I want to make better lunches for my kiddos to take to school. I have a 2nd grader and a 7th grader - both bring lunch from home. I can't bare for them to eat another school lunch (although they probably will before the school year is done).

Please tell me what you think a healthy lunch looks like. Plus I need as many ideas as possible.

Most organic fruit that we get here in winter is not very fresh, so I only buy 1-2 kinds of fruit per week (bag of apples and a bag of grapes or kiwi and bananas, etc.). I know my kids do not get enough fruits, but there isn't a whole lot more I can do about it.

I only have two different sandwiches that I send the boys:

1.) PB&J on bread or matsoh
2.) Cheese and mustard on bread or matsoh

My *poor* kiddos!

I won't make them tuna any longer - we were eating Salmon for a while in place of tuna, but all fish is now so contaminated that it is not safe to eat. There is too much mercury and other pollutants. So tuna/salmon is out. We do not buy lunch meats. Well, I do buy a package of turkey breast if it is organic when I go to the discount store, but they only have that once in a blue moon.

Any ideas on sandwiches?

They both have nice stainless steel thermoses that I send homemade soup in with half a sandwich or a full sandwich depending upon what else they have. I toss in carrot sticks, celery sticks, homemade crachers with or without peanutbutter.

Oh, I also make homemade muffins to send with them.

Please post any and *every* idea you have. They need some variety. Thanks.

Actually you can buy canned WILD salmon pretty cheaply. You take it out of the can and pick out the big bones and the skin and make salmon salad just like you do tuna. It is safe as far as all the contaminants. So are some other fish - you just have to be careful and look at which ones are ok.

We buy turkey breasts for 69 cents a pound (look for one that's processed only with broth, no other ingredients) and roast them and carve them. I send my son with cubed turkey. My daughter takes sliced turkey on whole wheat bread.

For snacks I'll make popcorn and put it in a small container or snack bag. Or frozen green beans or peas..they are thawed by lunch. Apples, raisins, bananas, other whole fruits, or frozen berries. We keep it simple.

We don't send lunches, but they eat pretty much the same things you could pack.

Shelled edamame
whole wheat pitas with or without hummus
baby carrots or carrot slices
sliced cucumber in rice vinegar
apple slices
bananas
grapes (can't get organic right now, so we aren't buying grapes)
orange segments
hard boiled eggs
PB&J on whole wheat (DS#2 has been on a kick lately)
pinto beans
corn tortillas
grape or cherry tomatoes
tofurkey sandwiches on whole wheat
smart dogs (cut up, no bun)
leftover vegan pizza
wild salmon patties
smoked wild salmon on whole wheat (like a sandwich)
baked french fries
brown rice
quinoa
whole wheat pasta
muffins made with whole wheat pastry flour

That's all I can think of for now.

Peace,

Kimberly

Chrissy used to take a salad for lunch - even just lettuce and another salad vegie plus some shredded cheese, or hard boiled eggs. Put the dressing in a seperate container.

Egg salad sandwiches.
Cheese sandwiches
tomato sandwiches
cucumber sandwiches
cheese in tortillas melted - still good cold
vegies and dip/dressing
leftover cold chicken

OH thank you, thank you! These are wonderful suggestions!

I do send them with cold pizza when we have leftovers...they love that and I did hard boiled eggs with their other lunch items last week.

I don't trust any fish other than wild salmon from the Alaskan Interior, Lauren, and it is quiet expensive to have it shipped here.

Kristin - that is what I am talking about! :) There is no other wild salmon these days, available commercially. The canned salmon I find here in Florida is wild salmon from Alaska. I see I forgot to say that it was not only *wild,* but *Alaskan.* It's trustworthy; my dh used to work in a salmon packing plant, all the canned stuff is legitimate Alaskan wild salmon if it says so on the can.

And I find it in the grocery store, at Big Lots, and even at the dollar stores here. Cheaper than tuna.

Also, some friends here (who had no connection to Alaska) found a fisherman in Kodiak who, for a min order of 50 lb, will ship it here for $6.50-$7.50/lb including shipping. Not bad. King or sockeye. Smoked is more, but the way we are getting it is not smoked, frozen and vacuum packed. They ship it UPS overnight. Maybe you could do something like that in your area.

Thanks Lauren and Laurie ~ These are all great ideas.

Lauren - as long as it says "Alaskan" and "wild" then it is really from the Alaskan interior? We were using pink salmon from our grocery store, but we stopped. I just don't want to put my kiddos at risk. I'd love to have a Salmon dinner once in a while, though.

Laurie ~ I love your "non" sandwich ideas. My kids love all those foods you listed off. I guess I'll be using their thermoses every day now! :)

Kristin :)

If you can find sockeye or king in cans, it's better than pink nutritionally and tastewise. King is supreme nutritionally, then sockeye, then pink. But if you just want a healthy sub for tuna, pinks are good too. All are from Alaska if they say "Alaskan" on the can. What do you mean by the Interior? They are mostly caught in south central AK, which is not the Interior.

Here's a cut and paste with some more info:

Is there a healthy alternative? In contrast, Alaska’s management of its fisheries is ecologically sound. All Alaskan salmon live in their natural habitat in the cold, clean waters of the North Pacific Ocean. Here they grow to adulthood at their natural pace, eating only their natural foods like shrimp, herring, squid, zooplankton and other marine life. They swim free on the high seas and then return to their natal streams on their own schedule. Alaska’s salmon fisheries are seasonal rather than year-round. Alaskan salmon are wild; there are no salmon farms in Alaska. In order to protect Alaska’s wild fisheries from potential problems, salmon farming was prohibited by the Alaska legislature in 1990 (Alaska Statute 16:40.210). Alaskan salmon helps to support robust
Respecting and preserving the inherent life cycle of these ancient maritime wonders is written into the Alaska State Constitution. For this reason Alaska’s salmon fisheries are endorsed as your best environmental choice in seafood . . .

populations of bears, eagles and a host of other species of birds and mammals. The abundance of these predator and scavenger salmon-eating species is testament to the success of Alaska’s salmon management. Alaskan salmon are an important and integral part of their natural ecosystem. Unlike those in other parts of the world, no Alaskan salmon stocks are threatened or endangered.

Alaska’s salmon have been abundant for millennia and they are managed to ensure their future abundance. In Alaska, the fish come first. In each of Alaska’s river systems no fish are harvested until management biologists are absolutely certain that enough fish will return and “escape” to sustain the run. Fishery openings are tightly regulated and only those salmon which constitute a surplus above optimal “escapement” numbers are available to fisherman for harvest. Respecting and preserving the inherent life cycle of these ancient maritime wonders is written into the Alaska State Constitution. For this reason Alaska’s salmon fisheries are endorsed as your best environmental choice in seafood by such organizations as the Marine Stewardship Council, The Audubon Society’s Living Oceans Campaign and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program—all of which advise you to AVOID farmed Atlantic salmon.

(from http://chetday.com/alaskansalmon.htm)

And another:

Alaska Salmon Facts (Source: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute)

* No salmon stocks of Alaska origin are listed as threatened or endangered.
* 95% of all wild salmon harvested in the US is from Alaska, representing one of the largest salmon fisheries in the world.
* Last year, over 175 million salmon were harvested in Alaska, even after allowing for sufficient numbers to escape upstream to spawn future generations.
* All Alaska salmon are wild. There are no salmon farms in Alaska, in fact, salmon farming is prohibited by the Alaska Legislature.
* Alaska is the world leader in protecting and maintaining its salmon habitat.
* Salmon fishing permits are issued to individuals, not corporations, through the "limited entry permit system".

from http://www.wholefoods.com/issues/ffof.html

I know it's scary, the whole seafood/mercury thing. But wild salmon is so so so good for you - even canned I think the benefits are great. You can make salmon cakes (like crab cakes but with salmon) too...yum.

What I mean by "Interior" is the rivers of the interior. The waters are not polluted up there. In Southcentral the waters are all polluted.

Thanks for all this information, Lauren. I will come back and read it in detail later - when my kids are not so antsy.

edited to add: Lauren - thank you for this information. My kids are really missing their salmon sandwiches. They love salmon in all forms.

Thanks so much to everyone who posted to this thread. I appreciate it. You gave me an "I can do this" attitude. :)

Kristin

Sarah is in a food rut, and eats only pb sandwiches, hard boiled eggs or cereal. LOL. I pack cereal dry in her Thermos, a min-sized one...and milk in a Tupperware....she loves that. :D They don't get much time for lunch, and she is always in a hurry to eat and go play, so we try to keep it simple so she will eat it.

Thanks, Kristin. That's what I thought you might mean. I hadn't read or heard that south central AK's waters were so badly polluted. With mercury? I want to know, LOL.

If you restrict it to river-running salmon, then yes, you are definitely going to have a hard time finding it. :(

Lauren - I'll try to get some links for you later today. Oh, wait! I do have a link to some red salmon that is supposed to be lab tested to be sure its safe: http://www.vitalchoice.com/shop.cfm
I will see if I can get links re: pollution.

BTW, I DID IT! I packed something *different* for lunch today. 7th grade DS was *not* impressed with PBJ on Matzos yesterday.

I made Annie's shells and cheese up this morning along with carrot sticks, frozen strawberries, and some yogurt. DS seemed much happier this morning when I told him what was in there.

:D

another good link on that same site:

http://www.vitalchoice.com/purity.cfm

I don't like how much they say "FDA" in this article, but...I do like what they say about salmon being at the bottom of the food chain - so they're not eating other contaminated fish. wohoo!


Kristin :)

We are uh, moving to Alaska, as you know. ;) I hope. And one of our big reasons for choosing to go back there is the availability of fresh-caught, wild, pristine salmon. Free. And other game. We hope to also be able to hunt and prepare moose and caribou. It's not a bad way to go. ;)

(Edited because my husband corrected me, they live 6-7 years, and you don't want them once they've reached far up the rivers as then they are spawning and the meat is bad.)

Lauren ~

We are on similar paths with our thinking...clean water, clean air, clean fish are my reasons for wanting to move to Alaska. I have it all worked out and that dream I had (trading in our two vehicles for the Ford Excursion and attaching our trailer and taking off for Alaska) proved to me that I have it all worked out *in my head*.

Now if DH would just jump on board. :(

So, with reading that info and from what you've said...I agree Alaska's salmon is a good thing! Thank you for helping me. My family desperately needs the fish oil.

Thanks, mama!

Kristin :)

Laurie, those are some great lunch suggestions! Katie will take a sandwich but since Jake is GFCF and doesn't like any of the GFCF breads, he can't.

Ah, where were you at the beginning of the year? :) I found a good, big lunch box for Jake, but the Mini-mate coolers sound perfect.

Now, what size thermos did you get? Like the kind we used to have in our lunchboxes, the standard one with the plastic cup on top? Or a bigger kind or the new bowl-shaped kind?

Lauren ~ is the new "bowl shape" kind a stainless steel thermos? I'd love to get one or two if they are. I have two Thermos brand stainless steel thermoses that I am currently using for my two boys.

I need new lunch bags, too, that are larger. I noticed first thing that I couldn't fit all that I wanted to into my 2nd grader's lunch.

Laurie ~ both boys came home raving about their lunches! Thank you so much for your helpful ideas.

This entire thread has been great! Thanks Allison and Kimberly for your great suggestions, too. I am putting all the suggestions into one list and printing it off for the inside of my kitchen cupboard door.

:)

Yes, that's the kind I'm thinking of Kristin - and Laurie - cool. I got a lunchbox one for Katie and it's too small and narrow to pack things like pasta. Live and learn I guess. She loves to take pasta (brown rice) and would take some other heated-up leftovers if I could pack them that way.

My son is easy. Cut up roasted turkey or chicken breast, they heat it up at school for him, or he likes it cold, and raisins, bananas, apples and muffins for snack (occasionally I toss in a fruit snack/gummy thing for a treat). He likes things the same so he'll never complain...in fact the one day I packed him pasta they said he cried. :( And he loves it at home!

Anyway...thanks everyone, I really got a lot of ideas from this thread too, and hopefully will inject a little variety into Katie's lunch and get her off the wheat bread sandwiches (we use whole wheat bread, it's just that I think it's too much as she is sensitive to wheat).