Mom of 2 - Abington,PA

My kids have a hot lunch almost every day thanks to the Thermos Funtainer (short wide-mouth stainless steel thermos). I got cute personalized ones on line and they sell them at Target. My kids eat soup, chowder, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, soft tacos, quesadillas, spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, ravioli, dinner left overs, bagel bites (those are tricky - I have to put little pieces of parchment between each one and stack them so they don't stick to each other), etc.

Hope that helps!

Time to experiment at home with different finger foods until you come up with a menu you can send with him for lunch. You might have to get a little tough while encouraging more fresh fruits and veggies, hardboiled eggs, cold fried chicken etc. Is peanut butter out? Most kids love a good pbj... even if they have to eat it away from other kids with the nut allergy thing goin on.

String cheese, crackers
cut raw veggies with his favorite dressing to dip Carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, celery, Jicama,squash, peppers

Even steamed veggies are good cold, Asparagus, green beans

fresh fruit
wraps with meat and cheese
Pasta with sauce to dip it in
Sausage wraps
Quesadillas
Cold grilled chicken legs
Hummus with pita wedges
Cold hot dog
Ants on a log (you can use almond butter if peanut butter is not allowed)
Pretzels with peanut butter
Brown rice with meat and veggies
Mashed potatoes with meat and veeggies

Hi J.,

YOU know your child's tastes best, so begin by making a list of the foods he likes and will eat. Remember, you can always send along a container that keeps food hot/warm filled with soup, stew, baked chicken nuggets or casseroles inside if you want him to have "hot" meals. Thermos makes a great one, called the FUNtainer, that keeps foods hot OR cold for about 6-7 hours in lots of kid designs, in wide-mouth versions he can eat out of. They sell online and in stores for about $15 or $16, but are incredibly worth the money:
http://www.thermos.com/product_catalog.aspx?CatCode=LUNC

My food suggestions would be cheese cut into sticks or slices, sliced meats like turkey and ham, whole wheat crackers or breads (there's oodles to try) sliced in half. He could make his own sandwiches or cracker stacks, and you can make them healthier than Lunchables ; ) You could also pack fruit you've sliced with some yogurt or low-fat caramel dip in a small cup, or this easy recipe for Rocco DiSpirito's Jammin' Jelly Dip:
Simply mix together:
1 cup low-fat cream cheese, softened AND
1 cup sugar-free jelly, strawberry or your flavor of choice

Does he like pizza? Have him help you make his own on English muffins with some sauce, cheese and whatever else he likes, heat til the cheese is melted, and place in a sandwich container and send. If it gets cold it's OK, kids seem to love cold pizza. Do an internet search for kids recipes, lots of big name chefs have families, too, and have cookbooks out and recipes online.

If he'll eat cut-up veggies send some with a dip like this recipe for Rocco DiSpirito's Tomato Ranch Dip (I figured out that the tomato "puree" listed in the ingredients is tomato "sauce") :
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/roccos-tomato-...
BTW, I've made both of these dip recipes and kids & grown-ups alike love them : )

To drink I give my little guy (he's 2) the juices that are 100% juice and have a full serving of fruit and vegetables in them, since he's picky about textures when eating. They're good for him, I've found them in juice boxes, and he loves them!

To take it all to school here's a bag I've seen advertised that I want to try, the Pack-It, a personal cooler, so to speak, that is non-toxic gel-lined inside and you keep in the freezer when not in use. It is advertised to keep food fridge cold for 10 hours, but most reviews give it more til lunchtime, which would work for your son. I haven't seen it in stores as of yet, so here's a link to a page listing sites where it can be ordered (some do offer free shipping depending on the size of your order) :
http://www.google.com/search?q=pack-it+cooler&hl=en&a...

I hope some of these ideas help, and am glad you asked the question because it got me thinking ahead, too!

Get him a thermos. You can put more than soup in them. I've put mac and cheese, soup, chicken nuggets, spagetti. My daughter says they stay warm. Try to find one he can open. Let him try them in the store. If not he will have to get a teacher to loosen it for him. In a smaller school its not a big deal teachers will gladly loosen it for him but in a big school he might have to wait a while till they get to him. Also dont put boiling soup in there because it will still be to hot for him to eat.

We use a thermos a lot. They have different sizes and shapes now that accomodate lots of different foods. My son has always taken things like soup, spaghetti, hot dogs, nacho cheese, rice, and lots of other things. The trick is to fill the thermos with really hot water for about ten mintues before you put your hot food in it. When you are ready to put the food in, pour out the water and dry it off if. This heats the thermos so that it will maintain the warmth even longer.
I also try to keep the cold things, like drinks, veggies, and jello in a different part of the lunch box to they don't cool the thermos. Lol... sounds weird, but sometimes I will put a bag of chips or crackers between the thermos and the other stuff to give a little insulation to both sides.
You have gotten some really great ideas from the other mamas. I'm sure you will find something that works for your son.
Good luck!

Lunchables (while certainly disgusting and nutritionally undesirable) "can do" in a pinch.
My son packs his lunch AND refuses to eat sandwiches. That's right--NO sandwiches! At all. Ever. (MAYBE a bacon/lettuce sandwich once very 2 or 3 weeks....)
He likes things like olives, artichoke hearts, ....he's your basic lunch packing nightmare!
Sometimes I buy him a ChikFilA spicy chicken Cool Wrap and he takes half O. day, half the next....those are my "easy" lunch days.
He takes an aforementioned Lunchables occasionally or better yet, I make our own (pepperoni, crackers, cheese...)
He has a small thermos that he'll take mac & cheese, pasta, etc.
He takes assorted wraps or cold chicken legs, cold meatloaf, etc.
And (Thanks GOD) he buys occasionally.

My grandchildren eat Lunchables cold.

Will he eat meats and veggies? Most taste just fine at room temperature. You can include a dip which might interest him.

My son likes cold noodles(especially multicolor spirals). Cherry tomatoes, black olives, carrot and celery sticks. Edamame(I've seen small frozen bags of them with cartoon characters).

You could always put something in a thermos.

As for a cold lunch (if no refrigeration, freeze a water bottle to help the items stay cold), think more of snack items
crackers
pretzels
orange slices
yogurt
string cheese
dried fruit
chicken cut in cubes
cold pizza
black olives
carrot sticks
celery sticks
nuts (if no alergies)
cereal
granola bars

For my daughter I always sent and almond butter sandwich, a banana, some apple slices, a juice box, and some sort of chips or crackers. Whatever you choose, start fixing it for him now so he's used to it in September.

I use a thermos for my daughter and it works out great...chicken nuggets,hot dogs, taco meat with chips. Just fill the thermos with hot water for about 5 minutes to warm it, put warm food in and it stays warm. I use the thermos funtainer (target carries them where the lunchbags/water bottles are) and have been very happy.