School Lunches

anabelles, Jan 12, 6:19pm
Any ideas for interesting easy school lunches that teens can prepare for themselves please!
sarahb5, Jan 12, 8:25pm
Whatever they want within reason - what do they want!Mine don't actually take much for lunch anymore (basically just fruit and occasionally a sandwich or yoghurt) and have always made their own anyway, including any baking.Occasionally I make a self-crusting quiche to use up bits and pieces of leftover meat/vegetables but the rest of the time they take what they want.Like I said, they've been making their own lunches with decreasing amounts of help since they started school on the basis that I don't know what they want.
duckmoon, Jan 12, 10:13pm
Sarah. Do they buy their lunch, or not eat , or something else!
horse88, Jan 12, 10:39pm
Lunch time at school is one subject before school finishs. Our two also take the subject Food, so not very often, do the take stuff from home. If they do they make salad, pizza, left overs,flash Sandwiches, We are lucky they can heat things at school. Lots of home baking going too. I just ask my kids what they want me to get them from the supermarket. 16yr old future chef, makes cool stuff for her brother. She makes it,he cleans up.
Have you asked your kids want they would like!
sarahb5, Jan 12, 10:40pm
A combination - one sneaks out to Maccas or Subway (well only one admits to it - pretty sure they both do if they can get away with it!), or they buy stuff from the school cafe.They eat quite a lot of breakfast and their lunch hour has been shortened so they'd rather "hang with their mates" than waste that time by eating.It's not like there isn't plenty of food at home that they could take, they just choose not to.They more than make up for it when they get home but even during the holidays they don't eat much for lunch either.
asue, Jan 12, 11:02pm
My teenagers never use to eat much at school as it was never the "cool" thing to do. But you paid for it when they came home and the cupboards were raided big time.Ask your children to help and make meal plans at what they would like to take and eat - especially now they are on school holidays.
anabelles, Jan 13, 4:22am
Thanks to those who have looked at this thread. My grandchildren have made their own lunches since they started school but my 2 teen g/children want something more than sandwiches, but still not costly or difficult.
So since posting this thread I have been researching.
Wraps with cream cheese. grated carrot, cheese, lettice tomato ham the choice is great.
Bread rolls or buns filled as above, Pita bread as above
anabelles, Jan 13, 4:27am
They can make toasted sams(eat cold), savoury scone scrolls, Left over sausages, fritters both in buns or pita with lettice, grated cheese & carrot, Rice or pasta salad, pizza with spagetti or mince, Cold fish fingers or chicken with salad in Wraps of pita, or all these fillings can go in bread.
motorbo, Jan 13, 7:06am
find out what they like and have the stuff there for them to make it.mine used to love BLT`s
shop-a-holic, Jan 13, 7:51am
100 years ago, when I was at school, my mother would buy Scotch Eggs for our school lunches. I never had sandwiches from college level onwards. She then found out, I gave away the egg from the middle of the Scotch Egg each day to a student who loved hard boiled eggs.Such as her fury; she decided to make "Irish" eggs. These she stated "are Scotch Eggs without the egg".They were never the same.
sarahb5, Jan 13, 8:40am
Wraps are great at home but anything with salad made into a wrap or sandwich is soggy by lunchtime and difficult to transport - lunch boxes are not cool when you're at high school, you have either a chiller bag or a plastic supermarket bag depending on your perceived level of coolness.If mine take sandwiches (rare) then it is something simple that can be eaten with one hand while you're playing football or bull rush or whatever it is that's "cool" this week so generally marmite, nutella, jam or peanut butter.Cake must have pink icing and sprinkles - even at an all boys school (go figure).Yoghurt is "gay" as are bananas.It's an absolute minefield - let them make their own or alternatively get them involved in the shopping and budgeting for lunches too.
charlieb2, Jan 13, 9:31am
Hey Sarah. I know what you mean.My eldest has been at Intermediate last two years and hardly eaten lunch.He brings it home again and eats it for afternoon tea. I'm expecting his first year at high school this year to amount to the same.I think its because the dont want to be 'seen' to be eating unless its 'cool' suff. lolI dont stress anymore, I'd rather they brought it home and ate it, than it went in a bin at school.I dont 'push' lunch anymore. but brekkie and dinner are 'not negotiable'
sunshine78, Jan 13, 9:51am
Spag on buns with cheese melted.
Cold toastie pies.
Cheese rolls.
Scones.
evorotorua, Jan 13, 6:38pm
This has made me laugh. yoghurt is 'gay'! I know exactly what you are saying. Lunch is a fashion statement, or not, depending on the week. For my son, each weekend I made a few dozen pizza scrolls, froze them and he helped himself to some each morning from the freezer. He could chuck them in a container, bag, whatever and whenever he was hungry he could grab one and eat it. Pizza scrolls made with bread dough rolled out. Cover with a tin of spaghetti, ham and cheese. Roll up into a long tube and slice into scrolls. Place on baking tray, let rise a bit more and bake. A bread dough made with three cups of flour yields about 12 scrolls and they freeze wonderfully. Put whatever you like on them. My son ate them for four and a half years, every day and I mean every day! Then suddenly he wanted salad sandwiches for the last six months so that's what he made. I have no idea why the change but he is happy, healthy and passed his level 3.
sarahb5, Jan 13, 8:30pm
Hey charlie - that's exactly it.My kids all eat well for breakfast and dinner, and I figure they are old enough to know whether they're hungry at lunchtime or not.The pizza scrolls do sound good though - might look into that a bit more.If I could make them look like they came from a commercial bakery rather than mum's bakery they would be a hit!
pgta, Jan 14, 3:51am
I gave up and just give my teens money at the start of the week and they have to make it last.

Works out cheaper than wasting my time buying lunch food they were not even eating.
tjman, Jan 14, 3:55am
What about large savoury muffins.(Bake and store in freezer) Easy open cans of tinned tuna and crackers.Cold sausage rolls. self crusting quiche.make a head and store in freezer.
didi37, Jan 15, 8:04am
You all work hard at it.I feel v lazy. 9yr old 'hates sandwiches' so lunch is a bit of a nightmare. I love the scroll thing too - but they get used to having it warm at home that they don't like it cold at school. ! And i've never been any good at savory muffins. now she doesn't like 'the fruit bits' in fruit muffins.grrrr. Master happy to eat Nutella for the rest of his life.
sarahb5, Jan 15, 8:34am
And that is part of the reason why my children have always made their own lunch - how am I supposed to know that the luncheon they loved last week is now the thing they hate most in the world, or the strawberry yoghurt is gross, or the bread is too thick/thin .