Ideas for school lunches

[xmas74]

I don't plan on becoming a vegetarian-I do enjoy fish, dairy and eggs. But I'm posting here for ideas of quick and easy school lunches for my six year old daughter. After hearing a recent report that Missouri schools had received an "F" rating on their lunch program I plan on packing her lunch starting in August. I want her to have healthy lunches instead of deep fried French fries, greasy chicken nuggets and the only fruit being a Fruit Roll Up.

Any ideas for things that would be quick and easy to pack? I do want balance in her diet so that she has the proper fuel to burn. We've cut down beef consumption in our home to once every couple of months and no pork unless she's visiting my parents (I just never cared for pork, even while growing up). And chicken-well, unless it comes from a couple of friends who raise them, I am afraid to eat it at all. (I live near a Tyson's plant. I think you know the horror stories.)

She loves fruit and veggies but I notice that lately she eats less of them-especially after a day of school lunch. Her school lunch seems to rotate between hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches very high in sugar (we use natural peanut butter at home and homemade jelly that a neighbor makes that is mostly fruit juices and fruit), hamburgers, chicken nuggets and frozen pizza. Now you see the concern.

Any advice for what to pack? Help a mom out and remember-no refridgeration. I can do ice packs but that's it.

[LeftyMom]

1. Here are some links that may help:

http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-children/lunch-ideas.htm

Hope those help. I don't have any personal experience as LK is homeschooled.

[xmas74]

2. And that's probably a good thing.

I don't remember school lunches being so unhealthy when I was in school. The lunches now are just disgusting-aimed for the McDonalds crowd.

[LeftyMom]

3. They were warmed up crap at my elementary school

By junior high and high school they mostly sold overpriced junk food. I can't tell you how many orange hostess cupcake and pepsi lunches I had in high school. That or chili fries. :puke:

[xmas74]

4. My elementary offered full meals made from scratch:

fried chicken w/ real mashed potatoes, homemade gravy and rolls, fresh veggies, etc. Even the desserts were made from scratch. Jr high and high school included salad bars.

My best friend's son attends middle school at the same school I attended years ago. She said that the menu has changed-no salad bar, mostly burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and vending machines.

What happened to decent school lunches?

[LeftyMom]

5. Nobody wants to invest the manpower or the money

Also, a lot of people seem to think that kids won't eat the healthier options, though real world experience in places that have made healthier options like vegetarian entrees and salad bars available is that the kids will eat them, will pay a premium for them and many prefer them to the unhealthy fare.

[xmas74]

6. I noticed that my daughter's cafeteria is understaffed.

They get bulk rates on frozen foods. There are no stoves-just steamers, ovens and fryers in the kitchen.

My state received an F rating for its school lunch program. After looking at the menu, no wonder why we have so many problems w/ diabetes and obesity in children.

The new rule is that she's taking her lunch. If she chooses to drink milk I'll send a thermos full of organic milk from home-even the school milk is only chocolate, full fat and two of the top ingredients were sugar and corn syrup together. That's just vulgar.

[CrispyQ]

9. Have you seen Super Size Me?

It's a great movie! There is also a part regarding school lunches. I don't have kids & I was stunned at what we are feeding our kids at school! Our school cafeterias were staffed with old German women who made everything from scratch. You would arrive at school at 8am & by 9am the halls were starting to fill with smells of lunch.

[xmas74]

10. I watched it but thought

"That's somewhere else, it can't be here".

Then I saw it was here.

[mzteris]

7. my younger son

is in a charter school that doesn't have a lunchroom - so we have to pack his lunch every day. It's also a Montessori school, so they are very "strict" about what kids can and cannot bring to school to eat.

No "junk food". No "fast food". No "chips", no cookies (graham crackers & non-chocolate teddygrahams are ok), no candy, no cake, no "little debbie type cr@p", no koolaid like drinks.

This is okay by us as we don't eat that stuff anyway! - and we're vegetarians.

Son's fav's do include PBJ, of course, but here are some others:
Cheese and crackers or cheese sandwich
Apples and peanut butter
Baby carrots & ranch dressing
There are "vegetarian lunch meats" for sandwiches. Or we make our own "lunchables" - I even cut the "meat" into little circles. :)

For "hot lunches" - they have a microwave - or I use a stainless steel short thermos - (I pre-heat it with hot water before I put his food in.):
Mac & cheese
Leftover soups/casseroles/spaghetti/chili
There's a great vegetarian "shredded barbeque" or a "tex-mex" mix - for burritos.
Boca burgers (we pack the pattie separate from the bun) he m/w's the pattie. (Also add a little container of ketchup.) - though we didn't do that too often - other kids at first thought he was getting away with "fast food" - but after they all knew he was a veghead and that it wasn't really a "burger" it was ok.
Veggie "chicken nuggets" - (same as above)


Also in each lunch box some combination of the following
fresh fruit: apples, pineapple, grapes, bananas
sometimes pretzels, goldfish, or some type of cracker.
granola bars (only certain ones most have too much added HFCS, etc.)
string cheese (lowfat)
Yogurt or yogurt drink (Stoneyfield - organic)
vanilla wafers and peanut butter

Fruit juice (without added sweeteners), water, or protein soymilk drink.

My son eats a lot! - so I always have to make sure he has a lunchbox full.

[xmas74]

8. Thank you!

I have to heat up the food-no microwave allowed. I'm just disgusted by the amount of processed foods served there and want to get her away from a few of them.

[flvegan]

11. I think that this is the perfect example for the use of

mock meats. She's six. A faux turkey sandwich (or whatever she likes) will easily pass the muster of her friends, as well as being healthy, etc. She'll get no "ewwww! what is THAT!?" types of questions. 6 is tough, and other kids can be mean.

[xmas74]

12. That's why I want to start her young.

As of this time we have no plans to go vegan but would just like to eat much healthier. Red meat a couple of times a year wouldn't bother me-I just don't want it on the menu every week (or every other day as it seems to be at school in the form of hamburgers. And, with the beef that we eat at home, I know exactly where it came from-the farmer and what he's used in raising the cattle. The school meat-who knows what megafarm raised it and what they injected into their cattle!)

I'm thinking faux meats, natural peanut butter (which we eat at home but the school-I don't know what they use except that the one taste I took was full of sugar), cheese, organic milk, no sugar added juices, fresh fruits and veggies. Maybe some whole grain snack crackers-I plan on trying the Kashi ones soon since they just started selling them in my area.

Only problem w/ the faux meats? There's very little variety in my area. I'm in a small town surrounded by farms. Not a big market for them.

[flvegan]

13. My only caution here

Is spreading out eating red meat like that can cause some real stomach issues. I'm not trying to tell you to give it up altogether, nor am I suggesting you eat it more often. To each his/her own (and I'd be happy if everyone that ate meat limited it to a couple times a year). Just putting it out there as I don't want you/members of your family getting sick. Poultry and pork don't seem to be the same way, but red meat just seems to do that to some folks.

Also, isn't the food in the school meal program sub-par? I thought that it was sort of "government reject" food, or something. I don't know, I don't have kids so I'm not as up on that as I should be.

[xmas74]

14. Techinically, it's not supposed to be.

Then again, that was back in the days when schools often used commodities, some of which were also doled out to the military (which is supposed to get the best but lately I'd question that). When I was in school lunches were made in the kitchens by real cooks and almost everything was made from scratch (we even had homemade yeast rolls almost every day). Now, it's all just frozen and reheated.

I remember how once a week we had cook's choice. They used the leftovers from the week to make soups and stews and had numerous kinds of desserts. Now it's the same menu every month w/ no variety.

The only time we'd really eat beef is around the holidays when a couple of family recipes make it to the table. The main problem I have w/ beef in general is that most of it comes from megafarms where they inject it full of unimaginable crap. When I do buy beef (which is rare but it does happen) it comes from a friend's farm. They don't believe in injecting growth hormones of any sort so I feel safe w/ it but still believe that, for heart healthy, it shouldn't be consumed often. As to pork-I used to be a bodyboner on the ham line in a Tyson's pork plant. I still have a hard time looking at it to this day. And chicken-unless it comes from another friend who raises chickens I just don't want it at all.

I saw a documentary a few years ago about immigrants in the 1800's coming to the US. Most only had meat every couple of months in their country but when they came to the US it was a huge deal to have it twice a month. If you had it every Sunday you were considered wealthy. Nowadays, most think they have to have it two, sometimes three meals a day. Something there doesn't sound right.

I just wonder if it isn't time to take back a bit of some of their old habits. Eat fresh foods in season and eat plenty of them. The rest is just junk that doesn't nourish us at all.

[LeftyMom]

15. It's surplus, bought to keep the price up

It's really a agricultural subsidy program first and a nutrition program as a very distant second. WIC (Supplemental Nutrition for Women Infants and Children) is the same way.

Today's School Lunch Program fact: A meal served without fluid dairy milk is not reimbursible under the program unless a doctor's note is provided to prove that the child is allergic. This is why most schools don't offer non-dairy alternatives even if they serve populations with very high percentages of dairy intolerance.