My girls take their lunch to school everyday in an insulated bag with a ice pack. One daughter even brings her own milk! Just her preference.
They have to take a protein, a fruit or a vegetable, milk. They also choose between chip like items and brownie bars/or fruit snacks.
Protein has been plain turkey meat, pepperoni, cheese sticks, cheddar cheese slices with crackers, of course, peanut butter. Cold pizza or chicken works also...my kids just don't like it.
Fruit/veggies...grapes, apples (one likes them cut up), carrots, sugar snap peas, raisins, bananas, applesauce, raw broccoli.
Cracker/Chips...includes popcorn, pretzel sticks, occassionally, cheerios or other plain cereal.
They've taken chips and salsa, bagels and cream cheese or peanut butter, too.
We have a lazy susan cupboard where we keep all of our lunch supplies. I buy large bags of chips and package them into lunch size servings in plastic bags. I do the same with the snack items when possible. We also use plastic containers for carrots, applesauce, salsa. We have reuseable bottles for milk.
I think my kids have only had "hot lunch" 6 times in their lives. My oldest DD will be in 6th grade next year.
When packing lunches to save money it is important not to buy all the prepackaged convenience type foods.
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