WOW, I wish my teen would take a lunch to school..
Wraps would be my first choice..

ann,

You are describing my 16 yr old, lacrosse playing son, to a tee. But my son always brings lunch, and I think he gets filled up, When he gets home, though, the grazing begins. And because he is so into lacrosse and fitness, in general (for lacrosse), he subscribes to the "my body is a temple" theory and won't eat crap like hot pockets or even canned soup. (How can he be my son?!)
Breakfast:
scrambled egg whites with cheddar, toast and usually a glass of carnation instant.
Lunch (from home): 1-2 sandwiches (two on a soft roll, or one on a artisan roll) with lettuce, roast beef and horseradishy sauce. Or turkey, cheese and lettuce.
1-2 applesauces, a snacky thing like pretzels, a banana, maybe a homemade granola bar.
a can of seltzer.
Snack: Homemade hot pockets (think pizza dough folded over with pepperoni, sauce and cheese) or anything leftover or anything that doesn't move.
Hope this helps.
Jo

Jo,

Thanks for the ideas. That sounds like the right amount of food. We are going to need a BIG lunch bag.

khrios, I didn't have sons, only daughters, but they were active in basketball, volleyball, track, you name it. They still consumed a LOT of fuel.

My girls also liked the "homemade hot pockets" although we called them calzone. (grin) Just bread dough rolled out, topped with pizza sauce, mushrooms, canadian bacon and cheese, folded over, sealed and baked. Those also got filled with leftover sloppy joes, corned beef/sauerkraut/cheese for ruebens, turkey and cheese, even scrambled eggs with various additions.

Tortillas spread with flavored cream cheese and topped with turkey, ham or roast beef and veggies are fast and easy and the tortillas can be packed separately so they don't get soggy,then just filled when it's time to eat. I made "trail mix" with whatever they liked, mostly nuts, dried fruit, some M&Ms or Reese's pieces, sunflower seeds, whatever. I cut the cores out of apples and filled them with peanut butter, celery is also good filled with peanut butter. Cheese and crackers are an easy snack and pack well.

The tortillas can also be quesadillas with cheese and leftover chicken, or burritos or soft tacos or toasted in the oven for chips or spread with "pizza stuff" for a quick pizza. English muffins make passable "pizza" too.

Elery taught me to make my own yogurt, so a cup of yogurt with my homemade low sugar jam and topped with granola is pretty popular with Ashley now, I keep trying to get her to add more fruit to that mixture.

I've gotten both my girls into eating hummus, it's fast, easy, nutritious. Lars' recipe is my favorite but Ashley just dumps a drained can of garbanzos into the food processor, adds a tablespoon full of tahini, a couple of garlic cloves and the juice of half a lemon. Whiz it up, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and enough of the liquid from the canned beans to make it "right" for dipping. Salt and pepper to taste and she likes to cut up a pita into 8ths and bake in the oven until crisp for chips.

She also likes her ever-present "power shake": A cup of milk, heaping tablespoon full of peanut butter, a banana and some Hershey's syrup, blended until thick and creamy. Nutrition in a glass that doesn't "weigh heavily" on her stomach when she's ready to run or work out.

Of course, the only way in this world I'd ever eat a banana is sliced very thinly and covered with copious amounts of Hershey's syrup, but I guess that's not particularly healthy.....

Annie

Oh my, is Ashley still drinking her famous power shakes? I guess that's something she'll be drinking all her life.

Here's something you could try out on your son -

GLENDA'S BREAKFAST COOKIE
This is a tried and true breakfast cookie recipe!!
1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking soda
10 bacon strips -cooked and crumbled
2 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup raisins
Cream butter and sugar
Beat in egg, flour and soda
Stir in bacon, cornflakes and raisins
Drop by rounded Tbl 2" apart on ungreased pan
Bake 15-18 minutes until lightly browned
Cool 2 minutes before removing from pan
Store in refrig
We like to heat them slightly before eating. Enjoy!!!

wow....if there is reincarnation, I want to come back as one of annie1992's kids.

You all have great ideas. I am going to print them out, and run them by the executive committee (meaning DS).

khrios, you could come back as a grandchild, I've made "bloodshot eyeballs" and "bones" for Halloween. LOL Pictures to come....

Annie

I have a 17-year-old son too. Our high schools are on the block schedule, so depending on how many classes you're taking, you may not get a lunch at all or maybe just every other day, so he's been packing on the no-lunch days since he started high school. About six months ago, he went vegetarian, so he packs every day now. In the past, I've fixed him chicken/turkey caesar roll-ups with a tortilla, lunch meat, lettuce and caesar dressings. He also liked me to make subs for him. Now I make the subs with hummus, tomato and lettuce. He's always liked pitas too. Now that he's a vegetarian (but it looks yummy even to me), I mix up some shredded lettuce, black beans, salsa, and cheese.

For sports camp this summer, my 9 year old took a cooler for lunch. It had a flat top and he could sit on it next to the field before practice. By the end of the summer, every kid had a cooler!

I love the protein shakes. My kids also eat those, although, unlike Annie's kids, I still have to make them. SOme day...

For winter, I like to send him with a wide mouth thermos filled with chili, soup, noodles, etc. He's a fan of soba noodles and those are always filling. Chili, etc. might be too heavy before a practice, but it's great for lunch. I also send him with a ton of snacks for in-between classes and the bus ride home. Veggies, dips, chips, etc. I think he sweats so much at practice that he really craves both water and salt when he's done. I've been making rice crispy treats with brown rice and tossing in flax seeds, sunflower seeds and dried blueberries for a cheap protein bar.

As an aside to sports moms, we got a letter from the hockey league stating that sports equipment is a prime spot for staph bacteria, so regular cleaning is a must. A local high school boy recently died and it has really rocked the community.

arabellmiller,

I wondered about warm food in a thermos spoiling, if it's sitting there for 4 or 5 hours before it gets eaten. Do you think that's an issue?

Ann

Yes, it' an issue.
A lot of food needs to be refrigerated within 2 hours of preparation. 5 hours is too long.

That was my concern.

I never put my lunch in the fridge. Other then something with raw eggs sitting in the sunshine it should not spoil in 4-5 hours.

Packaging is just as important as what to eat. I use lots of the plastic semi-disposable containers. Chili, spagetti, beans, soups, and rice all reheat in a microwave. Does he have a microwave? Salad I eat right out of a ziplock baggie... pour the dressing in the bottom and don't mix it until before eating so everything is crisp. Sandwiches I wrap in wax paper and then slide them in a baggie... they heat up in the paper nice and it makes a plate. Regular hamburgers and cheese burgers make a fine lunch... put the cheese and other toppings in a baggie on the side. For me it ain't lunch without some salt and pepper. Nothing wrong with a good pb&j! Pick good bread. Butter both slices of bread for better sandwich.

Figure out where he is going to eat and what is available like microwaves. A bowl of stew is no good if he is riding his bike to practice but would be fine if he has a microwave and place to sit down.

Get him some of those little plastic teeth flossers. Nice to look good after lunch... just in case some teenage girls happen to be around ya know.

: )
lyra

The thermos keeps the food hot for at least 5 hours. Before filling it with food, you fill it with hot water and let it sit for a few minutes. Then pour the water out and put the hot food it. It won't be room temp, or even warm, it will still be hot. Just invest in a quality thermos. It works the same way with cold food, just use ice water before filling. With cold food I also pack cold packs in the cooler to keep it at the proper temp.

You also might want to think about a bento box. It keeps different foods neat and seperate. I have an americanized version for each of my kids, but I'm not sure a teenager would be into it. They do have some nice thermoses, etc.

AM

PS Great idea about the teeth flossers!

Here is a link that might be useful: Laptop Lunches

Here's the thing. There is what is called the temperature danger zone! Scary name.
The danger zone is 41°-140° farenheit.

Stored at those temperatures is prime for growth of harmful bacteria that can make your kid very ill AND can even be spread to others. People often mistake food poisoning for viruses so it is believed to be far more common and misdiagnosed.

A thermos may do the trick at keeping the food above the danger zone. You can try it by putting the food in there along with a $4 thermometer and open it up at lunch time. There's also ice and dry ice which can keep food below the danger zone in the right container. Please don't chance it with your kid's health. It's not worth it.

I agree, AM, buy a quality Thermos and it will keep your food hot for that period of time.

My favorite is the old, ugly, green, metal and unbreakable Stanley thermos. I can put coffee, tea or hot chocolate in it and 5 hours later it's still steaming hot, hot enough that I need to wait to drink it.

Other people have mentioned before that if you freeze a juice box and put it into an insulated lunch box, it will keep your food cold and thaw in time for lunch. The only problem I've found is that the juice box NEVER thaws in time for lunch.

Today's "thermal" products are a lot better than they were 40 years ago, or even 20. Get something meant for that purpose and it'll work.

That said, my girls still liked cheese and crackers and peanut butter in celery sticks better than most everything else. Amanda did like a bowl of chili and a bag of Fritos, with some cheese for the top, pour the chili onto the Fritos, sprinkle with cheese and the kids called it a "walking taco".

Annie