i give dd1 a small tub of houmous with 5 mini sausages, a mini pitta, babybel a yoghurt, hulahoops a small pack of biscuits and a tub of fruit (at the mo has been water melon or pineapple) and a drink.

dd2 is so fussy and so only has a mini pitta filled with ham, yoghurt, hulahoops and a pack of biscuits, sometimes she will also have mini sausages and some carrots and also a drink.

they also have fruit and milk at school for break.

OUr school sends home a menu every term so we know what the kids will be eating. There's also a menu enlarged up in the entrance hall - and a menu board for the kids to see in the hall where they eat their lunch.  They have 1 day a week where they processed food such as pizza or fishfingers with chunky wedges (which the kids call chips) The rest of the week is food made from scratch by the staff, like curries, lasagnes, pasta bakes, pies, roasts etc.

My kids switch between dinners and packed lunches to keep things interesting thought I do find it odd that the school discourages things like chocolate cake in packed lunches - but dishes it up for pudding with school dinners!!

DS used to have pack lunch but it seemed to me that he was always having the same. Cheese & tomato sandwich or tuna sandwich or cheese & salami sandwich. Banana or apple or pear and water.

I put him in school dinners this year and  Lancs, I had the same "What did you have for lunch? I don't remember.  Try to think,  eeeeeeerrrrrr pizza and pasta.  It was always his answer.  I went to the headteacher because his school are much into healthy eating and she assured me that they had a varied choice everyday & pizza was just once per week.

For a week she kept an eye on him and he was eating everything from brocolly, coliflower cheese, sheppers pie, curry. and he was still saying pizza & pasta. So I don't stress any more and I don't ask him anymore.

my daughter takes cold pizza fingers with a box of salad, filled pitta bread, sandwhiches, pasta salad, tuna and pasta salad, cold home made chicken nuggets salad and a dip, crackers but no cheese as she doesnt like it.

My son has packed lunch which is normally  ham sandwich, cheese string, yoghurt, fruit (grapes, strawberries or a satsuma) and a drink - fruit shoot, fresh orange or water.  Now and again I'll add 3 mini sausages from M&S as he sometimes doesn't eat all of his sandwich.

My son's lunchbox will have a sandwich and a scotch egg or mini sausage roll, A tub filled with veg/salad..carrot sticks,mixed peppers,cucumber,cherry tomatoes,mini corn,fresh green peas are good at the moment (lots of nice colours...makes it more attractive). a yoghurt, a mini cheese of some sort, fruit (apple,satsuma or box of raisens) and a cereal bar.

He was on school dinners this term,so stressful.."what have you had for dinner?"..."Can't remember"....."it was only 3hrs ago, what did you eat?"....every day the amswer is "Pizza, peas and sweetcorn", it has driven me mad.

At least with a packed lunch I know he has eaten well and healthily, on school dinners he comes home so hungry and grumpy and his school work has been worse, I have to give him something to eat and then he can't eat all his dinner....

When on packed lunches the previous terms, he never came home and asked for anything....he was full with the right stuff, rather then being hungry with "whatever"..lol

My dd's normally have a roll with ham/tuna/cheese/marmite in it. Sometimes they'll have mini pittas for a bit of variety, or a pasta salad that I make up the night before. They always have a piece of fruit (usually grapes/strawberries/banana/carrot sticks/cucumber and tomatoes.) They always have a babybel and a yogurt, and something sweet... I make something on a Sunday - either fruity flapjacks, fairy cakes or fruit scones.

They have a carton of fresh juice to drink.

For their snack, they always have fruit (they're not allowed anything else at their schools)... dd1 takes something in with her, but dd2's school provide fresh fruit for them. She's still at the Infants!) They have water at snack time and during the day.

HTH!. x

My son starts school in Sept too.  He takes a packed lunch to playgroup at the moment.  I give him a sandwich, but he tends to end up having the same fillings over and over again, so I try to vary the bread sometimes, just to keep him interested.  I've just got him into mini pitta breads, sometimes he has a bread roll, etc.  I often put in some cherry tomatoes and sometimes a Babybel cheese.  He always has a piece of fresh fruit or some dried apricots or raisins, and then some sort of "pudding", like jelly (with or without fruit) or I sometimes make a fruity mousse, or sometimes he has a pot of rice pudding or custard.  Also a carton of fruit juice or a fruit shoot or something. 

If he manages to eat all that, I'm happy!

DS starts school in September and they don't have school dinners there.  I was wondering what your kids like in their packed lunches.  We also have to provide snacks for morning break too.  Any ideas would be good.