<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi to all!
Thanks for all the suggestions. Here is the summary. Hope it helps.

***celery sticks w/ peanut butter
salad, salad and more salad (varied day to day...mostly rice one day,
mostly lettuce another, sometimes w/ beans , etc) tuna, hard boiled eggs

**Make non-sweet waffles, any recipe will do substituting GF flour mix
(experiment until you get something you like, like a buttermilk
waffle).  Works better with a non-stick iron.  Use the waffles to make
interesting and different and tasty sandwiches.  If you've never made
waffles, make sure they are close to finished steaming before opening
iron.  Can make a batch of them and freeze.  Thaw in micro.

** When my kids were in grade school, their teachers used to get the
menu for the week to come.  That way I could see if any parts of it were
ok for my kids, then each day I gave my kids a list of what they could
eat from the cafeteria, and a sack lunch to supplement.  That way they
could eat in the cafeteria "like everyone else".  --and get some hot
food, and I didn't have to worry about sending milk.  The way their
school was set up, the sack-lunchers didn't eat in the
cafeteria.

**I make bread from Bette Hagman's recipes, and make simple sandwiches
-- Carl Budding deli meats, ketchup or mustard -- and add Utz potato
chips, baby carrots, a piece of fruit (my son loves grapes,) homemade
gluten free cookies, and juice in the thermos.  If I don't have time to
bake cookies, I'll throw in pudding, or a candy bar.

**I found a great new GF cookbook that has awesome recipes in it for
everything - but a great one for crepes.  They are perfect for roll-up
sandwiches which I am planning to pack when I return to school (I'm a
teacher).  I know the basics will come in handy (microwavable leftovers,
popcorn, yogurt, pb & rice crackers, carrots, salads, etc.). But, I am
trying to find ways to include things closer to the "grab a
sandwich and run"... although I love the jealous looks I get when I'm
reheating seafood risotto and my colleagues are nuking pizza.
Quesadillas are great.  The school should have at least ONE
microwave that a student could ask someone to use for them.  Sometimes
that is a pain for the kids though - so any time I can pack something
that I can pull out of my lunch bag like everyone else is perfect.
(Sandwiches aren't that great because GF bread is not good cold).  I
also love packing GF soups (chicken and rice, split pea, etc.) in my
thermos, and something to snack on (popcorn, GF crunchitos/chips, etc.

**We've found she likes the Bob's Red Mill Gf bread mix, so as long as
we use tupperware she takes sandwiches. Sometimes we make tuna salad or
egg salad and send it with ener-g crackers or popcorn cakes, or just
make a "lunchable" style lunch, lunchmeat, cheese and crackers. For
younger kids, use mini cookie cutters to cut the cheese and lunchmeat
into fun shapes.  Sometimes, she takes leftovers in a microwaveable dish
(our cafeteria has one--really comes in handy sometimes!).  I have found
that it makes my life easier if I send non-perisable items like
applesauce, crackers, etc. to leave at the school in case she forgets
her lunch.

**peach, water bottle, kiwi, carrots, salad, watermelon, Capri Sun, corn
chips and cheese, bread and butter, peanut butter and jelly sandwich,
yogurt, pizza, cookies, corn (OFF the cob, due to loose teeth), pickles,
celery, rice cakes, potatoes and green beans, pasta salad.

**Heat corn tortillas, melt cheese and leftover ham/ chicken in each
one. Roll up, wrap each in wax paper, and tuck three of them into a
thermos to keep warm.

**We really like the new Hormel Add-Ons, cracker size pieces of lunch
meat and cheese (the meats state "gluten-free" on the label),and make
our own "lunchables."  I also send pasta or mac and cheese in a thermos.
Greek salad is a favorite of my younger daughter (romaine, cherry
tomatoes, scallions, feta cheese, greek olives, dressing on the side).
My kids like Ener-G tapioca bread, and with our local supermarket now
carrying Boar's Head lunch meats, we make great GF sandwiches.

**You might try string cheese rolled up in a slice of Oscar Mayer (or
other gf) balony.  You could also squirt some gf mustard on it, if your
child likes mustard. Or try peanut butter and jelly on mini rice cakes,
sandwiched together.

**Rice in a thermos, pasta in a thermos, Heinze Creamy Tomoto soup in a
thermos, home made chick noodle soup (rice noodles of course) in a
thermos, Left over, chicken, steak or cheese in a suitable
container.....
Ener-G foods Tapioca bread with roast beef or cheese...

**corn tortillas stuffed with whatever: lettuce and deli meat, hummus
with leaf lettuce, tuna or chicken salad with lettuce; crackers(gf) and
cheese; crackers and hummus or eggplant spreads; lettuce wraps stuffed
with deli meat, tuna, etc. be creative.

**I collected and summarized for the list the same type of information
in June 2000. You should be able to find it in the archives under RE:
Summary: Lunch box ideas, part 1; Summary:  Lunch box ideas, part 2; and
Summary: Lunch box ideas, part 3

**Leftover:
Spagetti, Mac and Cheese, lasagna, taco casserole, pizza rounds,
tacequtos, chili. Everything is freezable and they have a microwave at
school. I already haveenough lunches in the freezer for 1 month.

**For kids I would imagine not standing out and being different is an
issue.  I would insert a GF cookies or two in the bag so that they will
not feel deprived.  I used to give my son cut up carrots, olives and
celery, which he would promptly trade in for Oreos.  He wasn't celiac,
but here I was trying to be a good Mommy and look what happened.  If he
had cookies to begin with, he wouldn't be trading.
I hear that Tootsie Roll Pops are GF and they make a nice finish.  Fruit
cups are good as are some all fruit roll ups. You can also make some
corn pasta with sauce and put it in a bowl.

**Quick and easy GF sandwiches - I use rice cakes for meat sandwiches
(corn cakes, too)  the cake becomes soft when sealed in a baggie for a
couple hours so they're not just crumbly messes.  It doesn't work well
for PB sandwiches, though.  VERY yummy (in my opinion).  Also, currently
Progresso's Chicken & wild rice soup is GF, of course, that's subject to
change w/o notice.  GF pizza leftovers.

**Peanut butter and jelly rice cakes with freshfruit or fruit leather
(I REALLY love these) for kids, if you can get peanut butter in single
serving containers they can put it on and none ends upin the bag as
inedible
Cold Tomato Sandwich
2 slices tapioca bread (energ)
2 slice tomato
1 slice mozarella cheese
toast bread, place cheese between tomatoes and grill for JUST long
enouth to start melting it. Put bread in one bag, cheese and tomato in
other, assemble and eat for lunch.
Cold fried chicken Use pamelas frying mix to fry chicken for dinner,
save pieces for the next day.

*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List *