Kindergarten!

So DS started Junior Kindergarten two weeks ago and I am quickly realizing I am completely clueless when it comes to school lunches. I have no idea what to pack, I'm always afraid he won't have enough to eat. And when I am buying products, I am not even sure what is a good sale price.

I desperately need some help! LOL. Any thoughts, suggestions, comments, pricing strategies would be so gratefully appreciated. :)

DD just started JK too, and between the restrictions because of allergies in her class (peanuts and eggs) and her being picky in general, there's only so much I can pack for her (she won't eat lunch meat or anything that would typical go in a thermos).

I've been buying most of her lunch stuff from Costco: quaker chewy bars, applesauce in squeezable pouches, handisnacks, goldfish crackers. I buy iogo yogurt in the squeezable pouches using a bunch of the $2 coupons floating around (bought a bunch of them for $1 a box that way). I also throw in a juice box, water, some fruit, and half a bagel with cream cheese and that seems to be enough for her throughout the day. I'm stumped too, I'm really starting to miss her daycare and the hot lunches they made fresh every day.

We have a bunch of small reusable containers (the little 1/3c ish size ones) so we'll fill those with yogurt. She gets one main meal (as we call it) which is something like pasta, a sandwich, anything like that. The hearty part of the meal. Then she gets 2 "snacks" which are usually crackers, goldfish, fruit snacks, granola bars, etc. One fruit or vegetable. A container of yogurt. And one juice box. If she needs more, then we'll throw in an extra fruit/veg and an extra 'snack'

My little man is in SK and he gets stuff that we eat for dinner for lunch. So I have sent him with left over ( reheated) spaghetti and/meatballs in his lunch thermos, left over homemade pizza (or not homemade but always low sodium)- he will eat that cold, hummus and crackers, left over fruit salad, corn salad or Ceasar ( He LOVES ceasar salad), roasted chicken drumsticks etc. One thing he really loves is egg rolls or spring rolls. So I take our timer for our living room light, and set it for our toaster oven to preheat in the am. I roll out of bed, pop in three egg rolls, and they are ready for his lunch bag in the twenty minutes of breakfast prep and eat. Quesdillas are great as well because I can make the night before, or while the eggs for breakfast are frying. The pan is still hot, pop it on and cook while he is eating. I make a bunch and freeze them, reheat and send them off. You will find your grove, it will just take a bit of time.

I have been struggling with my daughters lunch as well. She just started JK this year too and she is a horribly picky eater. She likes nothing sweet, she does not like sandwiches either. We have been doing bagels, pancakes, I will cut up chicken and cheese with some crackers for her main. Snacks are usually a cheese string, goldfish, animal crackers, dried fruits occasionally. Motts squeezable fruit pouches or and Iogo squeezable yogurt pouch and her water bottle occasionally a juice pack. Sometimes I will do a container of popcorn. Thankfully fer school does pizza Fridays. $2.00 a slice and I just have to pack her drinks and snacks. I am having a hard time finding a variety of items that she will eat its pretty much the same few things over and over