you have one in your area) She likes cheese and a little lettuce or cream cheese and fruit preserves. The mini ones seem to be a good size for a younger child.
*plain yogurt (I think there's too much sugar in the flavored kinds) with frozen fruit layered it. It keeps the yogurt cold until lunch and she gets to choose the fruit of the day. I use the plastic containers with the lids that twist on so there are no spills.
*drinks - I use a reusable "juice box" that I got in the store where they sell the plastic food containers. It cost about $1.50 and can be used over and over. It has a built-in straw and folds closed so there are no spills. I like to fill it part way with milk or juice, freeze it overnight and then top it off in the morning. This is a big savings over 50 cents per carton at school.
*baby carrots/grapes are a regular favorite here and don't take any prep work from me.
I need ideas for inexpensive, everyday, delicious ideas for school lunches.
By marlene
Remember to keep it healthy - you know what they say "what you eat today, walks and talks tomorrow" - try vegie sticks - carrot, celery, etc. Home made muffins are nice - you can make savoury as well as sweet ones - they can be frozen ahead of time and just popped in to defrost during the day. Pita bread pockets filled with healthy things, different kinds of breads to keep it interesting, fruit of course. rice or noodle salads are always nice and keep nicely. Good luck
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Back to school lunches (yuck) is what I hear. I have a 6 year old starting grade 1 who doesn't like sandwiches, soup, cheese and crackers and not much fruit.
