Lunch ideas for HS - no microwave

I'm looking for inspiration and ideas for DD17s school lunches.

School is currently in person every other day. There's no food being sold on site and the microwaves are off-limits so she can't bring anything that needs to be reheated. Thermos is out as she finds the food isn't hot enough. It's Fall here so heartier fare suggestions are also welcome.

Links to recipes are a bonus.

Edited to add: She has braces for a few more months and finds bread gets caught in them.

High of 6C today. Sweater weather

Its hard to imagine the temperatures that you are dealing with, but we never had microwaves at school and lived on sandwiches, wraps, salads and cold pasta or pizza - then again, that was last century.

Yes it must be quite a change for you guys over there to not have school lunches offered!

Let me have a think of what you could make.

The braces/no bread makes it tricky. But I'm sure we can come up with something.

I would reconsider the thermos for things like soups and stews. The more liquid things are the hotter they will stay.

Do you do things like preheat the thermos with boiling a water and then heat the food until it would be uncomfortable to eat?

I would reconsider the thermos for things like soups and stews. The more liquid things are the hotter they will stay.

Do you do things like preheat the thermos with boiling a water and then heat the food until it would be uncomfortable to eat?

Yes, thanks.

She's been pretty uninspired and is skipping lunches. Claims she's not hungry but she's exhibiting all the signs of hangry.

Yes it must be quite a change for you guys over there to not have school lunches offered!

Let me have a think of what you could make.

The braces/no bread makes it tricky. But I'm sure we can come up with something.

Thanks. School lunches aren't the norm here. There's often a cafeteria with burgers, fries, pizza, etc.

I would reconsider the thermos for things like soups and stews. The more liquid things are the hotter they will stay.

Do you do things like preheat the thermos with boiling a water and then heat the food until it would be uncomfortable to eat?

 

Yes, thanks.

She's been pretty uninspired and is skipping lunches. Claims she's not hungry but she's exhibiting all the signs of hangry.

What kind of things does she like for dinner?

Maybe a grain bowl with roasted veg, nice dressing?

Ploughmans lunch type thing with deli meat and antipasti veg and crackers.

Assume nuts are allowed, they can make an average salad great.

Would she do a bento box type thing with snacks in it? It's not like a full cooked lunch but it might at least prevent hangry.

You could do things like cooked meat (chicken wings, ham, etc), hard boiled eggs, fresh and dried fruits and nuts, veg and salad stuff and then she could just pick at it throughout the day.

My HS kids quite like wraps with roast chicken and salad or cold chicken schnitzel with lettuce and mayo. DD had braces until recently and found tortillas were fine and didn’t get stuck.

Plain cold meat is also good. Leftover roasts or even sausages cut up. Protein helps a lot with hangry.

I’ve done “nachos” with plain corn or tortilla chips and containers of guacamole, sour cream and salsa to dip or spread. Or crackers with cheese & little grape tomatoes or hummus.

A frittata or mini quiche with roast veg, ham/chicken, cheese etc is nutritious and fine to eat cold. My kids also like scrolls, which I make with either puff pastry or homemade bread dough - we do pizza sauce with cheese, pesto with cheese, vegemite and cheese.

Interesting and hearty salads like pesto pasta salad, couscous with roast veg, caesar salad?

If she is avoiding the 'hassle' of eating a meal then maybe protein balls, muesli bars or a little container of nuts or fruit/nut/trail mix would be an easy snack to keep her going? Better than eating nothing.

Good luck!

Thanks [mention]Jersey Caramel[/mention] , all good ideas we hadn't considered.

Not wanting to sound rude but maybe invest in a top quality food thermos. I use one occasionally and after 5:6hrs my soup is still piping hot. You have to make sure thermos is preheated though with boiling water and food is piping hot when it goes in. One of mine also takes food in a thermos occasionally as well if we have leftovers of something suitable from night before and has not complained. As well as leftover soup and stews they also make themselves hot ravioli/tortellini/agnolotti in the morning and take that in a thermos. I haven’t tried it but they reckon it stays hot. We initially had a cheaper kids style food thermos and that was utter rubbish but the good quality ones that cost a bit seem to do the job.

Not wanting to sound rude but maybe invest in a top quality food thermos. I use one occasionally and after 5:6hrs my soup is still piping hot. You have to make sure thermos is preheated though with boiling water and food is piping hot when it goes in. One of mine also takes food in a thermos occasionally as well if we have leftovers of something suitable from night before and has not complained. As well as leftover soup and stews they also make themselves hot ravioli/tortellini/agnolotti in the morning and take that in a thermos. I haven’t tried it but they reckon it stays hot. We initially had a cheaper kids style food thermos and that was utter rubbish but the good quality ones that cost a bit seem to do the job.

As I said upthread, we do have several good thermoses (thermi??) and we preheat with boiling water and the food is hot. The issue we have here though is the outdoor temps regularly dip to -30C in the dead of winter. Even the best thermos, carried in an insulated lunch bag, in a backpack, on a walk + bus ride + walk to school won't keep food piping hot.

Those are pretty unfathomable temps! Assume you’ve tried a Zojirushi thermos? In our comparatively mild Aussie winter, food is frequently too hot to eat at lunchtime, and my husband (who works outside) reports no charge in the temperature of his coffee.

Not wanting to sound rude but maybe invest in a top quality food thermos. I use one occasionally and after 5:6hrs my soup is still piping hot. You have to make sure thermos is preheated though with boiling water and food is piping hot when it goes in. One of mine also takes food in a thermos occasionally as well if we have leftovers of something suitable from night before and has not complained. As well as leftover soup and stews they also make themselves hot ravioli/tortellini/agnolotti in the morning and take that in a thermos. I haven’t tried it but they reckon it stays hot. We initially had a cheaper kids style food thermos and that was utter rubbish but the good quality ones that cost a bit seem to do the job.

 

As I said upthread, we do have several good thermoses (thermi??) and we preheat with boiling water and the food is hot. The issue we have here though is the outdoor temps regularly dip to -30C in the dead of winter. Even the best thermos, carried in an insulated lunch bag, in a backpack, on a walk + bus ride + walk to school won't keep food piping hot.

Although a food thermos, aren’t going to keep anything piping hot unless it is just boiled water. The idea is that it slows down the cooling of food to make it at a ready to eat temp in a few hours. The wide mouth just doesn’t allow for anything more.

I fill at as close to 8 as possible, and they have lunch at 1. If it’s much longer than 5 hours than you need I can see why it’s not working out.

*Although a food thermos, aren’t going to keep anything piping hot unless it is just boiled water. The idea is that it slows down the cooling of food to make it at a ready to eat temp in a few hours. The wide mouth just doesn’t allow for anything more.*

?? Not mine as I generally take soup if I use it, sometimes stew, and 5/6hrs later when opened it is steaming hot. Steam coming off and I have to pour into a bowl and wait for it to cool a bit. We have 3, same brand but different shapes/sizes, 2 are great and the third is pretty average so I tend to stick to one of the two.

I also have a really large version I use on picnics with a larger crowd. Boiling water, I take a large teapot and cups and we all get a lovely cup of freshly brewed hot tea at the end of lunch.

OP, if you are in a climate that does not allow use of a thermos, then maybe stick to savoury slices, muffins, frittata etc?

The zojirushi containers look nice and we have comparable quality thermoses. Lunch is about 3.5 hours after school starts.

*Although a food thermos, aren’t going to keep anything piping hot unless it is just boiled water. The idea is that it slows down the cooling of food to make it at a ready to eat temp in a few hours. The wide mouth just doesn’t allow for anything more.*

?? Not mine as I generally take soup if I use it, sometimes stew, and 5/6hrs later when opened it is steaming hot. Steam coming off and I have to pour into a bowl and wait for it to cool a bit. We have 3, same brand but different shapes/sizes, 2 are great and the third is pretty average so I tend to stick to one of the two.

I also have a really large version I use on picnics with a larger crowd. Boiling water, I take a large teapot and cups and we all get a lovely cup of freshly brewed hot tea at the end of lunch.

OP, if you are in a climate that does not allow use of a thermos, then maybe stick to savoury slices, muffins, frittata etc?

Climate doesn't prevent the use of a thermos, it's just a bit more challenging and can make it unappealing in certain circumstances.

Yogurt or Bricher museli? At least the museli will be softened so it's easier to eat by the yogurt.

Vegetarian sushi?

Oh, she would like the sushi.

We’ve just been through braces friendly lunches here. My DD liked having a grazing box so either some cheese or dip, crackers, veggies, berries, dates etc.

Pizza scrolls were also popular, they’re not as “bready” and because they’re firmer they can be broken apart rather than bitten. Also lots of different flavour combos. There are a few variations on Www.taste.com.au.

*Although a food thermos, aren’t going to keep anything piping hot unless it is just boiled water. The idea is that it slows down the cooling of food to make it at a ready to eat temp in a few hours. The wide mouth just doesn’t allow for anything more.*

?? Not mine as I generally take soup if I use it, sometimes stew, and 5/6hrs later when opened it is steaming hot. Steam coming off and I have to pour into a bowl and wait for it to cool a bit. We have 3, same brand but different shapes/sizes, 2 are great and the third is pretty average so I tend to stick to one of the two.

I also have a really large version I use on picnics with a larger crowd. Boiling water, I take a large teapot and cups and we all get a lovely cup of freshly brewed hot tea at the end of lunch.

OP, if you are in a climate that does not allow use of a thermos, then maybe stick to savoury slices, muffins, frittata etc?

It depends on how liquid it is. Op said daughter was sick of soups.

*Although a food thermos, aren’t going to keep anything piping hot unless it is just boiled water. The idea is that it slows down the cooling of food to make it at a ready to eat temp in a few hours. The wide mouth just doesn’t allow for anything more.*

?? Not mine as I generally take soup if I use it, sometimes stew, and 5/6hrs later when opened it is steaming hot. Steam coming off and I have to pour into a bowl and wait for it to cool a bit. We have 3, same brand but different shapes/sizes, 2 are great and the third is pretty average so I tend to stick to one of the two.

I also have a really large version I use on picnics with a larger crowd. Boiling water, I take a large teapot and cups and we all get a lovely cup of freshly brewed hot tea at the end of lunch.

OP, if you are in a climate that does not allow use of a thermos, then maybe stick to savoury slices, muffins, frittata etc?

 

It depends on how liquid it is. Op said daughter was sick of soups.

Not sick of, but not a fan of soup in general.

Today she brought some gyoza that I pan-fried yesterday, which she will eat cold.

How about cold noodle salad? Can add canned fish for protein? Peanut sauce? Sesame sauce?

My teenage daughter loves this puy lentil salad- can add cooked chicken, feta or leftover roast vegies https://pennysrecipes.com/12367/puy-lentil-salad