Discussions

What do other parents send for their children’s lunches and snacks?  
 
Back in my day, it was all fruit by the foot, wagon wheels, chips, granola bars, fruit snacks. But it seems that things have changed.  
 
I do still see these snacks at the grocery store but are these things even allowed at the school? I am all for healthy snacks and lunches, but wondered what is actually happening in the snack and lunch works these days.

Lunch program items are personal preference, no restrictions that I have encountered. My kids pack their own lunches, and while most days are healthy, they will often sneak in a treat or to. We’ve never heard anything from the school ie: fruit snacks etc.

I work in a school. Please consider not only the health of your child, but also the poor staff that have to deal with a hopped-up-on-sugar child.  
For my kids, I pack grapes, apple slices, frozen yoplait, yogurt cups, etc. All just as easy to pack as sugary snacks but way healthier!  
Not saying a pudding here or there is bad, because it can save a mom’s sanity.

For our 2 girls, the basics are a sandwich (meat or wow butter and jam), a fruit (actual fruit, apple sauce or fruit to go), a veggie, and then a couple other snacks (granola bars, fruit snacks, wagon wheels, etc). We try to limit fresh stuff as our kids don’t always eat everything. What we send fresh (that can expire within the day), we always remind them to eat it first. We also leave oatmeal packages at daycare in case they get hungry.

SZ said "What do other parents send for their children’s lunches and snacks?     Back in my day, it was all fruit by the foot, wagon wheels, chips, granola bars, fruit snacks. But it seems that things have changed.     I do still see these snacks at the grocery store but are these things even allowed at the school? I am all for healthy snacks and lunches, but wondered what is actually happening in the snack and lunch works these days. "

Children need healthy foods so they can stay awake and not crap for lunch and snacks..filling your child full of cheap sugary carbs is ridiculous...they need meat, fruit and dairy products to help them through the day...I think some parents just get too lazy and throw crap into their child's lunch bags..and it contributes to child obesity..

What kind of healthy snacks and lunch items do you pack for your children? When I look at the grocery store all I see is prepackaged stuff

SZ said "What kind of healthy snacks and lunch items do you pack for your children? When I look at the grocery store all I see is prepackaged stuff "

Lunch items i:nclude: leftovers, sandwiches, wow butter and cracker sandwiches, cheese cubes, yogurt cups or tubes, fruit (bananas, oranges, grapes, watermelon, strawberries etc), applesauce, veggies (usually cucumber or carrots) with ranch to dip, for a treat it is typically either a fruit2go, nutragrain bar, granola bar (not covered in chocolate), goldfish, pretzels, teddy grahams. Once in awhile they might get a cookie or something. Try to keep fairly healthy but with something that’s a treat but not crazy sugary.

Sandwiches with deli meats, cheese, lettuce, whatever they choose. Some kind of fruit, usually berries or grapes. Some kind of veggie like carrot sticks, mini tomatoes or cucumbers. Salads topped with cheese for the protein is another thing. A thermos of homemade soup sometimes. Sometimes it’s a snack type lunch with just cut up meet, cheese, veggies, fruit and taco chips with dip. Then some kind of semi healthy snack items like a granola bar or fruit gummies.  
It’s really not hard to pack a healthy lunch. I refuse to send anything less healthy than fruit gummies, granola bars or deli meats.

I also like to send homemade muffins for snacks and occasionally I make smoothies, put it in small containers and freeze, take it out in the morning and they can eat it with a spoon.

Our daughter that goes to school pretty much always takes leftovers and a pudding cup. She's in Lifeskills and there's an aid that heats up lunches for the kids I think, plus she has autism so the pudding cup is just part of the routine, LOL. Leftovers are usually whatever we had for supper in the day or two previous, like spaghetti, roast chicken & mashed (and turnip, can't forget the turnip), salads, stir-fry, pork chop, chili, soup, etc.  
 
Otherwise, we do similar to Jellybean.  
 
Some of my other kids are in day camps this week, and so far they've brought sandwiches, one kid is having a homemade "lunchable" with kubasa I cut up, cheese and crackers, grapes, apples, granola bar, cucumbers, etc.  
 
Other things on the "menu" for lunches this week: fruit of all manner, veggies and dip, boiled eggs (one kid devours hard boiled eggs), applesauce cups, home made banana or zucchini bread, or something similar.

I used to love it when my mom would pack me snacks instead of sandwiches. I was a picky eater lol. I loved yoplait yogurt tubes, sliced apples with a caramel dip once in a while for a treat, trail mix, juicebox, granola bars, celery with cheeze whiz! theres so many other options besides sugary treats. We did get wagon wheels once in a while but I've never been a fan of them and they just mostly rode around in my backpack till they were a smushed mess.

what are some healthy non dairy snacks?