Lunch And Snack Ideas?

[khieken]

Hi,

We're pretty new to gluten-free, and I am having a really hard time coming up with lunch and snack ideas for my child who is in full-day kindergarten. He has never been a sandwich kid and doesn't really like the gluten-free breads anyway (my daughter loves them!) He asks me to pack him deli meat (e.g. gluten-free salami or ham) - I don't mind doing that once in a while, but not very healthy for every day! To complicate matters, he has other food allergies - peanuts/tree nuts, eggs, peas, lentils, chick peas. Finding healthy snacks has also been an issue.

I would really appreciate ANY suggestions any of you might have.

Thanks!!

Karen

[missy'smom]

Click on my name to link to my profile and you'll find a link there to photos lunches that we do. Feel free to leave a comment there or elsewhere to ask any questions or get names of products. For snack there are luckily so many things out there. I make popcorn, 100% fruit juice gelatin with unflavored geltin, 100% fruit juice in popsicle molds. There are fruit leathers, dried fruit, freeze dried fruit-Costco and Whole Foods and the healthfood stores sell various brands and Gerber has some. Have you checked the gluten-free pretzels, they are very good. Many pudding cups are gluten-free and apple sauce cups are. Kraft is a company that will disclose all gluten on the label so if you look on a Kraft pudding cup label and don't see the words "wheat" or "barley" there, it's safe. We are making coco krispy rice crispy treats this week, not exactly healthy but a special treat, with the Envirokids Koala Crisp cereal(FYI: it's produced in a facility that contains peanut and tree nuts but otherwise has no allergens).

[stolly]

Welcome and know that this will get much easier over time. I was very overwhelmed at DD's diagnosis, and things are much much easier now.

Our DD3 is in preschool and I send in the gluten free equivalent of all meals and snacks, except for plain fruit/vegetables, which her school serves to her (we've thoroughly discussed cross contamination issues, and I feel very comfortable with the staff's understanding of this).

Snacks: fruit, raisins, string cheese, Josef's graham crackers, pretzels, animal crackers, yogurt, dry cereal, mini muffins, Envirokidz bars (all gluten free of course)

As for meals, a thermos (10 ounce is a good size for her) was our best purchase since DD went gluten free. I make big batches of her meals and freeze them in 8 oz containers, microwave them in the morning and put in a thermos (I put microwaved water in the thermos ahead of time to heat it up)

Thermos Meals:

-chicken/rice casserole (diced chicken, rice, and melted velveeta)

-cheeseburger rice casserole (ground beef, rice, melted velveeta)

-baked pasta (ground beef, sauce, tinkyada pasta)

-any tinkyada pasta with any kind of sauce (alfredo, butter, etc)

-scalloped potatoes (slices potatoes baked with velveeta, ham and you could add broccoli but DD won't eat that yet)

-shredded chicken in BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's sauce; include roll in foil to heat in oven, see below)

-you could do any leftovers--chili, etc; you could add veggies to anything; you could make things lighter/healthier than what I've suggested, but we're calorie boosting for DD

Other things we send in foil already cooked, just need to be heated in the oven when the cook heats other kids' meal so they don't have to touch the actual food, just the foil:

-homeade chicken tenders/nuggets

-pancakes with butter

-homemade rolls for sandwiches (and include chicken/tuna salad, deli meat, or cheese on the side with cold pack or cheeseburger/BBQ chicken in thermos)

-Glutino bagel half (cream cheese separate)

-homemade mini pizza

Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions!

[purple]

These might help:

Open Original Shared Link

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[Guhlia]

I'm also a firm believer in Thermos lunches for my preschooler. I use the Thermos FUNtainers. My DD LOVES getting macaroni and cheese or nitrate free hotdogs as special lunches. She also enjoys cold pizza. A few other things I pack for her:

nitrate/nitrite free lunch meat wrapped around cream cheese - pinwheels

lunchable style meals with same lunch meat (Glutino crackers are good)

cold (or hot) chicken or turkey with ketchup, BBQ, or honey for dipping

ham cubes in pineapple juice

salad with fresh fruit/nuts/meats/etc

Pretty much any leftover keeps in the Thermos containers whether served hot or cold

fresh veggies and fruits with dipping sauces - caramel is her current favorite for fruit

pudding, low fat yogurt, cheese, homemade granola, etc...

I hope some of these ideas help.

[khieken]

Thank you all so much for the great suggestions! We already have a thermos container so I will try a few hot meals and see how things go. It's funny how my mind didn't even consider hot meals for lunch! Also some great snack suggestions.

I sometimes think we're doing great with keeping gluten-free, then I figure out something we've been eating that has gluten in it It is getting a little easier though!

Karen