Lunch Box Ideas? | ExpatWoman.com
 

Lunch Box Ideas?

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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 10 October 2011 - 14:56
Well I don't have kids but I do have a husband who wants healthy lunches, wants variety but does not like vegetables, total nightmare! I REALLY struggle to make things - I am happy to make his lunches as am making my own but I just can't think of any ideas and I know he gets bored of having the same things all the time. He pretty much gets pasta with pesto and turkey bacon, pasta with mackerel, microwave savoury rice with chopped frankfurters (not in the healthy category I know) or leftovers of whatever we had the night before. I am OK with snacks as he has cereal bars, yogurt, bananas, rice cakes but the main bit I am out of ideas, sounds like most of your kids are easier to please!
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 10 October 2011 - 12:36
Sue, that was the wrong answer!! You were supposed to say the night before so that I don't have so much rushing about in the morning and having to get up earlier. :D edited by Sugarbeach on 10/10/2011 Lol sorry !! Doesn't take long and I don't have anything else to do while he's having breakfast and getting dressed..hubby's here doing his as well so it's a nice time to spend together...
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 10 October 2011 - 12:29
Sue, that was the wrong answer!! You were supposed to say the night before so that I don't have so much rushing about in the morning and having to get up earlier. :D <em>edited by Sugarbeach on 10/10/2011</em>
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 10 October 2011 - 12:23
Quick question. Do you make the lunch boxes the night before or in the morning? Those muffins sound really great BEG. Will be giving those a go. Always morning - never liked the thought of it sitting in the fridge all night...
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 October 2011 - 11:11
Thank you BEG! :D + 1
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 10 October 2011 - 10:48
Thank you BEG! :D
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EW GURU
Latest post on 10 October 2011 - 10:44
Quick tip, make a list of what you are sending everyday, helps wonders to remember what to buy on your next grocery shopping trip. My daughter is a picky eater - no mayo no tuna no sandwiches no vegs no cereal no granola bars no juice no yogurt......AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! On the other hand, my son would eat the bag if it was eatable. God works in mysterious ways....LOL Here's my list boiled egg baby carrots cucumber sticks celery sticks cheese sticks (my son likes dip so I send ranch dressing in a small leak proof container) any meat, cold, cut in sticks (chicken, turkey, steak...) noodles with a drizzle of olive oil - Penne, Fusili Tricolore... Yogurt croissant fruits: apple, banana. strawberry, pear, plum, grapes(seedless) <em>edited by MomOfTwins on 10/10/2011</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 October 2011 - 09:50
I do the lanch boxes in the morning, but I wash and cut as much as I can the night before. Today they had a Bagel, babybel cheese, grapes (washed pand packed yesterday), and drinking yogurt. <em>edited by Lovelly on 10/10/2011</em>
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 10 October 2011 - 09:33
Quick question. Do you make the lunch boxes the night before or in the morning? Those muffins sound really great BEG. Will be giving those a go.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 09 October 2011 - 23:31
Cheese & carrot muffins or sweetcorn & spinach pancakes - saves making sandwiches in the morning. Would you mind sharing the recipe for these please? The pancakes are really easy! 100g self raising flour, 2 eggs, salt & pepper and a good amount of sweetcorn & spinach (I use frozen). Whizz all of the ingredients up in a blender and then dollop the mixture in large spoonfuls into a pan and fry them gently. The mixture makes around 8. 1 large grated carrot, 2 eggs, 50 ml olive oil, small pot natural yoghurt, 75g grated cheddar/parmesan, 1 tsp mustard, 185g wholewheat flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarb soda. Sift together dry ingredients and fold into a mixture of the remaining ingredients. Spoon into muffin cases and bake for around 20 mins at 180 degrees.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 October 2011 - 17:34
OK here is what I do for DS he is 4 years old, so I guess I can get away with more. Normally I make a fruit salad with at least 3 different fruits eg: strawberry, blueberry, blackberry or pineapple, apple pear/mango,quava peach. I rotate the fruits as much as I can so he gets a different 'salad' everyday. If doing veggies then I chop raw mushrooms, baby carrots, cucumber,sweet capsicum, baby corn or potato wedges(done in the oven drizzled with olive oil) I will sometimes add a cheese triangle, or yogurt, danone drinking yogurt. you can also get yogurt in the tubes, I will usually freeze this so its nice by the time he has his snack. I also found flavoured Laban which he loves(so do I) Flavoured or plain milk. Every now and then I will put juice(frozen so its almost like a slush by the time he has it) If I do a sandwich(wholemeal) then it varies between jam, ham and cheese or just plain butter. Bagels with Philadelphia cheese(sometimes I alternate between the plain one and strawberry flavoured) Egg mayo, Tuna with sweetcorn. Crackers with Philadelphia, cereal bar, pretzels, or salt sticks. Oh I do bread sticks(cheese or plain) and in a small container I will add a bit of cheese so he can dip it. Sometimes he gets cereal(like curiously cinnamon, oh man that stuff is yum!) I also tend to buy ready made waffles(various flavours) Gosh there is more I do for him, but my brain has just frozen! I keep everything cool with ice packs, I find they take up less space then the ice bricks. Also his water bottle and lid for his lunch box has gel in it, so when I wash it, I pop it straight in the freezer so its nice and cold/frozen for the morning. ETA; cherry tomatoes are also a fav! <em>edited by moonbean on 09/10/2011</em>
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 09 October 2011 - 16:27
Iwill just type away all the things they take on a regular basis! Corn on Cob, baby corn, corn tidbits, cut beetroot, apples, bananas, cut up mangoes and strawberries, nectarines, peaches, grapes, pomegranate, melon balls, watermelon wedges, pasta, risotto, tuna sadnwiches, hot dogs, meatballs, couscous, baby carrots, cucumbers, dates, dried aprictos, cold cut sandwiches, breaded chicken breasts, steamed broccoli, chicken drumsticks with chips, fish fingers, dried bread with small packs of labneh or cream cheese, raisins, strawberry yoghurt, cheese strings, the yoghurt drinks, babybel cheese.....can't think of the rest now! Hope this helps. wow, what an inspirational variety!! Thanks:) Only if my children thought so too!
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 09 October 2011 - 16:26
Iwill just type away all the things they take on a regular basis! ...pasta, risotto, tuna sadnwiches, hot dogs, meatballs, couscous, ...breaded chicken breasts, steamed broccoli, chicken drumsticks with chips, fish fingers, dried bread with small packs of labneh or cream cheese Hope this helps. Irooni, are your kids at school? Is all this stuff going in a lunch box in their school bag or are they somewhere it can be refridgerated or heated up when ready to eat? I like those ideas, but would be concerned about bacteria growth and causing food poisoning if I was to put them into an insulated lunch box with only a frozen drink to keep them cool. Sue62, how do you stop the tuna sandwich from going soggy? edited by The Fairybread Thief on 09/10/2011 I put them in the Coleman lunch boxes with a big icepack. I worked at the school last year and kept a close eye on this. Everything in the box was cold until lunch. my daughter does complain from time to time that she wants a ho lunch, but that's the bet I can do:( To keep the tuna sandwiches from going soggy, I use frozen bread in the morning.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 09 October 2011 - 16:00
Iwill just type away all the things they take on a regular basis! Corn on Cob, baby corn, corn tidbits, cut beetroot, apples, bananas, cut up mangoes and strawberries, nectarines, peaches, grapes, pomegranate, melon balls, watermelon wedges, pasta, risotto, tuna sadnwiches, hot dogs, meatballs, couscous, baby carrots, cucumbers, dates, dried aprictos, cold cut sandwiches, breaded chicken breasts, steamed broccoli, chicken drumsticks with chips, fish fingers, dried bread with small packs of labneh or cream cheese, raisins, strawberry yoghurt, cheese strings, the yoghurt drinks, babybel cheese.....can't think of the rest now! Hope this helps. wow, what an inspirational variety!!
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 09 October 2011 - 09:00
Iwill just type away all the things they take on a regular basis! ...pasta, risotto, tuna sadnwiches, hot dogs, meatballs, couscous, ...breaded chicken breasts, steamed broccoli, chicken drumsticks with chips, fish fingers, dried bread with small packs of labneh or cream cheese Hope this helps. Irooni, are your kids at school? Is all this stuff going in a lunch box in their school bag or are they somewhere it can be refridgerated or heated up when ready to eat? I like those ideas, but would be concerned about bacteria growth and causing food poisoning if I was to put them into an insulated lunch box with only a frozen drink to keep them cool. Sue62, how do you stop the tuna sandwich from going soggy? edited by The Fairybread Thief on 09/10/2011 i don't use much mayo, make them in the morning (not the night before) and take the bread out the freezer. I presume by the time the bread's defrosted it's not much longer to wait lol (also use an iceblock rather than relying on the juice carton)..
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 09 October 2011 - 08:29
Cheese & carrot muffins or sweetcorn & spinach pancakes - saves making sandwiches in the morning. Would you mind sharing the recipe for these please?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 October 2011 - 08:19
Iwill just type away all the things they take on a regular basis! ...pasta, risotto, tuna sadnwiches, hot dogs, meatballs, couscous, ...breaded chicken breasts, steamed broccoli, chicken drumsticks with chips, fish fingers, dried bread with small packs of labneh or cream cheese Hope this helps. Irooni, are your kids at school? Is all this stuff going in a lunch box in their school bag or are they somewhere it can be refridgerated or heated up when ready to eat? I like those ideas, but would be concerned about bacteria growth and causing food poisoning if I was to put them into an insulated lunch box with only a frozen drink to keep them cool. Sue62, how do you stop the tuna sandwich from going soggy? <em>edited by The Fairybread Thief on 09/10/2011</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 October 2011 - 08:11
Baked beans and a couple of mini granary rolls. He LOVES it! Obviously, fruit, chopped veggies too....
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 21:57
mine doesn't like change much so luckily i get away with more or less the same lunch every day :D - cheese and cucumber or tuna sandwich, a cucumber, a carrot, an apple, pot of pineapple or low fat rice pudding and carton junior juice.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 21:43
Thanks for the suggestions ladies, just in case anyone wants my lunch box ideas: 1x Energy muffin or cereal bar 1x bega cheese stick/pepperoni stick 1x fruit (apple, mandarin, grapes, plum, nectarine) 1 or 2x veggies (carrot, cucumber, baby corn) Sandwiches with: Ham and Cheese Ham Luncheon (rarely) Jam Chicken Pasta: Plain with cheese or with some grilled chicken mixed in Home made pizza: just with a bit of cheese, chicken and/or pepperoni Thats it, and trying to come up with new ideas!!
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 20:40
Iwill just type away all the things they take on a regular basis! Corn on Cob, baby corn, corn tidbits, cut beetroot, apples, bananas, cut up mangoes and strawberries, nectarines, peaches, grapes, pomegranate, melon balls, watermelon wedges, pasta, risotto, tuna sadnwiches, hot dogs, meatballs, couscous, baby carrots, cucumbers, dates, dried aprictos, cold cut sandwiches, breaded chicken breasts, steamed broccoli, chicken drumsticks with chips, fish fingers, dried bread with small packs of labneh or cream cheese, raisins, strawberry yoghurt, cheese strings, the yoghurt drinks, babybel cheese.....can't think of the rest now! Edited to add to the list: cherry tomatoes, pizza Hope this helps. <em>edited by Irooni on 09/10/2011</em>
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 20:34
This is what I pack daily: 1 whole apple 1 cereal bar (semi-healthy variety) 1 Sargento cheese dippers pretzel sticks In a cold pack: 1 Petit Filou yogurt or Actimel In a heat-conserved thermos: pasta or chicken nuggets 1 refillable water bottle I don't do much variety since my DD is not into change...
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 20:29
Cheese & carrot muffins or sweetcorn & spinach pancakes - saves making sandwiches in the morning.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 20:19
I normally send - pancakes (no sugar), whole meal sandwiches with variety fillings, fruit for sure, raisins, mini croissant, whole wheat pasta, actamil milk. hope this helps:-)
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EW GURU
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 19:43
HTH :) http://www.expatwoman.com/qatar/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=157822
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EW GURU
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 19:35
We should have a section for lunch box ideas! Anyway I've been struggling to put things but here goes, I always put a little bit of fruit in ie., grapes, apples, orange segments, sandwich turkey or cheese - cheese and biscuits - chicken drum sticks - little sausages, rice cakes.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 19:26
Tricky isn't it? I try and vary as much as I can, with chicken, ham, tuna sw and sometimes use Arabic bread or little rolls or bagels. Also sometimes replace sw with half a scotch egg, samosas or spring rolls (from spinneys). Have once or twice made a simple channa masala and put that in with bread. Spinneys also do mini salami sausages in p@@k section. Would also appreciate some fresh ideas.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 18:59
DS gets a sandwich with either plain butter or butter and cheese on and some strawberries or grapes and his drink of water. Anything else and he doesn't eat it so I don't bother packing in more and I don't feel guilty cos at least he's eating what he gets and he's happy. I make sure he eats breakfast and he has a snack at home after school.
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 18:57
Whatever goes into the lunchbox or just what they have as lunch?
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 08 October 2011 - 18:44
Anyone kind enough to share their lunches they send their kids to school with? Am stuck for ideas!!
 
 

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