A friend of mine told me  (son in gr 9 now) that in grade 6/7 he wasn't allowed to eat peanut butter before school because some kid may lick a kid with allergies.  I thought that was nuts. I understand allergies but to restrict what someone eats in their house goes to far.    washing hands and brushing teeth should be done anyways.

There are 103 recipes for meat-free (vegan) for packed lunches for children and adults. They are all very healthy.

Check out this website:     http://veganlunchbox.com/

There is also a basic recipe for a "Adventist style" vegan dinner loaf that can be made. I will post it in the recipe section.

i like the rollup sandwiches either on bread or on a tortilla. we put in lunchmeat and cheese or pb and j.  you can also just do lunchmeat and cheese rollups

Let's see, I have a picky eater to pack for, and then a kid who would eat almost anything! lol And luckily, there are no children in our elementary school with known food/peanut allergies. For Sarah, I usually pack a plain peanut butter sandwich, but sometimes I'll sprinkle on some mini chocolate chips. I pack carrots for her (about the only raw veggie she'll eat, other than bell peppers), a fruit or fruit cup of some kind, a drink (I buy/stock up on Capri Sun waters & freeze them to use as a cold pack), cheese sticks, chips/pretzels, a mini candy bar or cookies. I try to give her at least 6-8 things to munch on each day. Usually what isn't eaten at lunch, she'll eat as a snack at home or on the bus. Other things I pack are turkey roll ups, bologna slices, ham slices or dices, pudding &/or yogurt cups, fruit snacks, crackers, sandwich pepperoni, and milk. For Andy, almost any type of sandwich will do. He'll sometimes take a small soup thermos with soup, chili or mac n cheese in it. He gets a drink, a veggie and/or fruit, chips, and a treat.

I decided to bump this thread b/c school has either just started or is about to start in the next couple of weeks for most of us on the board.  That means it's time to shake the dust off the tried and true packed lunches as well as come up with some new ideas!  I'm excited b/c I've not heard anything about peanuts being banned from DD's school (public school this year vs. church-run preschool last 3 years).  I made up a chart so that if I'm not feeling well, DH can put DD's lunch together for me.  I have to plan like this b/c I can't predict if/when I'll get sick and with DH's brain injury he wouldn't know where to start in making DD's lunch!  It's a big help to us both.

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Main Dish	Peanut Butter & Jelly (pouch or sandwich)	Peanut Butter (pouch or sandwich)	Bagel & Cream Cheese	Bologna & Cheese sandwich	Cheese & Crackers
Fruit	oranges	pears	peaches	banana	Other seasonal
Veggie	carrots	tomatoes	cucumbers	Other seasonal	Tomato juice (doubles as drink)
Treat	Granola bar	Fruit snacks	Muffin / mini muffins	Graham crackers (2 whole)	Cookies (2)
Side (up to 2 a day; good for snack)	Pretzels	Chips	goldfish	Yogurt
Drinks (send 2)	Pouch	½ fruit juice with ½ water	Tomato juice (doubles as veggie)

My other big thing is to pre-pack what I can for the week.  Last year I took Sunday nights and laid out a bunch of reusable containers and would fill them with the various veggies or fruits or sliced cheese or crackers/goldfish or dressing that DD was going to take for lunch or snack.  This saved me a lot of time in the mornings. 

Basically my daughter gets 1 main item, 1 fruit, 1 veggie & sometimes dressing, 1 treat, 1-2 sides and 2 drinks.  1 side and 1 drink are used for snack.  If I notice food coming home a lot, I'll cut back on how much I'm sending.  If she comes home 2 or 3 days complaining of starving, I up the food, usually starting with extra protein at lunch.