Lunchbox Ideas

Source: Deborah Garner, NO-MILK@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU

1. Vegetarian refried beans spread on a milk-free flour tortilla. I roll it up and put it in a ziptop bag. She also likes to take tortilla chips and dip them in refried beans. She calls it bean dip.

2. Boiled eggs! This is simple but she really loves them! I add another ziptop bag with cut up carrots, celery, cucumbers and green pepper strips. When I can get it, I make a simple dip with no-milk mayo and a few seasonings to dip the veggies.

3. She loves cold cooked (a bit easier to chew) broccoli. I send this as often as possible as it is high in calcium.

4. Peanut butter and jelly on a milk-free flour tortilla. I roll it up and put it in a ziptop bag.

5. I use small Tupperware type containers for fruit, applesauce, etc. I send lots of fruit and fresh veggies. Luckily my daughter likes both. Frozen peas are nice and thaw by lunchtime.

6. Whenever I make homemade biscuits I make a few extra and make miniature sandwiches the next day using bologna, pb&j, etc.

7. My daughter likes pasta of any kind. She especially likes elbow noodles. She will eat them with tomato sauce. She prefers them cold and plain.....just a bit of non-dairy margarine and salt & pepper.

8. I buy lots of 100% juice boxes. Edensoy has soy milk in 8 oz. boxes. I sometimes buy these. More often I use a refillable juice box size plastic container by Rubbermaid. It is flat and has a straw inside.

9. LEFTOVERS!!! Anything that I think will be safe with a small reusable blue ice thing and can be eaten cold. I have not found a thermos-type container that she can open easily without spills. If I found one, I'd probably send more leftovers.

10. Pita bread with sandwich stuff inside. Sometimes I scramble eggs and put them inside with a little lettuce and bacon that is chopped up.

11. I make lots of muffins to send to school. I use Imagine puddings too.