Need 'Cold' Lunch Ideas

I do fresh fruit - and in emergencies - those cans of fruit that are packed in 100% fruit juice - no sugar. Bananas and apples are quick and easy and the stand by - seasonal fruit adds a nice for a change thought. Include a small snack of crackers or something crunchy and filling with it.

Try finger foods like fruits and veggies.Try doing health snacks like cutting apples ,oranges,pears,cheese or leftovers that don't require heating.Try tunasalad or chickensalad sandwiches or salad with grill chicken etc.

Hia,

I have found a lot of fun and neat lunch ideas on the family fun magazine website (www.family fun.com). They have a TON of ideas but if you search around a bit, they have an entire section about fun lunches.

Hope it helps...

Hi S.-

If sending a hot lunch opens up more options for you that your children like, you can buy a food jar from Thermos that will keep food hot for up to 7 hours. You could microwave ravioli or spaghettios or whatever your children like in the morning and it would still be hot at lunchtime.

If it has to be something cold, sandwiches are about the only thing I can think of. If you're concerned about certain types of sandwiches being unrefrigerated you could buy those reusable ice packs to put in their lunch boxes.

If the kids are just tired of sandwiches you could skip the bread and send crackers with lunchmeat and cheese (kind of make your own lunchable) or peanut butter on crackers. You could also use a flour tortilla and make it a wrap instead of a sandwich.

Also, prepare the lunches the night before so that you don't have to worry about it in the morning. My son took his lunch to school everyday this past year and I would have gone nuts if I had been making the lunch in the morning instead of having it ready to go from the night before.

Good Luck,
K.

well, my 1st big advice is: make their lunches the night before!! i have a 3yo girl & a 5yo boy and i can't imagine how much more insane our mornings would be if i had to make lunches too. it is hard enough to get them together and out of the house on time so that i am not late for work.

also, you should buy them insulated lunch bags. my daughter's school will refrigerate lunches, but my son's school does not and his lunch sits on a shelf all morning. he never complains about it not tasting good and actually usually says it is cool still at lunchtime.

i have also gotten tired of making pbj or turkey sandwiches, so sometimes i send triscuits with cheese cubes & summer sausage. i also got him a thermos so sometimes i will heat up mac & cheese or soup (when we have time in the morning--rare!!), put in the thermos when it is super hot, and by lunch it is just the right temperature. he loves that.

both kids get baby carrots, celery, or cucumber slices, as well as fruit in their bags every day.

hope that helps!

Don't stress so much. Firt idea is to make your own Lunchables. Just buy a box of Ritz crackers and a block of cheddar and some turkey pepperoni. Kids are cool in the respect that they can eat the same thing day after day and not really get tired of it. Get a box of capri suns or store brand juice boxes and you are all set. Hot dogs are pre-cooked so they are fine if refrigerated and then left for a little while. Get ketchup and mustard packets from your local fast food store to throw in there with a bun. Hot dog buns also make really good sandwiches. Peanut butter and honey is a little different than jelly. I contacted Helman's once about how long mayonnaise can sit out before it goes bad and they said that it won't go bad for a long time because of the vinegar that they use retards bacteria growth...that was straight from the company...so it frees up some other options. Even lunch meats typically have nitrates in them to retard bacteria, so I think for a short time, pretty much anything would be fine...remember when we were kids eating bologna and cheese and mayo sandwiches hours after we got to school?! Good luck, dont' stress!

My kids love wraps. I buy the flavored ones that come in cool colors like garden vegetable or sun dried tomato. Then I spread on some veggie cream cheese. Sometimes I put a slice of lunch meat on top of that or some lettuce.

I LOVE this site too: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/lunchboxfood2.htm
It has tons of ideas on economical ways to feed your family school lunches and other meals too.

Good luck!
D.

Send you child(ren) themed lunches...Pick a different theme for about 8 days or so and rotate them...

one them can be the tired old meat, cheese and crackers...but livenit up some...use wheat thins or triscuits, or something similar for the crackers, use pre-cooked ham chunks for the meat and string cheese for (or other snack cheeses) for the cheese...

Do a fresh fuit kabob and dip day...the dip is peanut butter...the fresh fruit is arrayed on skewer, use apples, pinapple chucks, berries, melon, bananas, grapes, etc...whatever is in season. Help them get their vegetable in by sending V8 fruit fusion (make sure it's one with 100% juice - not all are) for their drink...

Do a build your own pizza day...send pre-toasted english muffins, some grated cheese, olives, pepperoni and other fun toppings...put the pizza sauce in something they can access easily and then toss..

Do a veggie day...give them carrots, celery with peanut butter, radishes, broccoli and cauliflower...for dip, send something like honey mustard or other non-dairy fun dip for veggies..send good ol' 100% fruit juice with it for their fruit serving for the day..

For a chicken nugget day, you can send barbecue sauce for dip and some pre-cooked chicken nuggets...or, you can send the lunchables version...

Send them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but surprise them with a bit of candy or dried fruit in the middle...Use frozen waffles (they can be bought in multigrain and fruit variety for extra nutrition and fun) for the bread, or frozen pancakes...(cook them before you make the sanwich and put them in a sandwich baggie)...

That's all I can think of for now...I am sure there are others...but this should get you started...Just remember to keep it fun and each time you make any of these you can vary them up a little...

Good Luck!!! ;-)

Hi there. I had my 3 yo in a daycare for a while that did not provide lunch. It was hard but I did cheese and crackers, cherry tomatoes, boiled eggs, hummus and pita chips, baby carrots, grapes, cherries and celery sticks. I had one of those little ice packs in her lunch bag to keep things cool. It worked out well to give a break from the PB and J. My kid also likes the Lunchables but we just made our own. On Sunday we cut up a bunch of cheese and turkey. Bought those little crackers and then daily I could just pack up a little gladware thingy with the meat, cheese and crackers.

Hope that helps. I had a hard time with it too. You want your kids to have a good lunch- but its tough sometimes.

Well, hello S., there really is a variety of things you can do, and alternating these should get you through the summer. You can try vienna sausage w/crackers. Tuna sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, or deviled eggs. Peanut butter crackers, or cheese/crackers. Carrot and celery sticks with ranch dressing.
Granola Bars w/peanut butter. Cut up some fresh fruit, for a fruit salad. Remember it doesn't have to be traditional to be filling or nutritious. Hope these ideas help.

S., The kids at school that I see eat puddings, jellos, yogurts, and such that are prepackaged. Fruit is big on their list of things to munch. Also, for those that have no diet restrictions, the Smucker's crustables seem to be popular. Those are the little pies with jelly and peanut butter in them.
Hope this has been helpful.

Have a wonderful day !

R.

Some great ideas for lunches have been posted that I will probably be using next year when my kids go back to school, but I wanted to add one of my kids' favorites: Chick-fil-A nuggets. Once a week or so, I would buy a 12-pack of nuggets, put 6 each in 2 take-n-toss bowls and put them in the fridge. The next morning I would throw the bowl in the lunchbox and send them on their way. I would also do this with leftover meats from the night before--chicken or pork cubes work well.

I also always pack some kind of fruit, a stick of cheese (unless a ham & cheese sandwich is the "main course"), a small bag (snack-size, but nowhere close to full) of goldfish or graham crackers (and on rare occasions for a special treat, some cheetos!) or something along those lines. There can be plenty of variety in changing the main course, fruit, and snack during the week. HTH.

wow, you've gotten some GREAT ideas! The only thing I can think to add is pb crackers and granola bars. Try freezing some grapes. By the time lunch is around grapes should be just right.

My first responce was to go somewhere else. I had a daycare in Indiana and I don't think this would have passed there. I'm pretty sure it was manadtory to at least provide refrigeration. If you are in love with the place and still willing to work with it, then cutting the sandwich into different shapes does wonders to reguvinate a lunch.
Also, when we go on family picnics, we have lunch meat and salad rolled up in a tortilla with ranch. I freeze CapriSun flavored water bags and put them in the lunch also. They thaw in time for us to drink them at lunch, but work as an ice pack until then.

My first response to your situation, is to look around for another day care for the summmer, possibly close to your work. Another is to look into your church youth and see if there is a dependable youth that might like a summer job of taking care of your little ones, and that you would feel comfortable with to have in your home, possibly some one with a driver's license that could take your children to the city pool, library, park, etc.
As far as meals go, have you looked to see of Thermos still make containers that will hold hot food or cold food? I used these with my daughter when she was in school--neither one of my children liked to 'eat off the tray' at school.
And by all means have an insulted lunch kit and freezer ice packs.

I have to ditto the thermos lunches. I run HOT water in them while I nuke the mac n cheese, chicken nuggets (about 6or 7 fit in there), spagettiO's, or soup. then pat dry and put hot food in. this keeps it warmer longer.
I'm also a 'night before' person, other than the nuking of hot items.
EVERYTHING is ready the night b4: Clothing,(in our case I ask which color uniform shirt tomorrow? and set it on top of dresser) belts inside pants/shorts, socks inside shoes, backpacks packed, cold stuff on front center shelf of fridge, room temp stuff in lunch bag on counter. Bags that are ready to go are already in car or at front door.
My clothing ironed if nec, shoes to match, etc... my lunch ready as well...
It saves me a ton of time and stress in the am...
J.
Mom to triplets ID boys (8) and angel daughter in heaven

Any and all fruits and veggies they'll eat...grapes, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, cherries, watermelon, cantalope, strawberries and any berries...

Hard boiled eggs, string cheese, tuna with or without mayo, crackers (there are many different types of crackers).

Juiceboxes, puddings, individual servings of chips, puddings, jellos.

Dried fruits are good, too. Canned fruits and applesauces are also easy.

Try putting the regulars, like PB$J on a tortilla or pita instead of regular bread, for variety.

Also, if you don't have it, get the ice packs you freeze nightly, and an insulated lunchkit. The ice packs come in different styles, so they're fun.

I generally make lunches for the kids and husband at least partially at night, all but the sandwich, so I have less to do in the morning.

I also make sure I empty lunch kids AS SOON as we get home so the ice packs get frozen and nothing gets gross. And we use a reusable sandwich keeper and plastic spoons. I have the family bring the plastic spoons home to wash and reuse, but if they get thrown away, it's okay.

Lots of great ideas so far!! If you freeze juice boxes overnight, put them into their lunch frozen, they will keep everything cool and still thaw out by lunchtime. Also, an insulated lunchbox will help.

im a sahm of 2 . My 2 yr old eats just about anything, but we do alot of picnics so i understand the "cold food" thing. Im not sure what your kiddos like to eat but there are a lot of things that could work. Fruit salad, yogurt, pretzels n' peanut butter, chicken salad sandwiches, tuna salad w/crackers, any type of green salad(w/ left over chkn from the night before),all of there of course need to be packed with a cold pack. My little one got burnt out on sandwiches at one time too so i bought these food punch thingys that cut things like sandwhiches into tiny shapes. My daughter likes the circles...they're the size of a quarter so she can just pop them in her mouth. I hope you find somethings that work. Good luck!

Looking at the other responses, you have some great ideas. Do get the insulated lunch kit and some ice packs.

Also, the thermos works great for foods you want hot. I have seen children bring items in tortillas wrapped in foil then placed in the thermos. They are still toasty warm at lunch time.

I work at a "day camp" that allows the children to bring things to warm up. Not everyone will bring warming food every day, but it can still get hectic trying to get everything warm. So I see why some places don't allow it.

How about something that you can prepare ahead of time? Cut celery into approx 2 inch pieces, stuff with either some type of cheese or peanut butter (put a few raisins on top and they become ants on a log), insert a toothpick through each end of the celery stick and place a round slice of carrot on each end of the toothpicks. It's healthy and unique looking enough to hold interest.

Think fruit and veggies. celery with peanut butter and rasins i think are called ants on a log. Sliced apples and cheese, fruit cups. Google more ideas.

Hi S..

I've read some of the responses and didn't notice any that recommended a hot thermos made for food items. They have a large mouth and make it very easy to send your kids with a hot lunch. You can microwave soup, mac & cheese, hot dog weiners, hot pockets, even remnants of last nights dinner, etc., dump them in the thermos and pack them in their bag. They'll stay warm practically all day. They sell them at Target, Walmart, and most other retail stores for about $5-$10. Other than that, a cold pack will keep things cold...

HTH
J.

One thing that I did to mix up my daughters lunch was I bought a thermos. I would but easy mac or spaghettio's in it and she said it was still warm when she ate it for lunch. Hope that helps.

Wraps are a great option...you can choose different breads to make a sandwhich different. I also would use cookie cutters to cut up my daughter's pbj...she liked the different shapes.

If you need other meal ideas, I'd be happy to help you out. I'm a meal planner with Homemade Gourmet and I'm all about making your life easier by helping you fix quick, easy meals for your family.

www.homemadegourmet.com/marylou
____@____.com
* 4 Meals in 4 Minutes*

S.,

You have received PLENTY of ideas for lunch choices -- but I was surprised that you received only ONE recommendation, from Kristyn, about making preparations the night before. Let me add to her thought about preparing lunches the night before...

Also, get yourself AND the kids into the habit of preparing clothes and accessories for the following morning. Select and gather everything -- the clothes, shoes, hair ribbons, socks, PLUS any items you will need to take along, like sporting equipment, musical instruments and of course, HOMEWORK! You should do the same in preparing for your day -- work clothes, projects, computer, cell phone, Bible, etc.; think through and assemble (in a prescribed location) everything you need to wear/take tomorrow morning.

Yes, this process SOUNDS onerous, to "hear" it in print. But I promise you that it will not take more than about a month of consistent practice until it becomes a part of nightly ritual and preparing for bed - along with bathing and brushing teeth. My mom even included us listening to an evening weather report together to see what tomorrow would be like so we could make appropriate plans. To this day I am a weather junkie (lol!)

Instilling this approach into your 5 and 8 year olds lives will make their entire lives more peaceful and organized. Like I said, it will become second nature. After just a little while, you will not have to "oversee" their preparations and can simply concentrate on your own. The whole process (which may take an hour or so, when you begin) will be down to minutes for each of you. Your MORNING experience will be entirely altered, leaving time for a morning devotional, and even better -- no more "yelling" and "panicking" into the day!

God bless you
K.

Try this link for lunch box ideas: http://www.parents.com/parents/search/results.jsp?searchT...
it's from parents magazine...every year they have a spread on lunch ideas. Also be sure to put a cold pack in the lunch box. That keeps food at a safe temperature for hours.

Cookie cutters. Get some cookie cutters and surprise them with what they get each day or simply cut their sandwich into different shapes, instead of squares or triangles.

We also like the flat bread/wrap things. You can buy 'Wrap Ups' at WalMart (usually in the bakery area) and the are quite tasty not to mention don't have yeast so are actually better for you!!

Good luck!

Do they like fruit? During the school year my daughter would take different kinds of fruit in her lunch box. Like cantalope, strawberries, grapes, sometimes oranges, along with a small bag of chips, and a drink. I would put one of the frozen shapes made for lunch boxes in it to keep everything cooled down.
Another idea would be to use cookie cutter shapes to make their sandwiches with. It is a fun idea, plus the kids can help you do it. Just to make their lunches fun for them. I buy alot of the 100 calorie individual snacks for my kids, and they love to put those with their lunches. Keeps them healthy also.

If you have an ice pack to throw in their lunches here are some of my daughters favorites. She likes pasta with creamy italian dressing or ranch on it, cheese and crackers,any fruits or veggies. They also sell tuna salad kits over by the tuna in the store and she loves those because she can make it herself.

Little freezer lunch kit inserts worked all year long for my niece (99cent store).
Graham cracker "sandwich" fixins in little tubs with lids and a plastic knife (tubs are 4/$1 at 99cent store); nut butter, jam, raisins or dried cranberries, sliced banana, etc.

Mini pita pockets to fill with sliced meat, cheese, & lettuce or cuke slices and dip in ranch dressing.

Bagel with cream cheese and jam.
Raisin bread sandwich with cream cheese, jam.
High protein chewy bars (Kellogg's or Kroger yogurt-dipped ones are the most fun).
Sun chips, baked Lay's, cheese curls.
Cherry tomatoes.
String cheese or colby/jack sticks.
California-roll style sushi (no fish or meat to spoil) Split a package between the 2 of them.

I have worked in Preschool at a church for several years and I have seen it all. Here's what I observed...ICE PACKS in those lunches. Their favorites? A tortilla with cheese/meat. Cut up fruits, veggies with those little dipped servings of salad dressings, left over pizza, yogurts, fruit snacks, cereals, sushi, cut up meat, cheese sticks, chicken nuggets, sandwiches cut up with cookie cutters, pretzels with cubed cheese, cut up wieners and my favorite...those hand written love notes to their child on napkins! You don't have to make it fancy. They will eat what you know they will like.
V.

Hi S.,

I can totally relate, I use the internet a lot to discover new lunch snacks. I know kraftfoods.com has a lot of useful kid lunch recipes. My kids love the wraps, because I can load them up w/ham, cheese, etc or spread them with peanut butter and fresh fruit. Also for lunchables....I buy assorted crackers, lunch meats, and cheese and make my own. Save a few dollars. But visit kraftfoods.com and select your kids and lunchbox solutions. You'll find great ideas.

I sometimes give my daughters meatless lunches. Apples, oranges, grapes, carrots, string cheese, small amount of almonds or mixed nuts. Of course, anything similar works; I just try to give a least one fruit, vegetable, some sort of protein, and healty fat. Of course, if they like peanut butter with the apples, that works great for the protein.

Why not try letting the kids make there own lunch this way you don't have to yell and they well feel that they are helping out and try given them something extra when the first one come up with a balance lunch its a why that at night-----night not in the morning they get to do something for themselves and you and your husband can teach them about the right choices they get to make also they well love you just because you are showing them extra love.

R.
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I worked in a pre-school where parents had to pack their own lunch and it was amazing some of the ideas they came up with. Some would pack salad with a small container of dressing to pour over. Some would fruit and yogurt for dipping. Some wouldn't pack a sandwich at all but roll up lunch meat, roll up some cheese and stick in a pickle. Dried fruit or fresh fruit is always good. My daughter loves it when I pack apples and peanut butter. If you want to pack something hot like fish sticks or nuggets, just wrap it in foil and stick it in a thermos.

find a new daycare and love your children first and foremost
L.

Thank you for this question. I was searching the web for the same ideas. I couldn't have worded this any better.

Updated

Thank you for this question. I was searching the web for the same ideas. I couldn't have worded this any better.

Well, there's always peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Fruit, carrot sticks, nuts, granola bars, etc. Or lunchables or cold cut sandwich if you include a little cold pack in the lunch bag. There are those blue gel cold packs that will keep food cold (in an insulated lunch bag) for hours.