The Brown Bag Support Thread

[sisdparent]

So this is going to be our standing thread to swap Brown Bagging ideas and money savers, to prevent our children from starving to death! Remember there's no idea too old, too simple or too crazy, especially for our picky eaters.

Remember the $$$ you save today, may be paying for private tutoring tomorrow!

Suggestion #1
Buy in bulk and re-bag in small servings. Avoid pre-packaged items, the price per serving is really awful (unless it's a really good sale). Pretzels, goldfish, nuts, fruits, vegies and so forth. Slice up some lunch meat, cheese and crackers instead of a whole sandwich.

Suggestion #2
Avoid pricey lunch meats. Hamburger patties, Hams, small roasts, chicken and turkey breasts cost less when you cook and slice them yourself. It takes about 2 hours to cook a 10 pound turkey breast (I saw them yesterday for $1 per pound) with your own seasonings. Once they're cool, slice up what you'll use this week and divide and freeze the rest. There's also the added advantage of avoiding the Nitrates that some families have been trying to remove from their diets.

Suggestion #3
Make "treats" a surprise rather than a regular item. I don't care how good my intentions are, once that pan of Rice Krispy treats get sliced, half of them are going on my thighs!

Suggestion #4
Think outside the box with fruits and vegetables. Ziplock and Glad have great small containers for strawberries, pineapples, blueberries, kiwis. Oldest daughter likes hers with a spoon of raw sugar to sweeten the juice. Right now apples are off the menu because the prices are way up. Some older kids like salads from time to time.

Suggestion #5
Drinks are always a tough item, especially at our house. Probably the only real rule I've figured out is that it has to contain less sugar than a can of soda! My kids think that the store brand juice pouches are better than the name brands, and those can be frozen to make an ice bag to keep a lunch cool. One of the girls only wants water bottles. Oldest son likes the pricier drinks like Fuse or Poweraid.... but he only gets them when they're on sale. Youngest son has access to a microwave and went on a streak last winter of taking a coffee cup and a tea bag to school (I probably shouldn't have let him lick the lead based paint when he was little ). If you can catch it on sale at Costco, the Organic Milk is pretty good (I would buy a couple of boxes to make sure the kids like it, before picking up a whole case.)

Suggestion #6
Don't forget the fork, spoon or napkin! Your kids will let you know when you do! and Store brand ziplocks work just like the regular ones.

So, now it's everyone's turn to add insight on what your kids like to eat or how to make it Brown Bag friendly.

Have fun!

[Mayleng]

Thanks for the tips. I bought a nice soft lunch box which you can freeze or refrigerate, and my HSer refuses to use it. He only wants a brown bag, which really doesn't keep anything cool or fresh.

My kids don't like lunchmeats or salads. So any other ideas besides peanut butter and baloney.

[sisdparent]

Will they eat roughly cut cold chicken/ turkey if it doesn't look like sliced sandwich meat? Prepackaged lunch meat sometimes has a slimy ick factor.

You could also try "gourmet nut butters".... check the aisles for ideas. They're easy to make, Pecans are usually the best, but Almonds and other "good fat" nuts also work. Just roast a cupful or two at a time, toss them in the Cuisinart, with a tsp of salt and grind them. Some will have enough oil to become viscous and smooth on their own, others you'll need to add a touch of good oil to. Honey is a very good mix in for sweetness. You can add chili powder for spicy or whatever you can think of!

[dma]

Great thread. One of my son's favourite lunches is a flour tortilla with refried beans and grilled meat (leftovers) or hamburger mix, lettuce, tomato and cheese. I make the refried beans by mashing pinto beans and adding small amounts of chili powder and garlic. I usually put in a frozen gel pack to keep it all cold. He also loves leftover pizza, but is not big on sandwiches.

[momfromma]

My son eats cereal and cheese and a fruit, but he is not a big eater.

His other treat is shrimp fried rice. When we eat at the Chinese restaurant, we take the remaining rice and give it to him in a thermos.

[Mayleng]

Sept 2, 2008 16:24:19 GMT -5 sisdparent said:

Will they eat roughly cut cold chicken/ turkey if it doesn't look like sliced sandwich meat? Prepackaged lunch meat sometimes has a slimy ick factor.

Yup, my kids can't stand the slimy factor.

[Mayleng]

Older ds does like fried rice, younger ds doesn't.

So fried rice could be an option too.

[sisdparent]

How about a "modified sushi" using cooked meats (not fish) instead of raw meats? It could be something neat for them to learn how to make and they'd look cool in front of their friends with some cheap chopsticks!

[Mayleng]

Good idea except my kids don't like seaweed. LOL! I, on the other hand love sushi and shashimi.

[cinderbell]

A few years back, I found these freezer containers that I use to put in salad mix....it keeps cold until lunchtime and I pack a bit of turkey, cheese, cucumber, dressing in small, separate containers in the lunchbox. Something different besides a sandwhich.....

I usually make homemade cupcakes and treats instead of buying those junky Little Debbie garbage thingy's....freeze most of the cupcakes and it is cheaper than buying those sugar and preservative things that can be gone within a week.

[sisdparent]

Fruit and nut quick breads and muffins are filling and also travel well and a very clever mom can substitute wheat flour for white and so forth.

One of the things I have to pay attention to is that my High School kids have 6:30 am band practices, so their breakfast is pretty much used up before they ever get to classes. So I pack an extra piece of fruit, bag of pretzels, muffin or whatever else is "on hand" that they can quickly munch on their way up the stairs to class. My oldest daughter is a firm believer in keeping a bag of gummy bears in her pocket.

Here's a weird one:
Oldest daughter loves cold canned vegetables, especially green beans.

[Mayleng]

My HSer does not get a lunch period, so he needs to eat in one of his classes. The teachers are generally ok with that, so I need something easy - things that require spoons, containers etc will be difficult. My ds would never go for that either.

Banana bread sounds good and easy.

[greenie]

I love this thread...my older son told me last night, "I am done with p b and j "

[Mayleng]

greeneyes, LOL! my younger son had PB&J all 4 yrs of elementary school. He refused to eat anything else. Now he just refuses to eat school lunches, says it leaves an aftertaste. But thank god he is easy now. It is the HSer that is the problem.

[bros]

I think I used to eat Peanut Butter and Fluff sandwiches. Those were good.

Haven't had Fluffernutter in years though, because I can't have High Fructose Corn Syrup anymore.

[sisdparent]

PB & J's are on the Surprise list for lunches, but the kids always make me put the jelly in a different container and dip their peanut butter sandwich. My brother in law started the Nuttela thing with the kids, but they were supposed to tell me it was made from broccoli.

[socalgal]

Leftovers from dinner are a big favorite at our house. I heat them up and put them in an insulated lunchbox. DD takes a water bottle daily -- we put in the freezer every night and freeze a couple of inches of water into it so that water stays cold all day. And to keep the bottle from dripping everywhere, we buy the one's that come with a removable insulated cover -- they cost about $10 but we get 1.5 to 2 years out of every bottle. What we save in "lunch drinks" more than covers the cost of the bottles.

We pack carrots daily -- no mini carrots, it isn't worth the cost. We just peel and make our own carrot sticks every few days. Additionally, DD eats grapes daily -- we also package these every few days.

[mamak]

Home made pasta salad with fresh veggies a little dressing and cheeze.

Peanut butter without the bread just include some cut up apples or cerey sticks for a nice change of pace.

Make trail mix yourself with trader joes favorite nuts and dried fruits along with som pretzels an cheese nips or goldfish. Pancake them in singel servings and make someone hide them from so you cant find them yourself.

I buy a ton of fruits and veggies at the local swap meet on Sunday after noons when they are shutting down and selling off stuff for pennies on the dollar. $15. will buy more than one person can carry to the car. DD is a vegetarian so apples at $2.00 - $2.79 a pound at the store just is not cutting it for us. Sometimes I get a case of whatever fruit they have too much of for $1.00 for the entire case.

We drink filtered water from home in the plastic containers that are not toxic.

[sisdparent]

Tried something new this week... the boys love cheese and good ole' slices of American don't do well in lunches... Yesterday, I had some left over grated Mozerella, so I sprinkled it on top of the ham sandwich... It went over really well.

[sisdparent]

9 Great Breakfast Ideas for Kids of All Ages

By Nancy Shute
Thu Oct 2, 4:59 PM ET

A bowl of cereal can be less healthful than a doughnut, according to a new ranking of kids' breakfast cereals published by Consumer Reports. Eleven cereals ranked by the venerable group had more sugar than a glazed Dunkin' Donut. The culprits include Kellogg's Honey Smacks (nee Sugar Smacks) and Post Golden Crisp, both of which get almost 60 percent of their calories from sugar. Talk about a sugar high!

What's a parent to do? Registered dietitians know how to eat smart at breakfast--without denying your sweet tooth. This is good news not just for kids but for the many grownups who still love sugared cereal. Sarah Krieger, a registered dietitian who teaches kids how to make a wholesome breakfast at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., is among them. Right now she craves Cocoa Krispies, which she attributes to being pregnant. Otherwise, her sugary fave is Frosted Mini-Wheats. Here are nine ways to build a breakfast that's both healthful and satisfying:

-- Go for protein. Study after study has shown that eating breakfast makes for better cognitive performance through the day and less weight gain over time. To make that happen, a key ingredient is protein, which provides lasting energy. One good choice: peanut butter on a whole-grain English muffin.

-- Fiber up. Consumer Reports considered fiber one of its key ranking criteria, right up there with the amount of sugar. Its winners among cereals marketed to children: Cheerios and Kix, both with 3 grams of fiber per serving, and Life and Honey Nut Cheerios, both with 2 grams. Step outside the realm of cereals marketed to kids, and there are lots of good choices, including Raisin Bran, with 5 grams of fiber per serving, Grape-Nuts, with 7 grams, or Kashi Go Lean Crunch, with 9 grams. Children need at least their age plus 5 in fiber; a 5-year-old should eat at least 10 grams of fiber a day. Adults need 25 to 35 grams, and cereal is a great way to get it.

-- Sugar can help the fiber go down. Some cereals that have added sugar also have real health benefits: A serving of Frosted Mini-Wheats, for instance, has a whopping 6 grams of fiber, which dietitians say helps make up for the 12 grams of sugar per serving.

-- Look for whole grains. Not only do whole grain cereals have more fiber, but they also have more natural vitamins and minerals. Finding good whole-grain cereal can take some detective work. For instance, oatmeal in the round box has more fiber than single-serving packaged oatmeal because the instant oatmeal is more highly processed. It almost always has added sugar, too. Better to microwave old-fashioned or quick oatmeal, and drizzle on honey or add dried cherries if you like it sweet.

-- Be unconventional. Leftover pizza or pasta makes a great breakfast choice, according to Krieger. Add a piece of fruit and a glass of milk, and you're good for the morning.

-- Keep an eye on sodium. Consumer Reports dinged Rice Krispies, but not because it has a lot of sugar--it's got only 4 grams per serving, which is next to nothing compared with Froot Loops, with 12 grams. Instead, Rice Krispies was faulted for being higher in sodium than is necessary, at 135 milligrams, and having almost no fiber (it's puffed white rice). Other cereals heavily promoted to children have up to 270 mg of sodium in a serving, which is a real concern at a time when increasing numbers of children are being diagnosed with high blood pressure.

-- Use sweetened cereals like a condiment. Layer a little Cap'n Crunch, with 12 grams of sugar and 1 gram of fiber, on top of shredded wheat, with no sugar and 5 grams of fiber, and you've got a not-so-bad bowlful. Krieger likes her Cocoa Krispies atop plain shredded wheat or Cheerios.

-- Beware of sneaky sugar substitutes. Some cereal companies are replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners so they can say their product has less sugar, according to Tara Gudis, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. You wouldn't know that unless you read the fine print in the ingredients. Eating supersweet food, even if artificially sweetened, is a bad idea, Gudis says, because once people are used to really sweet tastes, they're less likely to eat a varied, healthful diet.

-- Eat breakfast every day. Consistently eating breakfast turns up in study after study as a key part of healthful living, particularly for kids. "I like cereal," says Gudis. "It's a good way to get people to eat breakfast, and if you pick a high-fiber one, you can get half your fiber knocked out for the day." Eat it with milk, and you're getting protein, calcium, and Vitamin D, too.

[alyssasmom]

Make your own jello cups in those handy, tiny Glad containers. Load them up with cut up apples and bananas, then pour the jello in. Lots less expensive than the ones that are pre-made, and with added fruit, it is better for you.

I too pack left overs for my lunch. Cooking for them isn't too hard to do.

[sisdparent]

and don't forget the pudding during the winter months!

[Mayleng]

Just discovered that my oldest likes leftover corn beef made into a sandwich for his lunch, he doesn't like lunch meat but this he likes.

[socalgal]

I'm looking for suggestions on how to get DD to try and vary her lunches. Currently, lunch (includes morning and afternoon snacks) is:
1/2 turkey sandwich
1 string cheese stick
carrot sticks
apple
seedless grapes
100 calorie pack of crunchy stuff
granola bar
water

Frankly, I'm bored and this isn't even my lunch

[rw]

DS takes a turkey sandwich for lunch everyday and has for years. I occasionally send peanut butter sandwich if out of turkey. He doesn't like PB&J because he says it makes the bread soggy. I don't understand how they can eat the same thing everyday. He has recently been complaining that about 1 hour post lunch, he's hungry again!

[sisdparent]

socal
maybe it's a one step at a time thing. I would tackle varying the fruits first... try it from the angle of "oh, look kiwi is on sale this week" (a peeled and sliced one exactly fits in the smallest Glad bowl).... Liz liked to take fruit salads in the 8 ounce bowls (with a spoon of the "organic sugar").

rw
My kids keep a small (4 oz) bottle of water and a ziplock bag of pretzels or goldfish in their backpack (fruit snacks or gummies work well too) to ease those "pre/post" lunch munchies. It's easy to grab a handful between classes. Granola bars also work.

On the PB&J, my kids always have me make them a PB sandwich and then put the jelly in a small bowl with a plastic spoon. That doesn't work real well for the boys who want to toss the brown bag as soon as they're done with it.

[rw]

"That doesn't work real well for the boys who want to toss the brown bag as soon as they're done with it. "

That's exactly what my son does. Everything has to be disposable so he can toss it all and not have to keep up with a lunch box.

I hadn't thought about putting snacks in his backpack. He only has 3 min. to change classes, but maybe could sneak a goldfish or two in.

[alyssasmom]

If you lightly spread both slices of bread with the peanut butter, and put the jelly in between the peanut butter, you won't have as soggy of a sandwich! I didn't know this until a teacher friend shared it with me. Peanut butter doesn't sog through the bread like jelly does.

[rw]

"If you lightly spread both slices of bread with the peanut butter, and put the jelly in between the peanut butter, you won't have as soggy of a sandwich! I didn't know this until a teacher friend shared it with me. Peanut butter doesn't sog through the bread like jelly does."

Ah, never thought of that. Makes sense though. I'll try it.

[socalgal]

I forgot to mention: DD refuses to eat PB&J. She'll eat PB once in a while but she's the only kid I know who'll go without lunch rather than eat jam or jelly on her sandwich.

And did I ever mention her feelings about whipped cream? She gets upset if we forget and allow her dessert to arrive at the table with this odious substance! Picture this: we take DD out to lunch on our way home from her first 7 days of sleep-away summer camp. The waiter is so nice, he brings her a free ice cream sundae. And commits the sin of topping it liberally with loads of fluffy, whipped cream. I don't know what was worse, her face or his! He took it back and made her a new, free sundae.

I thought I would die, I was so embarassed. And that sundae wasn't truly free, we paid for it in the enormous tip.