I Need Ideas for Lunch

* Cottage cheese with fresh cut-up fruits in it.
* Hard boiled eggs. Salad on the side.
* Celery or carrots (depending on how well he chews things up) with hummus, cream cheese, almond butter or peanut butter
* So many many different varieties of fruits and berries!!!
* Cubes of cheese to go along with the fruits and berries.
* Kasha (buckwheat) can be served cold after being cooked with bouillon, and vegetables. Can even have bits of chicken in it.
* tuna with chopped up pickles, celery and catsup or tomato sauce

My 3-year old loved munching on raw veggies - green beans, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. which I included in salads which were in most of her lunches since she loved fruits and salad stuff.

Lunchables are not the healthiest, and they charge more for things that you could buy separately and pack yourself. You can send him cold cut rollups if he eats ham/turkey/bologna and cheese. Yogurt and fruit. Does he eat salads? Cold veggies with some turkey/ham/cheese thrown in. Bagel with cream cheese and fruit. If the food that you send him has good nutritional value and it's something he likes, it doesn't matter if it's the same one or two lunches all the time. While it might make US crazy to eat like that, a lot of parents don't understand that kids DO like the comfort of knowing that they have a familiar and favorite meal. Variety does not hold the same appeal to kiddo's that it does to adults. Good luck and I hope your little guy has a great summer in camp!

what about yogurt or applesauce with fruit and crackers. I like cold pizza. Or baby carrots with hummus to dip in.

Veggies and fruit with or without dip - a good fruit dip is yogurt with a little cool whip or something in it.
Pita and hummus
Cheese and crackers
Lunch meat or pepperonies
Cold pasta salad

My girls' favourite lunch is a snack plate. I just cut up some fruit, veggies, cheese and crackers or bagels and let them go at it - there are never leftovers!

Be careful with the peanut butter. Most places these days don't allow it b/c so many have allergies. (It's disappointing for me b/c my daughter loves peanut butter but I can't send it.)

Pasta salads, pita chips or veggies with hummus, hard-boiled eggs, egg salad in pita bread (or just alone), cold chicken, chicken salad, crackers with cheese or peanut butter (if they allow nuts at camp).

You say he likes lunchables, but not sandwiches, so I assume it's the bread he doesn't like? First of all, don't buy lunchables. They are loaded with salt and preservatives to keep them them from going bad on the shelf. Just buy the items fresh yourself and pack them. Second of all, have you tried different kinds of breads, like pita breads, making sandwich rollups, bagel thins?

Get a thermos container and put chicken nuggets, mac & cheese or hot dogs in it (if he likes any of those). Get them really hot just before you leave and put them in there. They won't be piping hot by the time he eats it, but warm enough.
Also - my son that doesn't like meat sandwiches, like nutella sandwiches. He calls them "chocolate sandwiches" which isn't incorrect as it does have cocoa in it...but also protein. My sister who sees a nutritionist says she's always giving her recipes with cocoa in it saying how good it it for you.

I substitute teach at the elementary level. I see a lot of thermos's filled with ravoli, spagettios, rice, noodles, etc. It does not require any heating and it does stay warm enough for them to eat.

We also see a lot of non-sandwich kids (I have one). veggies with dip, peanut butter with pretzels, crackers, etc. fruit, fruit cup, applesauce cup, etc.

Pack what your son WILL eat.
Otherwise, he will not eat. And will starve and not last the entire day without eating.

I know... I volunteered at my daughter's school. EVERYDAY, I see kids with lunches that they do NOT eat. Even if they are hungry. Then they go all day without eating. Not good.

So to me, the bottom-line is: pack what your child WILL eat. Even if it is the same thing everyday.

My son is picky. I pack him the same thing everyday for lunch. He eats it. HE does not mind that it is the same thing everyday. Me as an adult, I would get bored with that. But this is a child. They don't care if it is the same thing everyday. And I simply explain to the Teacher.
Thus, I KNOW my son, eats his lunch and will eat it. Because, it is what he likes.

all the best,
Susan

Try a cold pasta salad. I buy the suddenly salad mix and then add some extra veggies and tuna. My daughter loves it. We also send a bagel with butter or cream cheese.

Plain (not the flavored sugar filled stuff) yogurt with fresh fruit cut into it
Cottage cheese with fruit
Veggie sticks (peppers, carrots, celery, cucumbers, radishes (slice thin), kohlrabi, fennel) with hummus, baba ganouj or peanut/almond/cashew butter for dipping
Brown rice cakes with cheese
Pasta or quinoa salad
Three bean salad (or however many beans you make it with)
Tabouli - we chop in LOTS of cucumber and green peppers

How about Macaroni, Chicken, Potato, or Tuna salads. I make Macaroni salads and go back and forth between using mayonaise and Italian salad dressing. To mix things up a bit I cut up chicken or tuna and toss that in and add things like pea pods, green/red peppers, broccoli, etc. Another thing is cold chicken tenders, my kids love those with barbeque sauce or ranch dressing. You can also make him a chef's salad or regular salad with dressing on the side. Hope this helps.

Updated

How about Macaroni, Chicken, Potato, or Tuna salads. I make Macaroni salads and go back and forth between using mayonaise and Italian salad dressing. To mix things up a bit I cut up chicken or tuna and toss that in and add things like pea pods, green/red peppers, broccoli, etc. Another thing is cold chicken tenders, my kids love those with barbeque sauce or ranch dressing. You can also make him a chef's salad or regular salad with dressing on the side. Hope this helps.

someone recently asked this, lots of good ideas here:
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/14576001275503181825