Making Lunches for My Pre-K Child

We had a Lunch Station at our house. There were several small baskets, each filled with a different type of food: chips in one basket, fruits in another, veggies in a third and so on. The baskets either had the item itself (like a cup of applesauce) or a picture of the item (like a cup of yogurt) if it was perishable. I used a small cork board to post pictures of available sandwhiches.

Every night after dinner, my sons were responsible for packing their own lunch from the baskets. When the boys were really young, I taught them to pick one thing from each basket; as they got older, I varied the numbers (unlimited fruits and veggies but only 1 chips for example). Actual items got placed in the lunch box while pictures were set on the counter by the fridge. The sandwhich picture also went there.

Before I went to bed (usually as a part of my after-dinner clean-up), I'd make the requested sandwich and place it in the fridge (if perishable) or lunchbox (if not).

The next morning, part of my kids' routines were to add the perishable items to the lunch box, return the pictures to their places and check off Make Lunch from their To-do list.

I started doing this with my oldest when he was 3 years old. It takes a certain amount of set-up of the Lunch Station and then training of your child on your part but, in the long run, it saves time and money and reduces arguements. I controlled what went into the Station's baskets but my son controlled what went into his lunch. He picked only those things that he felt like eating that day so less got thrown away. Time was saved because the lunch packing chores were divided in half between me and the boys.

As far as what to put in the various baskets or to offer for sandwhiches, the sky is the limit. It could be Lunchables or PBJ or crackers and cheese for the main course -- use whatever your child likes and whatever ideas you come across.

Some of the biggest advantages to this plan are long-term. First, my kids learned independence and decision-making skills. Second, I learned NOT to argue over the little things when it was possible to turn control over to the child (why should I decide on applesauce and then make him eat it when he'd prefer pineapple tidbits and eat it willingly?). My kids learned what makes an acceptable meal: small protein, unlimited fruits and veggies, sugar and fats sparingly. They learned to manage their time better and to make school preps the night before.

All in all, it was a good process for us.

Many preschools have a "no-nut" policy no because of allergy problems. Kids this age just don't understand that their friends can get really sick and even die if they're not careful.

On to lunches! I wrote an article for my mothers' club about this years ago when my son was starting first grade. I HATED taking lunch to school because it was the same baloney sandwich, red delicous apple and cookie every day so I've tried to make things more interesting and exciting for my kids.

Here's an exerpt from that article:

1. Involve your child. A twist on the old “fish” saying: “pack a child a lunch, feed him for a meal, teach him to pack a healthy lunch and eventually, he’ll do it himself!”

2. Stock up on healthy fixings to ease preparation for kids of all ages. Buy smaller amounts of a variety of items. Keep an eye on your inventory though to avoid meltdowns when you’re out of a needed ingredient.

3. Splurge on those individually packaged applesauce, kid-size yogurt, and crackers. Be sure to have appropriate plasticware on hand. You don’t want your nice tableware to be thrown away on accident. Remind your child to bring the plasticware home to be washed!

4. Don’t forget the fruit or veggies! Make sure it’s easy to eat and won’t be damaged during transit so the child refuses to eat it. Grapes, apples, raisins, peeled and sectioned oranges, carrots, cherry tomatoes work well sent in baggies. Cut up melon, mango, papaya, peaches, pears work better in small containers.

5. Healthy drinks. Send 100% juice or milk. I freeze them for hot days to act as a cold pack.

Alternatives to the dreary traditional sandwich lunch
1. Soft pretzel, string cheese and applesauce

2. Whole grain roll with butter or margarine, hard boiled egg, and carrot, celery or cucumber sticks

3. Kid size yogurt, whole wheat crackers, cherry or grape tomatoes (make sure the child is old enough to know to chew the food completely)

4. Bagel with vegetable “confetti” – spread the bagel with plain cream cheese and cover with finely diced sweet raw veggies (red & yellow bell peppers and carrots).

5. Make a sandwich on a flat tortilla, spread cream cheese, add meat, cheese and thinly sliced or shredded veggies, roll it up and slice.

6. Put tuna or chicken salad in a pita or ice cream cone for a change of pace.

7. Use English Muffins to make little “pizzas”

8. Fruit & Vegetable Kabobs with yogurt dip

9. Make homemade meat and cheese Lunchables with Ritz or saltine crackers. A clean empty prescription bottle works well to cut the cheese and meat to appropriate size.

10. Peanut Butter Pinwheels: spread peanut butter and a little bit of honey on a flour tortilla, sprinkle with granola or Grape-nuts cereal, roll up the tortilla and slice.

Try the various substitutes for peanut butter if that's not allowed: sunflower butter, almond butter, apple butter, soy nut butter. Trader Joe's has a selection. Some taste better than others!

Remember they need something with crunch: baked potato chips, homemade tortilla chips, pretzels, goldfish crackers, graham or saltine crackers, plain popcorn, a hand full of breakfast cereal, or trail mix (raisins, nuts, cherrios, pretzels and a small amount of chocolate chips or M&Ms) are a few ideas.

My son is now 13 and eats a mixed fruit salad or green salad as his "main course" every day. It's expensive and his lunch box in a regular size cooler to accomodate everything, but he learned healthy eating habits that should last him his lifetime!

Hi D.,

I have made my kids' lunches since Pre-k...what i have tried to teach them is food is fuel for their bodies, just like gas in a car. I have tried to stear clear of giving them foods simply because they taste good. When we pack their lunches, together we discuss why we are packing something, what nutrients are in it and why these nutrients are good for our bodies. That way, as that have gotten older, 9 and 10, they are able to understand what they are eating and why it is important. Not to mention, we also discuss portions, as mainstream America these days has such oversized portions which is such a large contributing factor to obesity.

When they were younger i tried to keep the lunches simple and easy for them to eat with all the excitement of wanting to play. Yogurt Parfets are very good, use Non fat Vanilla yogurt, granola, (i like to use the ones made with honey as it takes much less honey to sweeten the granola and it has no sugar) and any fruits they like. Strawberrys and blueberries are my kids favorites.

Wraps are also good...you can get many different flavors made with whole grain, and put anything inside!! Lunch meat, tasty spreads, brown rice, veggies...etc etc. I wrap them up like a burrito, then send it in their lunches wraped up in plastic wrap. I have found that finger foods are the easiest to get them to eat. Now that they are older i can send them with pastas..or salads...with the salads i send the "spritzers", so there is no worry about it spilling and the salad doesn't get soggy.

They always get water in their lunches, never sports drinks, juice and of course never soda. All of these are filled with so much sugar that they just crash at the end of the day...and we all know what a tired toddler sounds like..haha... :)

For a dessert or snack I send dried fruit. (not the best for the teeth becasue it is really sticky) but much much better than those fruit snacks from the store. I bought a food dehidrator, and just throw a bunch of different fruits in there, let it do it's thing over night and, voila...healthy desserts for lunch time!

You can also make your own granola bars jsut as easy as making cookies. You can make it with granola, nuts, honey, flax seeds, bake, cut to the appropriete size, wrap in plastic wrap, and you have homemade HEALTHY granola bars. They are very good for sustaining energy. Check the internet, there are so many recipes for stuff like this. My favorite recipes are from SaraSnow.com and all recipes.com.

Also, a quick note, i always write on my kids napkins...they love it!!

Sorry my spelling is so bad here, I'm lost without spell check!! :)

D.

We get the frozen chicken nuggets (Foster Farm) from Costco, but don't get the Dino-chick because we tried it and the flavor wasn't good. It'll probably be better if you buy a smaller bag from a regular grocery store before investing in the extra large bag that Costco sells.

My daughter also loves soft thin bread sandwiches with ham and cheese. Carnitas with fluffy white rice is also a favorite (you could buy the Carnitas already cooked in a container at Costco or other stores too). Cheese quesadilla is also easy to make.

Hi, I used to bring all my lunches to school in grade school, and I've worked with kids in an afterschool program, so I've thought about this a bit. There are easy, no waste ways to accomplish this. An old-fashioned lunch box is a great thing, in metal or plastic. There's a thermos in there for milk or a hearty soup, but I bet he can get milk at school. There are reusable closable cups for juice (to avoid the disposable juice boxes) but even better are pieces of whole fruit, so you don't end up with fructose and no fiber to help regulate your insulin spike. A whole grain sandwich with peanut butter and jelly or cheese (cheese can go without refrigeration for days without spoiling, believe it or not. Makes it good for camping trips.) Tupperware is a godsend, for cut up vegies like cuke, celery, carrot, and you can get a little one for salad dressing. A good home-made granola-type treat is not hard to make and you can choose how much sugar it has in it, instead sweetening with raisins, a few chocolate chips, coconut, etc. Good luck!

PS I know plastic wrap is really convenient but it has compounds in it called pthalates and other plasticizers which wreak havoc on endocrine systems, possibly contributing to all manner of conditions (we know it causes cancer, for example.) Tupperware isn't perfect but it doesn't leach the same way and less of the food is in close contact with it. Just FYI. A bonus is that food doesn't get smashed as easily in tupperware.

Thank god for peanut butter!!!!

grapes, carrots, hard boiled eggs, kashi bars (whole grain and pretty much the only thing we eat out of a package)cheese sticks, cashews...they have so little time to snack in kindergarten nowadays its good to have something natural and without a bunch of mess that they dont 'have to'finish

Hello, I have been a preschool teacher for over 20 years and I have two children 9 and 14. Find out if your preschool has a microwave and if they would be willing to heat up a hot lunch. My children were not big sandwich fans in preschool, so I often sent them with left overs from dinner. Otherwise I would send them with the usual kid favorites: mac & cheese, corn dogs, pasta, or whatever their favorites were. I would also suggest sending smaller portions, making sure to include a fruit/veggie, drink, and a goodie. Many families send way too much food with their preschoolers and the food becomes a toy, or they try to throw it out. Since most schools serve a snack you don't have to worry about them being hungry. I hope this helps.

Here are some of the things I make for my preschooler:
grill cheese sandwich, mac and cheese, hot dog, potsticker, scramble egg, mini pizza, sushi rice, fried noodle, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, take out chinese food, seasonal fruit. Some of the items are bought from Costco and Trader Joe's frozen section. The prep. time shouldn't be that bad. Good luck!

A sandwich, fruit, yougurt if you can keep it cold and a drink.

D.,

The first thing I would do is check if the classroom has a microwave. Many schools do this now and then you always have the option of sending somthing more fun then the usual sandwich that can be warmed up.

My mom teaches pre-k and they do have the heat-up option. This is so great becuae then you can so things like mac & cheese, a piece of pizza from dinner the night before etc..

Also, I know many moms who have a list of basic lunch ideas and shop for stuff once a week. Then they have their child look at the list of options, choose what they want for lunch the next day and then help you make the lunch while you are cooking dinner. Then they have made the choice of what they want to eat and they helped make it. Both of these actions help end the "I didn't like what you packed" syndrome. They want to eat it beacause they helped make it.

Hope this helps.
N.

Safeway has celery/peanut butter and carrots/ranch dressing in a convienient container like the cheese n crackers. It is best if you can catch them on sale when they have there 10/$10 sale. Don't worry you don't have to buy 10 to get them for a $1 each, you can buy 1 and still pay $1. Also at Costco, they have great snack stuff for lunches. to keep items cold you can go to Walmart and buy the frozen ice container that fits perfectly in the lunch box. Lunchables are great and if you want to do your own lunchables, just buy your lunch meat and cut it up and the stores already have cheese cut up in the square shapes so you don't have to do it and you can buy healthier crackers and your child can make their own mini sandwiches. you definately need to mix it up every day so they are not bored. If you can get the child with help making their lunch and their snacks they will enjoy it a little more.

to top it all off and without letting the child see you do it put a little note in there so they no that you are thinking of them. Every day they would look to see what little message their mommy put in their lunch.

Good luck D..

Check out laptop lunches -- they make a kid bento like box that has separate boxes for their lunches. My kids absolutely LOVE their lunchboxes and eat so well. It comes with a great recipe book & best of all, you don't create a lot of waste every lunch.

Hi D.,

I had the same problem when my daughter started preschool last year. I ended up making a sandwich (she liked peanut butter), a small container of applesauce or yogurt, a piece of fruit and a treat snack like pretzels, or goldfish, etc. And some water for her drink. Some days she eats more of her lunch than others and then after school she'll have the snack if it's left over.

Good luck. I'm sure everything will work out fine.

Dear D.,
Lunches at that age are really easy if you don't have a picky eater.
A juice box
Yogurt and a spoon
Baby carrots, grapes, or watermelon in a ziploc.
Cheese, peanut butter and jelly, or a luchmeat sandwich.
My kids loved it when I cut their sandwiches with a cookie cutter into cute shapes. I have the left-overs, so no waste there!
They make those little tiny "Glad" storage cups with lids so you can put fruit or homemade pudding.
Just don't put too many things in. I gave my daughter enough food for 7 kids, (in case she'd be hungry) and she either gave it away or brought it back home.
Fruit, protein, bread, dairy.....
Don't forget vegetables. There were many times we had left over corn on the cob and my son would take some for lunch. Raw greenbeans, celery with peanut butter....They're actually pretty easy at this age.

They make Peanut Butter in little cups now, to take on the go. I would pack one of those, a Go-Gurt, a few vanilla wafers and a pudding :o) VERY EASY and thankfully my son loves this lunch!

Also, easy things I pack for him are grapes, strawberries,string cheese, Jello, bologna and cheese all cut up in squares instead of a sandwich. Oh yeah, cereal, too :o)

:o) N.

My son goes to pre-school and some of the things that I send him are lunchables, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, cheese sandwich, i mean you can send him pretty much anything he likes. I bought a thermo and I normally heat things up and put it in there and it stays hot until lunch time. It's pretty easy. Along with the main meal, I normaly send water, or juice, fruit cup, either peaches, oranges, grapes or some crackers.

Good luck and hope this helps.

My son was in Pre K last year and I would pack him a half sandwich. Somedays turkey and cheese or somedays PBJ. I would put snacks in also. We went to Costco and got different snacks to go along with the sandwich. we got Garnola bars, the big bag of pretzels, gogurts, cheez itz, fruit roll ups. He loved every morning going to his lunch box to see what snacks he had in that day. That would be one of the first things he day after he got dressed. I also go fruit and would throw some grapes, strawberries or sliced apples in with the sandwich and snack along with a capri sun or little water bottle. They are only there a few hours so you don't need to pack a big lunch.

We send beef jerky that we make really thin so no choking. You can buy it or make it easily in a food dehydrator.

We also cut up ham, cheese and put in crackers so our son can mae h'orderves.

Keep it very simple. You know how much your son eats, so just put in the nutritous, bare minimum. Maybe a sandwich, like cheese, deli or tuna. Check with the preschool to see if there are any peanut restrictions before you make any BP&J's. Send some fruit in a baggie, like blueberries, strawberries, cut grapes, etc. And some ice water.

The kids are usually so distracted and very excited to get to the playing part of their lunch break. If you send too many extras (graham crackers, chips, cookies, etc.) then they will eat that first and toss the rest. If you think he'd need more than a sandwich and fruit maybe include a granola bar or string cheese.

Some schools don't allow the kids to throw anything away. They have to bring home their empty plastic bags and dirty napkins. No trips to the trash so they can't throw away any good food. Then you can see exactly what he is/not eating. If your school doesn't do that you may want to request it.

My son is 12 now, but still remembers hsi pre-k lunches. I cut the sandwiches out with cookie cutters. You can really get creative with it. They have fun and actually eat it!

Hi D., 7/11/2008
String chesees,fishshape crakers,crakers w/ PBn Js, use cookie cuter to cut out a sandwitch, Have him Help !!!

Hope this helps!!
From a Pre-school
Teacher of 19 yrs, Marla

My youngs ones love gogurts, string cheese, turkey/salami sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, red grapes, cheese, pbj if accepted at your school, cheezits, club crackers, apples, etc. good luck!