Home Lunch

I have been pretty successful at home lunches, perhaps it is the child, I will soon find out since next year I will have a 1st grader to please.  But I wanted to share what I have done in hopes to help out others.

We started Home Lunch because my 1st grader (now 6th grader) threw most of her lunch away everyday... I saw money being thrown in the garbage! :(  So we started Home Lunch, she then had her leftovers as an afterschool snack, in the beginning she would throw things away at school.  She couldn't lie when I asked and so I started asking daily if she had thrown her lunch away, it only took a month and she learned that was unacceptable.  If she had thrown her lunch away she wouldn't get a special snack/treat in her lunch the next day. (see later on when I tell you about our snack system)

in the beginning it was just sandwiches, occasionally a lunchable when they are on sale for $1.  We added a short Thermos Food Jar, I was going to snap a picture but it is in her lunch at school with Pizza Rolls in it.  :) so here is a picture from the thermos site, we did try a "store brand" thermos but I like the metal food thermos best!

The Thermos has opened us up to lots more options!
What we have done in our thermos:
burrito cut in half so it fits (I used to buy the el monerety kind but I now make my own frozen burritos), chicken nuggets, pasta... even those michelena meals that are about .88 at walmart (we don't do those often once or twice a month), pizza rolls, I get them when they are on sale, so I am guessing sending 5 in her lunch today cost .40 at the most.  We haven't done soup but we are thinking of branching out in that direction.  Also any dinner leftovers my daughter wants to take we warm up the food to HOT  and by lunch it is perfect!

From time to time (when she asks) I allow her to take cereal in a plastic container (an old sour cream with lid) and buy a carton of milk for .30 at school.   She loves salad and so she likes to take that often, at our house we usually top our salad with a taco salad like bean mixture.  quesadilla.  we do wraps with pb & honey in them too.

other supplies that I love, I have bought the solo brand side cups, that you get ranch or sour cream in at a restaurant.  They sell them at costco for about $10 for the cups $10 for the lids, so for $20 I have 1000 cups, we use these for dressings for salad, hummus with crackers, pb with apple slices, ranch for veggies.

okay Snacks at our house:  the kids can have whatever regular snacks they like, fruit, veggies, slice or bread, hummus, etc, but we have a list of special snacks: string cheese, granola bar, fruit snacks, cookies, cake & candy if we have any, fruit leather,  caprisun.  They are allowed to have any 2 special snacks per day.  This has worked like a charm, they budget their snacks, and know when they are done for the day and then go to the fruit drawer.  :)

So each day I suggest main dish/sandwich, a fruit or veggie or both if she wants, and then a snack/special snack, if she isn't using a special snack for a drink we send a water bottle with her.  I made her lunches in 1st grade, helped her in 2nd and by 3rd she was making her own but runs what she is putting in it by me.

**She gets to have School Lunch once a week, this way I know she will eat it all cuz it is something she wants**

If this hadn't worked with my daughter, my next course of action would have been for her to loose after school snack until she took time to eat her lunch each day.

I hope this helps others and would love people to leave comments with ideas they have come up with!  :)