Who’s been ensconced in the “back to school” whirl this week? It’s been particularly significant in the Last Chance Training household as one of my daughters started high school this week and I must admit she looks particularly grown up in her new uniform, shoes, hat etc.
We decided, after a lot of deliberation, to send her to an all girls’ school, that’s a lot smaller than our local high school (there are 250 students in Year Eight alone) and hopefully more personal in nature. The girls had their orientation on Tuesday and the school and the other girls there could not have been nicer, so we are crossing our fingers for smooth sailing.
There was quite a bit of time spent choosing lunchboxes and coolers by both little Lucys and I’m always trying to come up with lunchbox ideas that both of them will really enjoy and that don’t go off in the Queensland heat.
As well as the achachas I mentioned last week, I recently discovered “Paradise Pears” which you can see in the photo above. These are miniature pears and have a much hardier skin than regular pears and have been a hit in our lunchboxes this week.
I teamed them with Greek yoghurt which I purchase directly from the Greek Yoghurt company in East Brisbane, which is possibly the nicest Greek yoghurt I’ve ever tasted.
I also tried mini frittatas – had trouble getting them out of the pan, but they were very tasty, grapes and cheese pieces and of course, the old faithful ham and salad sandwich.
Do you find it hard to keep school (or work!) lunches interesting – what are your favourite standbys?
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I’m so nervous to make my kids’ lunch to take to school. I just remember throwing mine out everyday, although my mum didn’t exactly make much of an effort with my lunch. I think your lunchbox sounds awesome though! Definitely better than a stale Vegemite sandwich….haha
You’ve got a few years ahead of you
Hi Liz,
Our little cherub has started prep this year, and trying to make her lunchbox interesting is challenging because we have the dilemma of her food allergies to go with ensuring the food is interesting! Charli is anaphylactic to peanuts and cashew nuts, so can’t eat any food that even say, “may contain traces of nuts.”. I digress, so this week, she has loved the variety of fresh fruit I have served up, yoghurt, mini pretzels, popcorn (we have a popcorn maker), cream cheese sandwiches, cheese pieces, tiny teddies, and flavoured rice cakes. I have just done a shop and intend to make the protein apricot balls you had on your blog a little while back, as I think they’ll be a hit, along with making some healthy muffins (apple and sultana) that i can freeze. I also got on special, mini scrolls, (cheddar mite and ham and pineapple) so I froze them and will put them in for variety. Just hope I can keep up the variety through the year.
Regards
Kylie
Hey Kylie,
Thanks for the reminder of popcorn – that is a good one and my girls like it. I remember having cream cheese on Vita Weats and making those little worms with it!
xx
I’m going to go looking for those pears. I love pears (so sweet!) but usually stick to apples as they travel so much better.
Let me know if you find them!
Jon and Sam love pasta at school – eat it cold too. Jon’s big on ravioli with a tomato pastsa sauce whilst sam likes hers fairly plain. Sandwiches are not big in our house at all. My kids also take rice (plain or fried), yogurt fruit and the usual kind of stuff. As they both have swim training after school i even have to organise after school snacks at 5 30 in the morning. Thay get a surprise in their lunch boxes every day as they don’t really participate in lunch box making!
You and me both – I’ll be up early to do this before Cycle tomorrow morning!
I will confess to slightly missing the ‘back to school’ experience – I hated returning to school myself but always liked the lead up, new books and lunchboxes etc. Then I had nearly 8 years of my sister being at school after I finished (she’s much younger) so I got to live vicariously through her! It sounds like you have put in lots of effort to make their first week back as smooth and fun as possible – I hope they are settling back in ok. Congratulations to your oldest daughter too! I went to an all girls school and your mention of a hat brought back uniform memories
I bought a lunchbox for myself as I often take my lunch with me when I go out – it is a bit of a novelty!
Hi Liz! I forgot about the different school schedules where you live until I read a blog from a friend from the country of South Africa! In the U.S., we start school at the end of August, after the farming season is mostly done.
For years, I have placed apples, bananas, and oranges in my purse. But my teen kids have not gotten so excited about this idea for themselves. Now, the two older college girls have seen the wisdom of my ways. Fruit is so much less expensive that mall food, and it keeps a girl much slimmer.
Exactly!
Hello. My daughter is doing the same thing starting Monday here in WA. I chose an all girls school too – I’m hoping she’ll enjoy some great opportunities on offer.
Lunches are always difficult.This year I will be spicing it up with healthy pasta salads and rice salads inbetween the usual salad wraps and sandwiches days.
I am running my first half marathon this year so I’ll keep an eye on your blog for some training tips!
Marcie from http://www.noclothesnoshoes.blogspot.com
We discovered those pears last year and my girls (and me!) love them.
They were a good find!
Hooray for pears!
My last one finished high school a year ago and I haven’t missed packing lunches not one little bit. It was always a challenge. What do they like? How much time does it take to make? Will it go off on a hot day? Most of the time it was some form of sandwich – but a salad sandwich with lots of fresh salad, ham, cheese and avocado. Wraps were a good option for when sandwiches were just too boring. Always fruit of some sort and something that I’d baked (which was often swapped for something that I wouldn’t buy like juice or chips)
Yes, there’s always the “will it go off” factor on a hot day
I have to admit, my only ‘school lunches’ experience (apart from when I was a kid – but that consisted of marmite sandwhiches every day…) has been in Liechtenstein. There is no lunch packing. Morning and afternoon tea are provided by the school – and it’s very healthy stuff – but the kids all go home for a cooked lunch. So do the guys. Of course, this is a country where no married woman works, but still it was a shock to my sister’s system when she realised what she had signed herself up for! Also of note: there is no national plan on obesity because there is virtually none of it. They do have a national problem with hypertension though, probably because salty meats and cheeses are an everyday staple.
IT’s amazing how other countries do things with their schooling. Liechenstein sounds like it’s got quite a bit going for it!