this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2025
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OK I admit, the only reason I'm posting this is because earlier I was making a Marmite sandwich and banana lunchbox and apparently that's not enough.
The idea of putting chicken in a lunchbox to sit at room temperature all day just doesn't feel right.
Any suggestions for what to put in a school lunch that doesn't come pre-packaged?
Yeah the food safety aspect of packed lunches is really another reason why providing them at the place of learning is better for everybody.
Having said that, I sometimes feel that western food safety standards are overly broad most likely due to litigation in the former leader of the free world. Take rice for example, its a huge no-no in the west to even contemplate letting rice sit around warm after its cooked, and there are some reasons for why, but I've talked to plenty of people who grew up in south-east asia where that was common.
Probably the best home-school-lunch-makers answer to food safety & variety from protein etc is cured meats :) Get your kids a prosciutto sandwich everyone!
Well this is going to turn a bit dark but processed meats are loaded with nitrates (normally sodium nitrate, listed as "Preservative (250)"), which is one of very few things on the WHOs "definitely causes cancer" list. So I try to avoid it if possible.
Outside of occupational risks (and biological ones, like HPV), the "definitely causes cancer" list is very short. The main ones are basically smoking, alcohol, and processed meat.
So it's not a case of "everything causes cancer" and more a case of specifically avoiding processed meat in lunch boxes/in general.
The list is here: https://monographs.iarc.who.int/list-of-classifications
Group 1 is the definitely causes cancer group. I find it easiest to download and filter in Excel.
The list of groups is here: https://monographs.iarc.who.int/agents-classified-by-the-iarc/
Yeah, IIRC the science on that & the dosage required isn't quite as settled as the WHO warning suggests. But in any case, you can always cure your own using just salt! I think mostly the nitrate is there to keep it pink.
You can buy bacon without nitrates, but the nitrates are the yummy bit... it does make it pink but if you taste bacon with no added nitrates it's not the same.
In terms of dosage... this isn't really a case of benefits outweighing risks. I'm not aware of any health benefits of eating highly processed meat (that you couldn't get from the unprocessed equivalent). Easiest to minimise consumption to reduce the risk. I'll still eat it on a burger in the same way I'll still have the occasional beer even though alcohol is a known carcinogen, but I don't want processed meat to be an everyday food.
When i was a kid, my mom usually made me some "sandwiches" with proper bread, not the white paper sheets. Cheese, some veggies, often various organic nut spreads. Hazelnut was a favorite of mine with mashed banana, or just a whole banana or other fruit as dessert.
I was raised as a vegetarian by a very health conscious mother, for context. That being said this was within the german education system, where especially young kids don't have school all day around here, so this is more of a second breakfast than a proper lunch.
We only have grainy bread, my kids have been raised on it as being normal. The closest they get to white bread is the oat one, or buns/etc which tend to only come in white.
The kids aren't allowed peanut butter at school, not sure if things that look like peanut butter but aren't (other nut spreads) are an issue or not. I've avoided them to stay well clear.
I've done carrot or cucumber sticks at times, but I make the lunch the night before and I think they dry out a bit by lunchtime the next day.
You can get wide mouth thermoses from briscoes/m10 etc. Then you can send yesterday’s leftovers for lunch.
We send ours with curries, spagbol, chilli, dumplings etc. anything that can stay moist and warm.
I like the idea, one day when they actually eat my (delicious) cooking reliably maybe I can consider this 😆
Hard boiled eggs, can of sardines or tuna, etc
Oh eggs is a good one. I don't think they are old enough to open a can without injuring someone, though.
My usual:
start with dried and cook in instant pot or other pressure cooker)
Sometimes throw in some rice, a mandarin orange, or just leftovers from dinner. I'm vegetarian so the kiddo doesn't get meat in their packed lunch (they can eat whatever they want though, and do at restaurants).
@Dave I search photos of lunchbox ideas for inspiration and ignore anthing cut into pretty shapes or Instagram fodder. Wraps and pita are great for a change. Leftover rice, potato or pasta salad. Crackers & cheese. Muffins straight from freezer are gold! Fresh fruit or tinned. Celery & apple has been a hit. I provide the options and we all prep lunchboxes at the same time. Gel icepack inside an insulated bag works ok. Freezable lunchbag (on sale) has been fantastic.
Almost every food has enough protein per calorie so if you’re worried about protein, that basically means they are not getting enough calories and you can just pack more.
you can put an ice pack in with the chicken, you know.
Hmm, that's a good thought but my kids have these compartmented lunch boxes they got from their grandmother. Not a lot of room for an ice pack. I think I've heard of special ones designed for lunch boxes, I might look into that. Thanks for the reminder!
I use the small thin gel ice packs that are like ziplock bags. They're thin and somewhat flexible even when frozen. easy to tuck one over a sandwich
example
Thanks for the tip, looks like Kmart has something similar.
We tried various "lunchboxes" but they all suck, we reverted to what was used in the 80's and 90's; just a 2l ice cream container.
Reusable bag for sandwich, a little container for pretzels/nuts/dates...whatever, a reusable squeeze pouch for yougurt, a couple of bits of fruit. The compartmented lunchboxes are often just the wrong shape.
Couldn't you just freeze a zip lock bag of appropriate size and lay on top?
boiled eggs boiled potatoes preferably in a german style potato salad (no mayo) Cheese or all sorts including in a sandwich or a wrap Peanut butter sandwiches or stuffed in celery. Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, celery, etc. Nuts of various kinds. Dried fruits of all kinds Greek yogurt plain, you can add frozen berries in it.