Wow Deborah! Thanks for all the great ideas. Since this is our first year
with the non-dairy challenge, I'm still muddling along but here are a few
favorites:
1. Banana bread slices with "Better than Cream Cheese" (tofutti brand)
filling
2. Our own version of a "pizza lunchable".  I send homemade pizza crusts,
tomato sauce and pepperoni and she "builds" her own.
3. Spread slices of deli turkey (make sure it's lactose free) with mayo and
mustard.  Wrap them around bread sticks.
4. French toast strips.  Mix 1 egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Saturate
one slice of bread with the mixture. Cut in strips and fry.
5.  Jello made with gelatin packs and 100% fruit juice. I use those small
glad containers.
I just bought a new lunch box idea book. I'll send any new ideas along if
they meet with kid approval.
Thanks for sharing!
Marie

Deborah Garner wrote:

> <<<I'm so glad you brought up this topic! My daughter is so picky, hates
>
> sandwiches and it's driving me nuts trying to find ideas for a protein
> source. Could you share some of the things that your daughter enjoys?>>>
>
> Here are my daughter's top 11 lunch favorites:
>
> 1.  Vegetarian refried beans spread on a milk-free flour tortilla.  I
> roll it up and put it in a ziptop bag.  She also likes to take tortilla
> chips and dip them in refried beans.  She calls it bean dip.
>
> 2.  Boiled eggs!  This is simple but she really loves them!  I add
> another ziptop bag with cut up carrots, celery, cucumbers and green
> pepper strips.  When I can get it, I make a simple dip with no-milk mayo
> and a few seasonings to dip the veggies.
>
> 3.  She loves cold cooked (a bit easier to chew) broccoli.  I send this
> as often as possible as it is high in calcium.
>
> 4.  Peanut butter and jelly on a milk-free flour tortilla.  I roll it up
> and put it in a ziptop bag.
>
> 5.  I use small Tupperware type containers for fruit, applesauce, etc.
> I send lots of fruit and fresh veggies.  Luckily my daughter likes
> both.  Frozen peas are nice and thaw by lunchtime.
>
> 6. Whenever I make homemade biscuits I make a few extra and make
> miniature sandwiches the next day using bologna, pb&j, etc.
>
> 7.  My daughter likes pasta of any kind.  She especially likes elbow
> noodles.  She will eat  them with tomato sauce.  She prefers them cold
> and plain.....just a bit of non-dairy margarine and salt & pepper.
>
> 8.  I buy lots of 100% juice boxes.  Edensoy has soy milk in 8 oz.
> boxes.  I sometimes buy these.  More often I use a refillable juice box
> size plastic container by Rubbermaid.  It is flat and has a straw
> inside.
>
> 9.  LEFTOVERS!!!  Anything that I think will be safe with a small
> reusable blue ice thing and can be eaten cold.  I have not found a
> thermos-type container that she can open easily without spills.  If I
> found one, I'd probably send more leftovers.
>
> 10.  Pita bread with sandwich stuff inside.  Sometimes I scramble eggs
> and put them inside with a little lettuce and bacon that is chopped up.
>
> 11.  I make lots of muffins to send to school.  I use Imagine puddings
> too.
>
> I always send a spoon and napkin as my daughter does not even go through
> the lunch line with the other kids.  She goes directly to the table.
> Her class eats first and she sits on the end of the row of tables so she
> can get up if there is a spill of some sort.  The lunch monitor throws
> her trash away so she does not have to be near the area where students
> are carrying trays and dumping milk cartons.
>
> Of course I send other things sometimes but this is our regular fare.
> Any ideas would be appreciated.  I like to prepare most things myself
> rather than using canned/ready-made foods.  I keep a few Mrs.
> Manischewitz Pasta with Vegetable meals at school in case a lunch is
> forgotten.  These are Kosher pareve.  Is one of the cup-a-soup type
> meals where you just add boiling water. These are nice to take on trips
> too!
>
> Deborah