Sandwiches? Schmamwiches!

After the third day in a row where my daughter’s peanut butter sandwich has been returned home uneaten, I finally got the message.

I make boring lunches.

Actually, I was the Fun Mummy this week because (at considerable expense, sigh, but I promised Moo, so…) I bought the ingredients and made my own Munchables. Mind you, the money I spent on a sliver of cheese could have paid off a small country’s foreign debt, but hey. I threw something together using water crackers, thiiiiiiinly sliced cheese, Fruity Bites (shredded wheat pillowy cereal things with fruit paste inside…they’re actually really nice to snack on) and a fun pack of Smarties (with, like, 9 Smarties in it). The next day the Smarties were replaced with a piece (very small) of homemade Rocky Road, made because Talented Hubby needed something to take to his shift to impress his work team and - hello? - my Rocky Road is legendary. And super-ridiculously-embarrassingly-easy, but lemme bask a while, ‘kay?

But I’m sticking to my ‘no commercial snackfood‘ rule. Oh hang on, darn it - I bought the water crackers yesterday and I said I was going to try to make my own, didn’t I? No matter, I’m still doing okay. I haven’t succumbed to the (very strong) temptation to just pick up a stack of boxed snacks and be done with it. I baked. One day it was Ham and Corn Mini Muffins (meh), another day some homemade Snack Bars (muesli bars/granola bars). Kind of got put off by that recipe when the honeyed bowl containing the leftover batter attracted the ants. And the ingredients for those were fairly expensive. I’m sure I can work at the recipe and make it cheaper though. Then of course the Rocky Road. Onward!

I’m really glad it’s Friday. It’s been a long week. So I really need your suggestions on the lunch front. Here are the parametres:

none of the kids’ classrooms have access to a microwave
no access to fridge either, although I can substitute ice bricks (would prefer not to send yoghurt etc though. As we’re heading into the hot Aussie summer, nothing that is going to spoil or wilt very easily. Even though we have our end of school year break coming up in a few weeks, I’ll need these ideas for the new school year in late January).
need ’sandwich alternatives’ ideas (I have many, many Tupperware-type containers that are good for ‘bits’. I also have mini ‘dressing’ and ‘dip’ containers. Some of my containers even have purdy forks and everything!)
made-from-scratch-ability (see above challenge)
kid friendly
extra points for freezer-friendly meals (or anything I can prepare the night before, refrigerate and just toss in their lunchboxes during the rush the next morning).
So, any ideas? About the only thing I can come up with is ’smorgasbord’ style, or what we call Kids Bits. We do this pretty often at home on the weekends - just cut up a whole bunch of stuff - deli meat, crackers, fruit, dips, vegetables etc. After that, I run out of ideas.

I need you!