Goodness! That's quite restrictive-- particularly the fact that the food cannot be manufactured on the same equipment as tree nuts or peanuts. You can find almond butter that is allergen free, but it's more expensive and harder to find than almond butter manufactured on the same equipment. I'd try that (with fruit and veggies to dip or in a sandwich). Also tahini/hummus. There are good recipes online for tofu or edamame-based dips or sandwich spreads. Fruit cut up, veggie sticks, yogurt. Greek yogurt is a lot more nutritious. Sliced cheese or babybel cheeses. Cottage cheese. Hard-boiled eggs. Egg salad sandwiches.

This is restrictive enough that you might even consider asking the school or other veteran parents for recommendations. Good luck!

Lists like this can drive any parent crazy! Isn't any food a choking hazard, when you get down to it? It seems lists like these just go too far in the attempt to "protect" our children. I get the allergies but the idea that a five/six year old is too young to have grapes or string cheese is ludicrous.

Anyway, here are a few ideas:

Applesauce, rice cakes with sun butter, nut-free granola with yogurt, tortilla roll-ups with jam and cream cheese, or crackers/chips with hummus or guacamole

Good luck!

Elaine,
It's getting crazy out there, huh? I have a 17 yr. old, 14 yr. old, and 10 yr. old, and we have been through 4 schools. The peanut thing is what it is. I gather you chose a Jewish school, that you agree with the dairy kosher requirement? If it's just a good school and you don't keep dairy kosher, ask the other mothers for ideas. My problem is that the items you listed as choking hazards are really for toddlers. By age 5, kids can easily eat all of those things. Ask your pediatrician! Her kids are eating all of those things at age 5. None of our schools have ever heated lunches for us, so I started with asking my kids what they liked: meat sandwiches w/ lettuce or tomato, NO MAYO, cooked, cold small broccoli trees and ranch dip, or even ketchup, same for all veggies. If they are cold, the kids will be more likely to eat them if they've been cooked the night before (for dinner?) and dried so the don't seem mushy. Apple slices, pineapple slices, all kinds of fruit and caramel dip to make them eat 4x as much of it. Cut turkey coldcuts (let him choose honey roasted, plain, etc.) into 1" long pieces, roll them up, and slide a fancy toothpick through the middle. What odd and school-legal things does he happen to like? Some kids like a little pesto. The bigger it looks, the less likely he'll eat it. Lots of small things will be eaten mindlessly. Good Luck, and remember, not every "good school," is a match for you! Remember that the teachers are working for you, providing you with a service for which you are paying. We suffered at one school that treated parents with very little respect. Regardless of what is convenient for teacher, (and I was one; they are just people!) You have the right to INSIST that he return home with all his uneaten food in his lunch box. One of my children was throwing away nearly everything, and I didn't know! I thought she had eaten everything that I worked so hard to make nutritious and interesting for her. Insist on what is important to you. Enjoy Being Your Son's Mom! -Karla

I understand no nuts/peanuts, but seriously, they can't expect you to check on where everything is manufactured, can they? This is coming from someone whose daughter is deathly allergic to peanuts. The chances of an anaphylactic reaction because someone nearby ate a plain M&M that actually contained a trace amount of peanut is almost nil. I let my son eat that stuff in our house, and don't even worry about making him wash his hands after.

Lots of fruits and veggies! I taught in a classroom last year with soy, nut, milk, egg, meat, and chocolate restrictions, and parents always had a hard time determining what to send for parties. We definitely relied heavily on fruits and veggies. Hummus was a good option for protein, with lavash or pita. If you can find the small pitas, about 2-3 inches in diameter, those are great for mini pita pockets that you can put hummus and veggies in. If you can do meat, you might add some salami or pepperoni. Try different fun kids of juices for a drink, especially the fruit-veggie blends. I'm not big on soy, but they do make soy butter, which is similar to peanut butter. Pretzels are also good, just label check because some of the major brands are NOT nut safe. In general, the more things that you can send that are fresh (not processed), the less likely you are to run into problems with cross-contamination with nuts.

Also, it is important to note that companies are not required to place a warning on the package if the item was made in a factory with nuts present, this is done voluntarily. For example, there isn't a single ice cream brand in the United States that is produced in a nut-free facility. While some have very high standards that mean cross-contamination with nuts is almost completely unlikely, none are actually made in a nut-free facility. Despite this, not all ice cream containers have warnings stating that they were made in a facility with nuts. Just something to be aware of!

This has to be a Jewish school. Years ago I went through a tour of one, Shir Hadash, and the restrictions were the same. This is nothing new, and no, we are not Jewish; we were looking at schools.

besides that they do not want foods that may cause choking problems (popcorn, grapes, pretzel nibs, string cheese!).

I'll bet that's to cover their end from lawsuits.

So just cut up the foods.

For commenters who are unfamiliar with keeping kosher - people who keep kosher do not eat dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream etc.) and meat (poultry, beef, lamb) in the same meal. So foods that are "kosher dairy" would include any vegetarian dish, but not anything with meat in it. Fish is not included in the "meat" category for this purpose, and therefore can be eaten with dairy foods.

Suggestions:
- Pita bread and feta cheese (a personal childhood favorite)
- crackers and cheese
- tuna salad (on a sandwich or with crackers for scooping) - I like to put apple and onion in mine for crunch, a friend likes adding curry powder and raisins
- vegetarian soup or chili (He could eat it at room temperature, or you could get a thermos. Some ideas include sweet potato soup, tortellini stew, fish chowder)
- snacky things: fruit leather, homemade cheddar crackers (see recipe on thekitchn), fruits and veggies, yogurt

This list has some ideas that fit many of the school's requirements:
http://cookitallergyfree.com/blog/2010/08/allergy-free-lunchbox-with-brain-power/

I don't have kids, but I did start packing my own lunch about 6 months ago. These are a couple of blogs I've found useful, that are actually geared towards packing for kids. Some of them just have a weekly round-up of the lunches, so you might have to poke around on the site a little to find what you're looking for. Some of these parents are also dealing with similar restrictions on what they're allowed to pack.

http://www.lunchboxblues.com/
http://fedupwithlunch.com/
http://wendolonia.com/blog/
http://littleladieswholunch.com/

We are mostly vegan, and our daycare doesn't allow any kind of peanute things either, so our lunches may work for you, assuming the school will heat food from home. We do dinner leftovers a lot, so things like pasta, pizza (Amy's and Tofurkey make vegan versions), stir fry, etc. We also do veggie burgers or soy "chicken" nuggets, etc., with sides like sweet potato fries, frozen veggies (peas, corn, etc.), mashed potatoes, rice, etc. We do various vegetarian soups with bread, or grilled cheese (using vegan cheese). For sides, we do various fruits, applesauce, nutrigrain type bars, Annie's bunny crackers, non-dairy yogurt, non-dairy pudding, pretzels, raisins/craisins, etc. My kids are age 3 and 10 months, so this is geared to what they will eat (i.e. raw veggies don't go over well, nor do and sandwiches that contain raw veggies or that may fall apart).

Almonds are a tree nut. And a lot of schools exclude sesame as well, if they have a strict no nut policy because it can trigger reactions as well.

Most places will NOT heat lunches so I would confirm that.

Many of the suggestions on these lists wouldn't be allowed at our school because they aren't nutritious, so squeeze yogurt or nutrigrain bars or sweetened dried fruit, etc.

Dairy kosher, so no meat right?

We do a lot of thermos lunches with beany soups and little whole wheat elbows. Smoked salmon and cucumber mini pita. Quinoa with chickpeas, grilled veg and not very spicy harissa, beans and rice with avocado,

Here are some ideas:

Cream cheese sandwiches, cucumber slices, berries and yogurt for dipping.

Devilled eggs (my kids gobble them up), whole grain crackers, broccoli "trees" with dip, apple slices (cripps pink and honeycrisp apples don't seem to go brown the way others do, FYI)

Mini quiches (easy to make, pour the egg/milk mixture into mini tart shells, bake, freeze most of them for use in future lunches), tiny buns (everyone seems to make them now that sliders are cool) with butter, sliced bell peppers, melon balls.

Assemble-your-own veggie tacos: soft tortillas, beans mixed with salsa and TVP, grated cheese, guacamole, shredded lettuce. It even tastes good cold!

Plain pasta with a cheesy tomato dipping sauce on the side (the large spiral pasta are perfect for this), dried fruits, edamame.

Falafel balls (also yummy cold), hummus for dipping, mini pitas (or wedges of larger ones), tomato-and-cucumber salad, watermelon chunks.

Bourekas (if you live in an area with a sizeable Jewish population, you'll find these in the kosher freezer section. Make sure to cool them completely before putting them into a lunch!), carrot and celery sticks, orange wedges

With my daughter the trick seems to be to make the food visually appealing. I've blogged many of her lunches here: http://sweetcrunchyjewy.wordpress.com/category/have-you-bento-my-house-for-lunch/

Hope it helps!

sunbutter
eggs (any way)
smoked fish (on mini bagles! with cream cheese!)
rice balls
grilled cheese (cherry tomatoes on the side)
blintzes
cottage cheese/fruit salad
hummus (as suggested above)
yougurt (also works as a dip)

I'm not even going to touch the other requirements but I taught kindergarten for years and every student I worked with (all 500+ of them) were perfectly capable of chewing and not choking on anything an adult could chew. If kids are choking often enough to justify that requirement than something else is going on (like a lack of supervision so that kids are running around while they're eating). For crying out loud my 2 year old eats everything on that list!

Others have had really good points. My kids hate peanut butter and went to a preschool with very strict choking requirements -- they liked things like:

grapes cut in half
canned mandarin orange segments
watermelon cubes
Veggie dog slices cut in half (ours ate meat :)
Babybel cheese
edamame
tortilla chips with salsa in a small container
pita chips with hummus in a container
veggie soup in a little thermos
pasta salad

Watching this thread with interest, since we're kosher-dairy during Passover and the kids are in revolt about school lunch by Day 2.

Whoa, sweetcrunchyjewy for the win! Those ideas sound delicious.

Bagel, cream cheese, micro-greens or sprouts, and tomato slice.
Tortilla rolled up with cream cheese and thinly sliced veggies.
Turkey sandwich w/out cheese.
Hummus with pita bread and veggies.
Cheese tortellini in marinara sauce.
Yogurt, edemame, tofu pate spread, fruit cups, fruit leathers…

Oh, and I noticed pesto mentioned above. But it typically contains pine nuts, which are a common nut allergen.

Please don't send almond butter. It is a tree nut. Also, I agree with others...Sunbutter is a good alternative.

We lived with Milk/Egg/Peanut/Treenut/Shellfish allergies, and even I think that is quite a restrictive (and a bit overboard) list. But bless you for abiding by it. I know it is a relief to the parents of those in the class with allergies.

Will they let you slice the grapes and cut up cheeses? Carrots & Ranch Dip,

We have to send in kosher and nut free as well, I do a lot of pastas with cheese, home made pizzas and cheese sandwiches (a lot of cheese!) but you can also use the vegan meats for sandwiches or like a meat sauce with pasta. But my kids favorite lunch is cereal using the milk that they get in school. Good Luck!

Thank you all for your suggestions! I will have to check if cutting the foods ahead of time will be sufficient, and yes, a thermos is on my shopping list. Great ideas, even for my pick eater!

IMO that better be a great school!

My lunchbox snacks are crudites with hummus, cut up cheese, yogurt and homemade banana/carrot bread. For a child who is not a fan of sandwiches, I make (sugar free) whole-wheat pikelets and use those as "bread" with jam between them. They also like cold pasta salad. Some of these ideas are great, but make sure you have some last-minute options too.

We are way into this Speculoos (European) spread as a nut-butter alternative lately. http://www.amazon.com/Tamarin-Speculoos-Spread-Sweet-Cinnamon/dp/B003IMCTVU

I also send a lot of those new smoothies that come in a squeeze pouch.

Editor:
Your preschool must have a lot of assistants. You're sending leftovers that must be warmed by the teacher???

My kid is going into grade 2, his 3rd year at this school and he's never had any dietary restrictions, including nuts.
I can't imagine having that list to contend with!

- avocado, hummus and cheese sandwiches (you can change up your hummus every week by adding a roasted beet, roasted peppers, avocado, etc. the colors are fun, too)
- pasta salad
- blt (but with soy bacon)
- potato salad
- make your own veggie patties (ie, black bean and rice cake)

hope this is helpful!

This sounds like a private school...why don't they just provide lunch and then they won't have to worry about this?

Does anyone have an idea what brand these stackable lunch containers are? and whether they are ceramic?

I'm sorry, but I teach kindergarten and first grade. If your kid can't eat grapes or string cheese without major risk of choking by then...there are bigger issues.

I'm with gerganche... the initial reason I clicked on this post was because of the image, but got sidetracked by the question and forgot.

What's with AT/Ohdeedoh not crediting images? Pretty poor blogging practice.

Overture, it's because they know what a PITA making lunches with restrictions are! Thank the lord I get to send a pb sandwich and an apple!

That's a Vivo Bento Box, it's melamine, not ceramic.

mjs7640 The school offers to reheat food. They're committed to parents sending healthy lunches and willing to do this.

My kids' daycare also heats food--with ratios of 4 or 5 to 1, and many kids eating the hot lunch provided by the preschool (which is mind boggling to me, since it is *literally* hospital food and is the opposite of either healthy OR tasty), it's not too big a burden to heat some kids' lunches in the microwave or toaster for a minute.

This has been a great thread--I'm saving it for more ideas.

I also agree that schools with many food restrictions would benefit from simplifying the process and providing lunches for the students.

My daughter attends a Jewish preschool with similar guidelines. They publish a suggested list of lunches - maybe yours does too? Its definitely worth asking the teachers.
Other suggestions here are great - my kiddo loves cream cheese and jelly sandwiches. We also do leftover pasta - I make my own pesto, so I can make it without nuts, and other veggie purees as sauces: spinach with goat cheese/cream cheese, roasted peppers with olive oil and basil, or just leftover mac & cheese from a box.
Also - our school serves soynut butter at snacktime (there is a child in my daughter's class with a seed allergy, but no one with soy) and we were able to find soynut butter at Whole Foods - its actually pretty good :)

I can't understand why kids need such fancy lunches? Just a sandwich, or pasta, fishsticks if you want to be fancy. Some cut of fruit and/or veggies. A drink, and some type of crackers.

One thing I do not see mentioned above and is crucial with any dietary or other imposed restrictions is to make your child involved in the lunch making process. If they help assemble and pack the lunch they are more likely to eat it.

I have 2 children and one is about to go into high school and the other is in middle school. We have several severe dietary restrictions (no dairy and no gluten) and they do just fine. We tried all sorts of things and they still prefer rather simple sandwiches or roll-ups in corn tortillas.

I'm taken aback by the ignorance and insensitivity of Sugarbakers comments! Try placing yourself in the shoes of a parent of a child with severe life threatening food allergy. Wouldn't you want to keep your child as safe as possible and remove as many risks to them as possible. Your child will not die if they don't have their pb sandwich at school but a child with this kind of allergy just very well might if they come into contact with it and well that is definitely a "PITA" for that child and their family don't you think

Thank you Elaine H!!

As much as this makes life more complicated for those of us with no allergies (or limited "intolerances"- my DH shouldn't do casein but he can and it just makes life unpleasant) I look at sending a lunch that fills our pre-school's restrictions as a creative challenge. I'd recommend "plating" the food creatively. There are some great blogs about bento style lunches (which are FIERCE mommy competition in some communities! Comparatively I'm a super slacker! so don't let that scare you!) and it has helped me pack a healthy and balanced lunch that my barely out of toddlerhood eater EATS! We do a lot of veggies (he loves shredded cheese and shredded carrots - does that get around the choking rules there?- and I use them as a "nest" for blueberries or sliced cherry tomatoes). I also send barilla plus protein enriched pasta, quite a bit - honestly its one of the most processed foods I buy but its so worth it for the health content. I put kale and carrot in the sauce. And broccoli trees are ALWAYS a big hit! :) Good luck!

Dairy kosher means no meat but fish is a free-for all.

Tuna sandwiches, cream cheese and lox, fishsticks are all fine under the rules.

Tortillas with guacamole and cheese.

Pudding cups/yogurt is a possibility though kind of junky for every day. Applesauce cups.

Hardboiled eggs.

Cucumber rounds and hummus.

I run a Jewish preschool with the same food policy. Here is what we suggest to parents
We do heat up foods, so those adjustments would need to be made.

Possible lunch ideas:
 sandwiches (tuna, cheese, cream cheese, etc)
 cheese & crackers, bagels & cream cheese/jelly/apple butter
 french toast or pancakes
 pizza or pizza bagels
 yogurt or cottage cheese
 egg salad or tuna salad w/ celery or crackers
 garden or pasta salad
 fish sticks
 macaroni & cheese
 souffle or quiche
 vegetable lasagna
 pasta and sauce
 rice & beans
 soy nuggets
 falafel (NO tahini since it is a sesame seed derivative)