School Lunch for a 3yo

[twainny]

So my 3yo is starting a new school next week, and I have to provide his lunch for him. All I can think about is PB&J for the rest of his life!! Can you give me some ideas of what to send with his lunch. They do have a fridge and a microwave to heat up food. I guess I can send something like Ravioli. I'm also not too excited about him wanting juice boxes all the time (as all the other kids will have them). He mainly drinks water or milk, rarely asking for juice (we usually don't keep juice in the house). And ideas for "healthy" juice alternatives?

Thanks!

[Katie&Micah]

The only thing I can come up with is maybe flavored water instead of juice.

[mamax2]

Do you have to send in juice boxes? Can you send a thermos instead? Horizon makes organic milk boxes and I know there are other shelf-stable milk boxes available too.

As for lunches... what kind of stuff does he eat at home? Lunch meat and cheese sandwiches? Veggies w/hummus or dips? Yogurt, fruit, granola bars, string cheese or cheese cubes, crackers, pasta, pizza, pita pockets, tortilla roll-ups, dried cereal/trail mix.

Having the refrigerator and microwave makes this pretty easy. I'd just send whatever you would normally prepare at home!

[katmg]

I believe they sell water in "juice box" format now. I'm sure it is pricey but would prevent juice box envy. I also know that there are shelf-stable, organic milk-boxes if you wanted to still give your son mainly water and milk.

[Katie1]

I have been buying kid-sized sports bottles of water, usually they come in a pack of eight. The best part is that you can refill them so no need to keep spending money on more.

For lunch, you can make a big pot of pasta at the beginning of the week, and toss it with a garlic & herb marinade. Then every day scoop a little bit in to a bowl and add some chopped deli meat, usually I use turkey breast. Doesn't need to be heated up.

I don't see why you can't send anything else he would normally eat at home.

[AlisonCO]

You know just because all of the other 3 year olds have juice doesn't mean your kiddo has to have it;). Really, at 3 I don't think that kids feel envy/jealousy the way we think - for them it is just fact. My son regularily comes home from school and tells me what his friends had for lunch but never in a "I want it" way. So this year for school he has had ice water in his spiderman water bottle (no juice/milk boxes allowed becasue of the mess and waste.)

My DS only goes 2 days per week so he has some kind of sandwich both days (no peanut butter though) so I do wraps in tortillas or in pita to mix things up. Occasionally I send leftovers like veggie chickin nuggets or 1/2 turkey hot dog in bun. I bought a tupperware type container at Target that is square with 4 small removable inserts so he gets 1/2 sandwich/pita, sunchips or fruit snacks and a raw veggie. Then in a seperate container he has fruit salad or applesauce with fruit. Next year he will go 4 days so I will do something in a thermos twice a week like pasta, mac and cheese, soup, chili.

[Ohana]

I have an extensive list of foods I packed for my toddler back in the day. PM me if you want the entire menu plus tips on prep and packaging.

As for the juice boxes, I would go with the shelf stable Horizon milk boxes. And if you don't like doing juice, it might be worth asking the daycare admin to limit or ban juice. I know our daycare used to serve juice at snack most days, but parents requested that it be stopped because they didn't want their kids to consume all those empty calories, so the daycare has stopped offering juice period.

Also, on the pb&j thing, I would definitely check with the preschool. Ours does not allow any peanut or nut products due to allergy issues.

[twainny]

I don't think I need to worry about the peanut thing, cause, as far as I know, peanut butter is an American thing, and since we don't live there, I think I am okay. (I told my housekeeper "no peanuts, no honey, no strawberries" for her baby (and mine for that matter)), and she looked at me like I had two heads with the peanut butter comment LOL

I think my son will get juice envy. But I think I will invest in a "cool" lunch box or water type cup (like superman as someone suggested). That might help. I don't mind him having juice, but NOT two a day (maybe two a week would be okay)

I checked out the draft website. I book marked it for further use! Thanks!

[kristin]

My son stays for one extended day each week at preschool. He was soooo excited to stay with the big kids (they merge the 3 yo and 4 yo class for the extended day). We usually eat fairly healthy foods at home, so I made this great pasta salad with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and pepperoni. I think I also sent yogurt and string cheese and a sippy cup of water.

When I went to pick him up from school that first day, the teacher pulled me aside and told me he was very upset at lunch and wouldn't eat anything. He wanted a bologna sandwich and a juice box like the rest of the kids. :(. She said his lunch looked delicious, but he refused to eat it. So now I send the bologna (yuck) sandwich and juice box and he is as happy as a clam at lunch. I still send freshly cut veges and string cheese and he usually doesn't eat much of the sandwich and hardly touches his juice box. I figure it's not to bad since it's only once a week!

[mamax2]

I think my son will get juice envy.

Yeah, my DD is exactly the same way. At DD's school, we rotate snack duty and DD was mortified when I have sent in things like apple slices or homemade fruit bars that some of the other kids have refused to eat. She is only 4.5, but what the other kids are eating is definitely somewhat important to her.

I have given in and let her take the juice box (100% juice, which is also available in a smaller, 4 oz size). Although she doesn't take a lunch to school this year, I've packed them in a previous daycare and for camp. I won't abandon all healthy eating principles, but I would rather my kid eat something so-so for lunch (knowing that I feed her breakfast, snack & dinner at home) than have her not eat anything at all.

[Ellyn]

Yeah, my DD is exactly the same way. At DD's school, we rotate snack duty and DD was mortified when I have sent in things like apple slices or homemade fruit bars that some of the other kids have refused to eat.

It is pretty ridiculous that more schools don't have more policies on things like this...At the school I teach at, we have a no soda/no energy drink rule for EVERYONE - even teachers. We are not allowed to have it at our desks either. I think preschools should be teaching the kids healthy eating habits, but instead when parents are asked to take turns bringing in snacks most go for the cookies and juice. Sad. :(

As for ideas, my DS loves soy milk in a box. Also, Camelbak makes flip top reusable water bottles that you could put ice water in - they have a BPA free one now. I love some of the ideas others have posted. How about cereal in a container and milk (in a thermos). I always make up a soft shell taco wrap for my son for the next day on the nights we have tacos. I just wrap up the meat (and anything else your DS would eat - salsa, cheese, etc.) in a tortilla and heat it up on the stove to "seal" it and brown it a little - it is pretty mess free when reheated. I do this a lot with chicken pieces too. I use tofutti spread (like cream cheese) because DS is allergic to dairy, and it works well as a "glue" to hold it all together. Dried fruit? Or veggie chips - not the chip chips but the actual vegetables that have been dried? Granola bars, fresh veggies and dip, etc.

[Taurus]

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