Foods To Pack For Dinner.

[Juliebove]

Daughter just started her dance classes at the new studio and I am going to learn to hate it! She dances two days out of the week. One day she has back to back classes right after school. I pack her some snacks and pick her up at school. Seems timewise we get there with a little time to spare before her first class begins. She has two back to back classes that day and is starving by the end of the second class.

But the other day? Two classes right after school, then a two hour break then another class that lets out at 9:15. I located a neary restaurant that has really good food and a safe meal for us. Probably just the one meal. I would have to ask about their chicken. Small hole in the wall place with a limited menu and seems like fast food but isn't. More expensive and not at all fast. Also very uncomfortable stools to sit on. Since the dance studio only has two comfortable chairs and very uncomfortable, backless benches for me, and since daughter needs a rest, we want a nice place to sit! But the main problem is, they are not fast. She has to eat dinner and do homework in those two hours.

The other places around there are either too far away to get back in time or don't serve safe foods. There is an Albertsons that sometimes has safe things, but didn't have anything prepared that we could eat today.

So it would appear that sometimes I will have to bring our dinner. I ordered divided plates and casseroles with lids for the microwave. The studio does have a microwave and small fridge. But what to put in them? Has to be something easy to eat and not messy.

Daughter seems to have gone off of sandwiches, will eat only green beans or corn as cooked vegetables (will eat some others raw). She will eat salads sometimes. Has gone off of Ian's chicken nuggets and will only sometimes eat the fish sticks. I can't have eggs or dairy and she can only have them twice a week since she was previously allergic.

I guess I can just try to make extra food the night before and take the leftovers, at least sometimes. Makes it frustrating since there are so many places to eat around there like McDonalds, pizza, Subway, teriyaki, but we can't eat there.

[ang1e0251]

As far as food, I would pack leftovers. I eat leftovers every day for my lunch so that seems natural to me.

I'm a veteran of many years of soccer and basketball. I don't go anywhere without comfy fold up chairs in my car. They are inexpensive and easy to transport. I would take my food bag and chairs and make myself at home! All the years my kids were involved in activities, I usually stayed for their practises and their games. I spent a lot of hours doing this and felt I deserved to be comfortable. Make it a positive experience for both of you and you will be able to look back on those times with fondness.

[stolly]

I'd recommend that you take a thermos for both of you. You can pretty much eat whatever hot meal you want. Pasta dishes with or without meat mixed in, chili, soup; chicken nuggets wrapped in foil in the thermos. Take a long a gluten-free roll, cornbread, salad or something. Or an extra thermos of veggies or mashed potatoes or something for both of you to share. I keep 8 oz containers (DD4 is a small eater) of gluten-free meals in the freezer for DD to send into preschool in a thermos, or to take with us to a restaurant or family party when I can't get something for her out. Microwave water until hot and put in the thermos to heat it up for 10-15 minutes, then dump out the water and put in the hot food.

[Juliebove]

I would take my own chair if there were some place to put it but there isn't.

I did think about Thermoses, but they are heavy and the ones we have don't hold very much food. That's why I thought the microwave might be a better deal.

[tarnalberry]

leftovers!

I find that beef stew, chicken soup, and chili all make fabulous leftovers, and do not even *have* to be heated up.

[Juliebove]

leftovers!

I find that beef stew, chicken soup, and chili all make fabulous leftovers, and do not even *have* to be heated up.

I like all of those things. Alas, my daughter will only eat the soup.

[daphniela]

What about Chef Boyardee chicken and rice microwave bowls or packing some gluten free crackers with some deli meat cut into cracker size pieces like a lunchables type meal?

[tarnalberry]

I like all of those things. Alas, my daughter will only eat the soup.

Well, that's one!

There must be some other "combined" dishes that she'll eat? Casseroles? Pastas? Fried rice? My experience is that "combined dishes", where everything cooks together for a time, tend to work well for this sort of thing. Even stir fry can, but that does really need a microwave.

[Juliebove]

What about Chef Boyardee chicken and rice microwave bowls or packing some gluten free crackers with some deli meat cut into cracker size pieces like a lunchables type meal?

I didn't know Chef Boyardee made such bowls? I will look for them but it's likely they have one of our allergens in them. As for the deli meat, I don't much like it and there are no gluten-free crackers that travel well that she will eat. She likes the Schar, but they crumble too easily. The others all seem to have allergens in them.

ETA: Can't do the bowls. They have peas in them and she's allergic. Makes it tough with so many food allergies.

[Juliebove]

Well, that's one!

There must be some other "combined" dishes that she'll eat? Casseroles? Pastas? Fried rice? My experience is that "combined dishes", where everything cooks together for a time, tend to work well for this sort of thing. Even stir fry can, but that does really need a microwave.

I don't know how to make fried rice that we can eat since we can't have soy or eggs. And we really don't like stir fry.

There is a microwave. That's not a problem.

[Mskedi]

I practically grew up in a dance studio, so I feel your pain. Even without allergies, it can be tough to get fed AND finish homework AND attend a bunch of dance classes.

I basically lived off ramen at the studio. Have you tried the Thai Kitchen rice-noodle packs? They're cheap, fast, and don't have any peas. Supplement that with some fresh fruits and veggies and it's not a bad meal. I know I wasn't able to eat anything too heavy right before dancing, so if that's an issue, this would work for that. It probably depends on the type of dance, though.

How old is she? And what other allergies does she have exactly? You mentioned not finding crackers that don't fall apart. I've had good experiences with nut-thins (assuming she's not allergic to various nuts). I also like Glutino sesame pretzels as a snack. Fruit-leathers and gluten-free nutrition/snack bars might be good as well so she can scarf something down quickly when she has those two back to back classes.

Good luck!

[kbtoyssni]

I use corn chips as a substitute for crackers.

Some more ideas:

Baked potatoes with toppings (I like cheese and salsa, some like more of a salad on top)

Tacos - refried beans in tortillas with cheese and taco sauce. I make black bean mixes instead of the refried beans sometimes.

Grilled veggies on a tortilla like a fajita or mini-pizza. You could add cheese.

String cheese

Nuts

Dried fruit like raisins or craisins

Ants on a log

Cereal (take the milk in a thermos)