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Need help: School Lunch ideas w/o gluten-free Bread

cbush

By cbush
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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cbush Newbie
cbush
Posted

Hi everyone. 

I'm in need of some school lunch ideas that are gluten-free. Here is what I'm looking for:

-No gluten-free bread sandwiches (son hasn't yet taken to gluten-free bread yet)

-Unable to reheat

-Must be able to stay fresh in an unrefrigerated backpack 

There are a ton of sites with gluten-free lunch suggestions, but everything is either centered around a gluten-free bread sandwich, or is a hot dish that photographs well but isn't good cold, or is a cold dish that needs to be refrigerated until eaten. I've found a really good insulated lunch bag (the Pack-It) that you can freeze and it does the best job of keeping items cold... but we are in Texas and even this bag has it's limitations. (My son has about 6-7 hours between leaving the house and lunch period)

So far my son has been surviving on hot soups/chili in a Thermos (which he doesn't love) or turkey/cheese rollups that barely avoid spoilage by the time his lunch period comes around. 

What are your go-to options for send-to-school lunches?

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Feeneyja Collaborator
Feeneyja
Posted

My kids eat any of the following cold for lunches:

Pepperoni Pizza Muffins: Open Original Shared Link

Left Over Pizza (using this Crust: Open Original Shared Link

Meat and Cheese role ups (just roll up lunch meat with a cheese slice)

Hard Salami slices and cheese slices

Hot Dog Bites: Open Original Shared Link

Hamburg Bites (really just little meatballs)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Roll Ups using Grain Free Crepes :Open Original Shared Link

Left over Pancakes or Waffles (pack with cinnamon butter) and sausages

Serve with any combination of the following:  (make little baggies of these at the beginning of the week) sliced veggies (pack with guacamole or ranch dressing), chips (corn, veggie potato), fresh fruit, apple sauce, yogurt (you can freeze yogurt tubes and they will thaw partially by lunch), trail mix, brownie bites, mini chocolate chip cookies, mini granola cookies.

 

Feeneyja Collaborator
Feeneyja
Posted

Also, this site has some great ideas (paleo is inherently gluten free so that's a good place to look):

Open Original Shared Link

Ennis-TX Grand Master
Ennis-TX
Posted

Raw food snack boxes, nuts, seeds, even candies ones (I have recipes), fruit fresh or dried, gluten-free crackers, nut or seed butters, grilled cup up meats,  they can make dippers or assemble lunch able like snacks out of these. Deli meats included for some awesome options. You can de meat roll ups with a deli meat with say Kite HIll diary free cheese spreads rolled up in them. Hummus and fruit, veggies, chips. I used to snack on gluten-free bean chips all the time. there are plenty of meal nut and seed bars. gluten-free baked goods are always great. I make my own breads, and muffins super soft and moist, and even the kids love my gluten-free grain free Vegan cheesy bread.....they did not like my flat bread as it had a odd dry texture (focus group was 8, 9,12 year olds)...yeah the kids hate the store bought gluten-free breads raw I got one to eat Julian Bakery Breads when I toasted them and put apple butter on them.  Corn Flour tortillas from some companies are certified gluten-free, these give some options to experiment with. >.< I once took barbacoa and tortillas from breakfast leftovers as a kid to lunch. Califlour foods makes a cauliflower crust....I get the vegan one, and just preabake it extra long then top with vegan cheese only for a cheesy cracker bread for snacks with meals sometimes.   OH check out IANs, UDI, VANs, etc on this list along with some others for thoughts.

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/117090-gluten-free-food-alternatives-list/

 

Victoria1234 Experienced
Victoria1234
Posted

I like to make trail mix so it's a bit different each week.

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

Glutino makes some great crackers.

Open Original Shared Link

He can use those & top with any number of items. He'd probably like PB or any of the nut butters OR Nutella on them. You can send a plastic knife so he can spread it on the crackers.

Fresh veggies such as carrot sticks, celery sticks, apples, tangerines, pears, any fruit really.  Hard boiled eggs. Mission makes some good soft taco wraps that are gluten-free. Those are great for putting any meats, cheeses in or he can just eat them plain. Small cans of beans & he can make his own burrito. Hey, in Texas, he can leave the beans in the sun for a few minutes & he can have a warm burrito.:lol: I'm in FL so I know.

Open Original Shared Link

Long before celiac, my husband & I used to pack lunches for ourselves & cooked meat was always a favorite. Leftover steak, pork chops, chicken -- wrap in tin foil & eat with clean fingers. Or he can put these items in the soft taco wraps. You can either get him some individual packets of condiments or get some little containers (rubbermaid or whatever) & put condiments in them but he'd have to keep track of the containers, bring them home to be washed & refilled.

Larabars

Open Original Shared Link

gluten-free Kind bars

Open Original Shared Link

Dole Fruit bowls

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

 

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

If you're worried about meats spoiling do this. Freeze them & put them in his pack frozen. By the time he gets around to eating them, they will have thawed. 

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Does he leave his backpack outside of the classroom?  We are in Southern California, so I get the heat.  Can he bring his lunch into the classroom?  Store in the school kitchen or in a teacher's fridge?  Surely, they should accommodate him.  

My kid has a small cooler and I load it up with three large blue ice blocks.  This year her locker is outside!  

We do chili on gluten-free noodles, leftover spaghetti, tamales, crackers with meat and cheese, yogurts, fruit and veggies. 

pschwab Enthusiast
pschwab
Posted

Can you talk to the school about a 504 plan? In Wisconsin our kids can get 504 plans to assist kids who need extra accommodations. If your schools in Texas utilize 504s, the school is required to follow them. You can get special accommodations like daily access to a fridge and microwave. We are planning to get one in place when my celiac superhero starts 4k next year. Just a thought.

TexasJen Collaborator
TexasJen
Posted

I saw this post today and thought of this thread....

Open Original Shared Link

or this one

Open Original Shared Link

Victoria1234 Experienced
Victoria1234
Posted
17 hours ago, pschwab said:

Can you talk to the school about a 504 plan? In Wisconsin our kids can get 504 plans to assist kids who need extra accommodations. If your schools in Texas utilize 504s, the school is required to follow them. You can get special accommodations like daily access to a fridge and microwave. We are planning to get one in place when my celiac superhero starts 4k next year. Just a thought.

Pretty sure 504 plans are in all public schools. Here's a bit of a guide for you. Open Original Shared Link

Trust Newbie
Trust
Posted
On 8/31/2017 at 1:57 PM, cbush said:

I'm new to this, but REALLY have not been keen on the sample menus/ideas elsewhere.

So far I've done some cold salads (not lettuce) , a fruit snack, that would fit the bill with an ice pack & soft shell cooler pack_at room temp. 

1.  White beans, tomatoes, olives, olive oil.... Any veggie really & cheese if you want.

2.  Blanched broccoli, walnut, apple. 

3.  gluten-free Pasta (or potato), pesto, tomato.... Olives

Other than those 3 ingredient mixes, mostly leftovers...  Many vegetarian.

 

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      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
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