Packed Lunches: What Do You Make? How Do You Keep It Interesting?

I'm not at the lunch-making point yet. However, I do know that you can get lunchbox inspiration at weelicious.com and especially on their Facebook page.

Same stuff as everyone else as far as what to pack. I pack my husband's lunch Mon-Fri now, and I do sandwiches most days but always a warm meal on Wed, just to kinda switch it up. And sometimes leftovers, other times sandwiches or whatever.
My only special word of wisdom: someone ELSE mentioned last week to make sure it's food kindergartners could open (like my kid has problems putting the straw in the capri suns without squirting it all over the place). I thought "Hmm.....I wonder?" and gave a few things a test run. I showed him how to open the applesauce by opening his little brother's. He could NOT open that thing. I was surprised, and wouldn't have thought of it on my own! (Yay, mamapedia and other moms' advice!) So instead of buying the little applesauce packs or the pudding snack packs, I'll buy a bigger jar of applesauce, or make my own jello or pudding, and put them in the little reusable plastic containers. I tested, and yes he CAN open those without spilling. He's got a thermos for juice and a bottle for water, so no juiceboxes to deal with. Heck.....not only is it easier for him to open these non-convenience packed items, it's also CHEAPER per ounce anyway. Go figure.

i send chicken nuggets (heated and packed in aluminum foil, and then into a thermos to stay warm)
sandwiches (pb and j, ham and cheese/butter
mac and cheese (thermos)
soup (thermos)
spaghetti/any kind of pasta (with red sauce) (thermos)
ravioli
so i switch it every day
they also get a morning snack and afternoon snack
morning snack is usually yoghurt, string cheese, cut up fruit...
afternoon snack (popcorn, some kind of chips, jello cup, pudding etc)

As someone who worked in the school lunchroom for many years my best advice to you is this:
pack what you know they will eat!
Some kids want the same things every day. Boring, right? But true.
So ask your son what he wants and go from there.
With all the great insulated bottles, bags and containers pretty much ANYthing can be packed, from a standard PB & J to leftover pesto pasta with chicken.
I can't tell you how frustrating it was to see SO many kids dumping perfectly good food simply because they didn't like it :(

My son doesn't really like sandwiches. We have a funtainer food thermos and it gets used just about daily. We can keep foods hot for about five hours in that thing. So our options are pretty unlimited. He's has everything from dinner leftovers, to chicken nuggets and hotdogs. Fried rice, couscous, sliders, mac and cheese. Pretty much anything I can make fit, he can eat at school. He also really likes when I pack a salad for him. I pack everything in separate containers and then he builds the salad at school. For whatever reason he gets a kick out of that and I am definitely ok with him having salads for lunch!

I let my daughters sort of take the lead on this. I know I don't want to eat something I think is boring or I don't particularly like, so I let them make a lot of decisions when it comes to their lunches (with my approval, of course).

Here are the things we pack most:

Water or other sugar-free (or low sugar) drink
I keep money in their lunch accounts so they can buy a milk at school
On Fridays they can use their lunch accounts to buy something sweet with lunch. At their school they have ice cream and frozen fruit bars.
Homemade lunchable (wheat thins, ham, cheese slices)
Sandwich
PB&J
Wrap (tortilla, lunch meat, cheese)
Fresh fruit or fruit cups packed in 100% juice
Cut up veggies, with or without ranch
apple sauce
yogurt (sometimes with granola to sprinkle in)
string cheese
homemade trail mix
baked chips
raisins

tuna with crackers
make my own lunchable ~ meat, cheese, cracker
wraps
fruit
yogurt
pancakes (my son likes them room temp)
veggie sticks
cold pizza
Ever since I started packing my son's lunch I have had him help me decide what he wants for that day. 90% of the time it's peanut butter.

Usually some sort of sandwich, one veggie, one fruit, and a yogurt or cheese. I mix up the varieties.
But I also let her buy lunch 2 days a week so she doesnt get too bored with packed lunch. School lunches have come a long way!
We check the weekly menu for her to see when she wants me to pack her lunch. She realllly hates ham and cheese day at school. lol

I am often in the cafeteria with children and I see the following.....

thermos with noodles, soup, rice, mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, etc. for a warm meal.

lunch boxes... gogurt, fruit cups, sandwiches, leftovers from the night before, cheese, sandwich meats, peanut butter with pretzels or something to dip, fruit, minimal cookies and sweets, carrots, grape tomatoes, veggies, with dip,

Also... there are days at school when favorites are served. Figure out what is a favorite of your child so he can make a choice. At our school those days are Friday pizza, pizza sticks with marinara, wacky cake (chocolate cake with chocolate icing), grilled cheese with tomato soup.

Make sure you get the menu so you can see if he might want to purchase on some days. Our K's are served last and have minimal choices vs the older children, as in no extras like frozen treat, chips, etc.

Here are some things my son likes for lunch. Pepperoni slices, crackers, veggies and dip. Or he likes a thermos with soup in it along with bread and butter and some fruit. He also likes pasta in the thermos. He does not like sandwiches, so I have to think of other things. Pita bread, yogurt dip and cucumbers. Hummus, carrots, pita crackers, olives. Cream cheese and fruit wrap. Lunch meat rolled up with toothpicks, grapes and a muffin. Cheese chunks, french bread with butter. Soft rolls with butter (or you could put sandwich fixings on them), turkey jerky, strawberries. Leftover roast chicken - he likes it cold if it has some salt on it along with a side of crackers or a roll and mini carrots or brocolli.

Some children do not get bored with the same thing. Some of them like to have the exact same lunch over and over.

Do make sure what you give him, is food he likes and already eats.

To keep it interesting, I used to do different fruits and raw veggies.

At one point our grocery store baked bread in crazy colors! It was really wild looking..

Other time, I would take a look at those "snack packs" and copy the idea but with a healthy version..

Our daughter ate cold pizza slices. She would eat salads with chicken pieces on them. She would eat tortilla wraps, pita bread. She went through a peanut butter and pretzels phase. She liked ants on a log. Hard boiled eggs.

Stew in a thermos. Chips and salsa. Chinese dumplings. fried rice. Whatever he eats at home he will eat at school.