School Lunch Packed with Snack Type Stuff

Have you asked her what she would like to eat for lunch? I don't think cutting sandwiches into pretty shapes makes kids more likely to eat them. I would not send so many things, if you just send her the sandwich and fruit, she'll likely eat them because that's all she has. Eating a rice cake and goldfish isn't giving any real nutrition or protein, which is what she needs for energy. I'd send along one of those kiddie nutritional supplement shakes with whatever you pack for lunch, but if she isn't eating any healthy meal items, I would not send treats like goldfish crackers or pudding.

ask her what she wants to eat. My daughter is super picky. Her lunch is usually a mozzerella string cheese stick, yogart, some kind of snack like goldfish and a dessert, juice box or water. She also helps pack it. I know it isn't the most healthy lunch, but it is the best I can do when she needs to eat.

I completely understand what you are going through!!! I have been dealing with the same problem with my oldest son since he was in kindergarten.....he's now in 6th grade! He also won't eat foods at school that he'll eat at home.

Have you asked her why she doesn't eat much at school? My son couldn't really explain it to us when he was in kindergarten, but we finally found out when he was in 4th grade that it was because of sensory issues. He is bothered by the smells in the cafeteria- of whatever they're cooking and/ or of whatever kids near him are eating. He also is bothered by other kids chewing with their mouths open.

We finally brought him to a nutritionist who came up with the idea of protein bars. They have calories, protein, and fiber, and should help keep her feeling full longer. He liked the Power Bar Triple Threat Energy-Caramel Peanut Fusion- it has 230 calories, 10g of protein, and 3 g of fiber.
http://www.powerbarstore.com/products/bars/powerbar_tripl...

You could also try Cliff bar for kids, but they only have 120 - 130 calories and only 3 g of protein. There are lots of other options out there- you may have to try a bunch of different brands/ flavors before finding one she likes.

When my son gets home from school, he'll have the turkey sandwich or bagel and cream cheese that he won't eat at school, and he eats a lot at dinner, but for now anyway, it's the best we can do.

Good luck, and hang in there!!!!! =o)

Does she give you any reasons for not eating some of these foods? Are they staying the proper temperature? My daughter likes cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, wraps (just deli meat and cheese with cream cheese on the tortilla and sometimes a pickle). I'll occasionally put mac and cheese or SpaghettiOs in a thermos for her. Kids get tired of the same thing, and who knows when they decide their tastes have changed. How about chips and salsa? Perhaps some peanut butter or peanut butter alternative with her apples? A yogurt smoothie kind of drink instead of regular yogurt might work. I'll occasionally send a bagel with cream cheese. Shoot, you could even do a bowl of cereal and have her buy a milk at school to pour over it. Cereal can be filling.

You can ask her teacher to find out what's going on during lunch if she doesn't find some more things to eat. The teacher's probably not there, but there's always some kind of supervisor. Maybe she's talking too much or maybe everyone else is bringing a different kind of lunch, who knows?

Hi, I have dealth with this and it is frsutrating. As many others mentioned, let her help plan and go with you to the store. I send my daughter to school with lunches too. Some food choices are:
grilled chicken tenders with honey mustard or bbq
toast and nutella
cheese stick with turkey rolled on it and cut into bite size pieces
ritz with peanut butter
bananas drizzed with herseys syrup
chicken salad
prunes (my daughter loves em)
butter cinnamon toast

also, start small with juice , one sweet, one protein. Dont give her too many choices in school, let her get a bit hungry. My daughter is not a big eater and we had a rough spell. She may change before you know. Good luck

-What about those "uncrustables" in the frozen section
-peanut butter crackers
-JIF makes a small snackable peanutbutter, kind of like a small ranch dipping packet. My 3.5 yr old loves to scoop up peanutbutter with triscuits or pretzels and eat that as a snack.
-pepperoni (sticks or slices
- tortilla, smear cream cheese, sprinkle on diced cucumber and shredded, tomato, and pepperonis. Slice, so you get like 6-8 circles that are ready to pick up and eat.

What does she say she wants? If you're game for almost anything, don't tell her that, but see what she wants. Maybe some dry cereal? Those 'fruit in the middle' Shredded wheats are pretty yummy.

I was going to suggest a thermos for mac and cheese or chicken noodle although we have never had luck keepign it hot enough.

IF you put any sort of a treat in even the granola type bars, sometimes they get fixated on that and don't eat anything else.

YOu could try cutting the sanwich with cookie cutters.

There is a lady that blogs about the lunches she packs for her kids, takes a picture of iteveryday some really cute things on there but way too much time on her hands lol.

do you have her pack her lunch, that might help a bit too.

my school lets me visit at lunch time, when i have a day off work i try to go in, it's eyeopening what they eat and DON'T eat. be glad she brings it home for you to see
Good luck

Did you ask her... why she is not eating?
Maybe, the other kids are too distracting?
And, Kindergarten kids... do not have a sense of timing nor time... and that they may only have 20 minutes to eat.
Thus, they come home, having not eaten.

Try talking to her Teacher.
Because yes, the goal as you said is she just eat something and at home is where you feed her balanced.
The main thing is she is not getting hypoglycemic, due to lack of intake ALL day. Hence coming home after school, all tired/fussy/very cranky.
7-8 hours without food since breakfast, will do that to even an adult.

My son is in Kinder. He is a picky eater. BUT... he has been, eating the school lunches. At school. Our public school has good lunches. Not icky food. Other than that, previously at Preschool, he had home lunch. The SAME type of sandwich everyday. That way, he ate.

Oh, when you pick your child up after school, ALREADY have at least something in the car for her to eat. Because, by then, she is in hypoglycemic levels. Having not eaten all day. So, even if you give her a 1/2 cup of grapes or some nuts... at least that will help her blood sugar levels from being depleted.
That is what I do. I have something IN the car already, for my kids when I pick them up from school.

Ask your child. Find something that she will eat. Then, make that even if it is everyday.
Explain to her... that it is important for her BODY... that she eat... otherwise, her body will run out of energy and then she can't concentrate or focus or feel good at school. That food, is a body's fuel.
I explain that, to my son who is 5. I tell him, eat his lunch FIRST... that is important. THEN you can talk and chat. And if another kid is distracting you... tell the cafeteria Aid or tell the child "Can you stop bothering me, I have to eat."

If you want your child to have a nice full tummy through the day, I would not do the packaged drinks. Children who fill up on liquids aren't getting enough substance in their diet to stay satisfied for the afternoon.

There are two routes take when kids are coming home with unfinished lunches. What I have always done (nannying and as a mom) is to have Kiddo finish whatever is left over from lunch for the afternoon snack. For this reason, I don't pack anything that's too perishable. I believe that if you pack them a reasonable lunch, whatever's left over will be the perfect snack and keep their diet well-rounded.

We do the following at our house (you can change the portions, my kid is four years old, older kids will need more):

Half of an almond butter and jelly/honey/banana sandwich on whole grain bread.

String cheese
Apple slices
Applesauce in a reusable container (because kids get fixated on packaging)
Whole-grain almond butter cracker sandwiches
Leftover pizza, cut into strips
Almonds or pistachios
Carrots or celery
A few olives
Red pepper strips
Leftover couscous or macaroni and cheese
Leftover gnocchi
Hard-boiled eggs (use an icepack for these)

I left off a lot of things that I know your daughter isn't inclined to eat so far; my son often comes home with leftover veggies and like I said, we just eat them for snack later on before moving on to other foods. Sliced fruit is great, if you need something she can just poke with a fork. What about making some steel cut oats in the morning and putting that in a thermos? That sort of oatmeal will stay with you for quite some time, just offer a protein to balance it.

Good luck and happy packing.

Have you considered sending a warm lunch? We have a Thermos brand food container (called a funtainer). I microwave water while getting around in the a.m. Right before we leave I heat up something. We've done just about everything - soup, rice, pasta, scrambled eggs, chicken nuggets, chinese dumplings, shepards pie, burgers (if you make them small like sliders), etc. Dump the water and fill with the hot food. I usually heat up everything hotter than we would normally. We have tested it and it works well for almost five hours. My son eats at 10:30 so we don't have to worry about it too much.

Other tricks I have imposed to get him to eat are cutting things out with cookie cutters - sandwiches, fruits, cheese or meat. Packing toothpicks. My son likes to eat with them, I guess it seems a bit scandalous to him. :) Letting him build a salad seems to work well too. I put everything in baggies and tell him he has to "make" the salad. He likes this and eats it.

You didn't mention her age, but I know a common problem in schools these days is that kids just don't have that much time to eat - could this be an issue with her? Oh wait, I am sorry, you did mention that!

Would she be able to take a PBJ sandwich to school, or is there another kind of sandwich that would appeal to her? Can you try having deli meat and cheeses in small slices that she could stack on crackers - kind of like Lunchables but not as unhealthy? What about some kind of dip for the veggies, like ranch or hummus? How about other fruits like bananas or pears?

What kind of mood is she in when she comes home? Tired, crabby, hungry? Or generally okay?

My daughter did the same thing and also in kindergarten. I think they are on overload, and they have such a short time frame to eat that combine that with the idle chit chat, they don't finish everything. Also, I think certain foods get "yucky" in a lunchbox after just a few hours. My daughter still to this day will not eat a sandwich. She tells me it's because of eating them in kindergarten when they would get soft and squishy. She said the cheese was warm and too soft - even when packed with icepacks.

Maybe try sandwiches with everything packed separately. It's a big pain, but it works for my son. I don't do cheese anymore when I realized it just gets warm and gross. I also try to pack salads. My kids eat them up for some reason. Another thought is to maybe let her buy lunch a couple days a week so she can have a hot lunch every now and then for a change.

Good luck! There is nothing more frustrating than seeing all that food go to waste and the kids in bad moods from lack of food!

Oh my, peer pressure! Apple and Eve juices have fruits + veggies, but are kinda pricy. Wraps were a good choice for my kids, and the Jif 'to go' peanut butter cups with something to scoop it up are good. Crackers, celery, etc. How about string cheese or wrapped slices? You said she isn't much for veggies, do you provide a bit of ranch for dipping? Would she like to help you shop for choices? She might be more inclined to eat if she chooses. Good luck!

How old is she? Have you sat down with her and talked about appropriate lunch food vs junk? Has she come to the store with you to help pick out items?

I would ask the teacher what lunch is like and why she might not be eating the things sent (time, rushing to recess, etc.) and see if that might help you figure out a better lunch.

I would also not send junk food, like chips or pudding, until she eats more balanced lunches. Good food can be "snackish". Fruit slices, like you have been sending. If she won't eat a sandwich, would she eat crackers? Maybe Triscuits or something with a little more to it? Pretzels, packages of craisins or raisins, nuts, breakfast bars, or even baggies of cereal. My go-to thing is a mix of DD's favorite cereals in a baggie if I don't think she's eaten enough and we'll be out and about.

I think that even though she is only 5 or 6 she needs a reminder on what to eat and why. My DD has a chocolate Advent calendar and I tell her healthy food first. Today she handed me a clementine and asked, "Is this healthy?" I tell her that if she eats nothing but sweets, her tummy will hurt and she will be sick, but if she eats healthy food first, and not too many sweets at once, her tummy will be happy. She's 3, so your mileage may vary. Since your DD is consistently tired and cranky in the afternoon, take a moment after pick up to talk to her about how it's not fun to feel tired and sick, is it? Wouldn't it be nicer to be ready to do things in the afternoon? That's why she needs to eat lunch. I like the idea of pulling out her leftovers and offering them as a snack later.

We had to have some chats with my stepdaughter because once she decided she didn't want to eat hot lunch from the school (in public school, she was in private school before that where things were different), she was either not eating or not eating right. She's one of those kids that doesn't like to do what you want her to do (we joked that if we wanted her to wear brown shoes, we'd suggest blue so she'd pick the other pair) so we had to get her to understand the whys of what we were packing and get her more involved. It mostly worked, though don't ask me what she takes for lunches now...but she's a senior and I figure that's largely her own problem.

Have her help you food shop and plan out her lunches on the weekend. I have 2 good eaters so I can't offer advice - I give them egg salad, or chicken salad, or tuna, or ham and cheese, or pb&j or banana and PB. Snacks I do are small snack bags of grapes, gogurts, yogurts, pretzels, or an apple, things like that. I think get her involved is the best bet.

Sometimes children find it less overwhelming when there is less food. In K my son didnt seem to have time to eat. My son usually ate a half a sandwich and a tiny serving of fruit (think 2 large strawberries or five grapes or cherry tomatos) and a few sips of water. Most kids get a snack at school as well as lunch, talk to the teacher and find out if they have enough time to eat lunch and can they have a short snack time ? More ideas: ants on a log (raisins, P.B. on celery) lunch meat and cream cheese rolled up With my daughter the key was variety!

What about different types of pasta ?? Additionally, you could make your own trail mix of sorts.. My son loves the Giddy Up gluten free granola.. but you can mix your own stuff.. sometimes I add raw organic nuts and dried apricots. although, you don't need much... He also enjoys leftovers.. will your daughter eat chicken of any sort? you can cut it into small pieces have you tried RAW red pepper? those are a hit in my household..
I don't tend to view lunch in sandwich form because kids do get tired of that.. so we do all kinds of things... for example.. tomorrow.. my son is having (his choice) a tuna salad, a slice of Boudin French bread and of all things, carmelized Brussel Sprouts.... it's not for everyone.. but it's what he likes...

good luck to you

Our daughter liked a small container of either peanut butter or mustard and then pretzel sticks. She would dip them.

Ham roll ups or turkey roll ups. Literally just slices of the meat, rolled up with a toothpick stuck in it.

Lettuce and shredded chicken. She would wrap the chicken in the lettuce.

Chinese pot stickers. Yes, she would eat them cold. I would purchase the frozen ones and steam them the night before. Then I sent a little soy sauce with her. I collected them from the to go orders we had.

Cereal in a plastic container. She could pour her school purchased milk on top.

Ants on a log.. Celery with Peanut butter or cream cheese with raisins on top.

Fruit salad made with all fresh fruits.

my son takes the same thing everyday so I will just tell you what his meal is...

peanut butter & jelly
an apple
a half fruit juice half veggie juice drink
a 100 calorie pack of cookies

he wants this same lunch everyday...I try to add things and he tells me, please not to add...he just wants it the same everyday.

He is in first grade...oh, and he will not eat school lunches...he says they are gross.

It really sounds frustrating for you. I wonder why you don't let her eat the school food. Ours usually has several entrees including a huge salad, PB&J sandwiches, meat sandwiches, and the main dish. Plus they have 2-3 sides to choose 1-2 from, then some fresh fruit, milk, and then juice. I would think she'd eat what her friends are picking but none of it is junk food. If she ate 10 bites of whatever they are having it sounds like it would be more than she is already eating.

If your school does not offer a lunch at all then I guess I might do what you are doing and then take a snack with me to pick her up. Hand it to her as she gets her seat belt on. That way she is eating instead of being cranky.

They usually only have time for a small amount of food so I would just send a main thing then one side plus a drink.