School Lunch Suggestions

[Ty Cannon]

Does anyone have any good suggestions for packing a school lunch for my 11 year old boy. I have been making gluten free pizza for him which is easy to through together, and has been working well. However, the same thing gets old after while, no matter how good it is.

Thanks,

Ty

[missy'smom]

I used to make bentos and lots of variety, nice arrangement etc. but my 13 yr. old wanted "normal" looking meals when he hit Jr. High. There is a link on my profile to photos of our bento days.

Still lots of options:

Today was ham and cheese toasts-ends of gluten-free bread loaves with chopped ham and cheese sprinkled on and broiled, fruit on the side

Quesadillas-Food for Life brown rice tortillas with cheeses and leftover taco meat, chopped ham or bits of leftover roasted chicken, sometimes frozen corn or canned black beans

Pizzas-anything is game for a base-bagels, gluten-free rolls, hot dog buns etc. or even pizza quesadillas

Thermos:

pasta w/meatballs

chicken and rice soup

cheesy broccoli rice-take leftover rice, frozen chopped broccoli, cheese, cooked ham or chicken, salt and pepper and place in a bowl, place another bowl on top as a lid and microwave and stir until cheesy and warm-put in a pre warmed thermos(add boiling water to the thermos, put the lid on and let sit while you prep the food, pour out water when you are ready to add the food)

either room temp or in a thermos:

fried rice

pasta w/ olive oil or butter and 1)broccoli w/ pepperoni, chicken sausages or salami or 2)frozen peas and chopped ham, parm on the side for sprinkling on at lunch time

sandwiches on bagels or gluten-free rolls Open Original Shared Link

breakfast for lunch: french toast or waffles or pancakes cut into sticks or wedges and a small container of maple syrup or fruit sauce on the side for dipping-you can take any berry, a bit of water and simmer it, add in a bit of starch to thicken and sugar to taste-thinner than jam

add a side of some sausages of some sort or ham or other breakfasty meat and a fruit

gluten-free crackers, cheese, salami-sort of a homemade lunchable PB version of this as well

homemade chicken strips or nuggets and a side container of BBQ sauce for dipping

[Roda]

What haven't I put in my two kids lunches.

-a variety of different types of sandwiches made out of udi's bread/bagles or homemade crepes

-leftovers from supper(anything from pot roast, shrimp, chicken, mashed potatoes, rice, various steamed veggies etc.)

-soups in thermos

-salsa and tortilla chips

-cheese and crackers

-cut up fruit and veggies/dip

-cheese sticks

-rice cakes topped with melted cheese/pepperoni or ham/swiss

-pizza

-yogurt

-cottage cheese with fruit

-cookies, rice crispy treats, cupcakes, brownies etc.

-pasta and garlic bread

-salad

-jello

-chicken nuggets

-glutino pretzels, lays stax chips, popcorn

-tuna in ready to serve cups

-fruit cups and applesauce

-grilled cheese

-hot dog and hamburgers with or without a bun

-taco salad

This is just a list I can come up with from the top of my head. I try to keep a varity so they don't get bored with their lunch. I have a lunch system that allows me to send hot and cold lunches to school with them. Here is a link to a topic I started on it. It really works good. My only complaint so far is the backpack it comes with is to small. I've found that using baggies and foil work well to conserve space.

[xjrosie]

I just usually pack up a little of what's left over from dinner the night before. But my daughter loves fast things, so I give her stuff that's quick to finish.

Salami n cheese rolls

Summer sausage, cheese and crackers

yogurt

toasted bagel with cream cheese (toasted at home so she nukes it at school and the cream cheese will spread nicer)

applesause

fruit, especially pineapple slices

apples with peanut butter, or peanut butter/yogurt dip (homemade - take a cup of vanilla yogurt and add peanut butter to taste)

breakfast bars

grilled ham and cheese

grilled peanut butter and jelly

french toast or pancakes

marshmallows in a bag for a treat

my daughter isn't big on soups and such, but we use a thermos for her drinks. That way, if she's getting the same-old boring lunch, I can spice it up with something she doesn't usually take for a drink, like cranberry juice or a smoothie.

[Ty Cannon]

Thank you all very much. I appreciate everyone's suggestions. Its always nice to get some input from some new people from time to time.

I have been using blended drinks to address many his nutritional needs. as you all know celiacs creates a long list of nutritional gaps, and my son had several problems as a result. These drinks really made a difference in healing those issues. However, he needs other stuff for school lunches, and since he is only 11 it's a big deal to him if his lunch doesn't look like everyone else's.

Thanks again, and I will be checking out those links,

Ty