True confession: I hate packing lunches.
“Cut the crust off.” “Leave the crust on, I like to tear it off.” “I don’t want mayonnaise.” “You forgot a cold pack and my cheese was warm.” “I don’t like meat!”
...I could go on forever with that. I’ve been packing school lunches daily for 8-plus years. I have 3 kids. My best days are the days they choose to have the school hot-lunch (has to be the same day for all 3.) We don’t allow hot lunch everyday in order to save money, and quite frankly, hot lunch ’aint all that. Pizza day is good, nacho day in Jr. High is fun, but they only get 2 HLs a week. The other days I’m rehashing old ideas like PB&J, bagel & cream cheese, turkey sandwich, and that’s where I get stuck. Who can be so creative at 7:00 am? I don’t pack at night because of the soggy factor. I hate sending plastic containers because, if they even make it home, they leak after use and sticky-up the lunch box. I am willing to throw in a freezer pack. And the kids gave up juice boxes 2 years ago when we switched to water only, (with NO complaints ever, can you believe that?!)
I really don’t want to spend a lot of time on lunches, but I DO want my kids to have a pleasant lunch, (that’s right, I want it all.) So here’s where you come in! Share your lunch ideas in the comments. Let’s hear what you pack for your kids...I’m all ears, and my children will thank you.
21 comments:
My daughter (she's in first grade) loves crackers and cheese. Their school is peanut-free this year, which adds an extra degree of difficulty. She also likes to take macaroni and cheese in a thermos (we use those Kraft Easy Mac things and it's quick and easy in the microwave), and she wants to take Ramen noodles in her thermos sometime (haven't done that yet).
My mom used to make cream cheese and strawberry jam or peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and a friend in middle school introduced me to cream cheese and sliced black olives ("fish eye sandwiches") which were fun and different.
Also, I learned that if you put a yogurt in the freezer the night before, it acts as a cold pack and usually thaws out in time for lunch.
I admit that what I love about school holidays and the summer, aside from sleeping until 10am...is NOT having to pack those lunches. I've been doing it for 12 years now...and I still hate it. The guilt over a convenience-laden bag, or a more healthy selection that you know will go in the garbage. Sigh. What we do: (one horribly picky eater, the other not so much) Easy Mac or Hot Pockets (oh, the guilt) cheese sandwich, rolled up turkey with toothpicks, apple slices, ramen in thermos, cheese cubes, chips, cookies, pretzels, carrots, cold leftover pizza. And water in a take home container.
Bagel & Cream Cheese, Carrot sticks, Water Bottle, Wheat thins.
Cheese and Crackers with a small container of hummus to spread on the crackers with a small square of cheese placed on top of the cracker. Water Bottle, sliced apples with a small container of peanut butter for dipping.
My kids prefer water too! Sometimes they will ask for a capri sun, but most of the time it is water.
My oldest likes dinner left overs: I will pack pasta salad sometimes, or cold pizza (he likes it cold) and left over chicken and make it into a chicken sandwich. Sawyer is the easier one. Saylor is more picky. That is all I have got! My lunches are pretty boring.
My kids liked it when I put in popcorn...it is easy to pop some in the morning... I think my kids would have liked edamame - (they are all grown now) string cheese worked well.
Muffins are fun, if you have a healthy recipe with not too much sugar and fat!...very easy to make ahead and freeze. So glad to be past that... : )
I try and make dinner a couple nights a week that will stretch for school lunches. Spaghetti, chili or potato cheese soup in thermoses are the favorites.
I don't have children. But I remember from when I was young, my mom used to make lunches and leave little notes saying, "Have a great day. Love you." Or if I had a test she would wish me luck or say I know you did well on your test. It didn't matter what I had for lunch. The note made everything taste better.
Left overs, left overs, left overs. Oh yeah and then on special days left overs. lol Good thing he likes what I make for dinner huh?
We often make roll-ups: meat and cheese or peanut butter and banana, etc.
Quick and easy, and a nice change from the standard sandwich.
I usually throw in some type of fruit with yogurt dip or veggie with ranch dip, pretzels or crackers, and then a pudding or applesauce cup for dessert.
I have the kids make their lunch :) then they can't complain about what I made
Caryn
I don't have kids, but I pack my husband's lunch most days and he really likes chicken caesar wraps. I just spread caesar dressing on a wrap, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, add a few pieces of lettuce and wrap it all around a crispy chicken tender (I can get them from my grocer). Also, if your kids like chicken salad or egg salad, those go well in a pita pocket.
I do a bento box with fun but relatively healthy food. Mini muffins are a hit, carrot sticks, bowtie pasta, homemade pizza leftovers...my little guy is pretty picky but I try to at least make sure he has a good grain and protein and fruit. He gets a lot of dairy at breakfast so I don't worry too much about cheeses. He also likes flavored water instead of juice.
I always had lunch envy when I was a kid and try to make sure my son's is healthy and fun. I try to add notes or fun stickers/stamps. He is only 4, though, so I am sure it will change as he gets older. :)
we make the sandwiches in a flour tortilla and you can make them the night before because they won't get soggy!
The 1st week of school I did a whole post about my disdain for making school lunches!
Sandwich, fruit, dessert, DONE.
We also limit school lunch: one day a week, must be the same day. The negotiations between my two big kids (one is not in school yet) on which day it will be is the best part of my week. I love hearing the reasoning behind which day they pick and how they reason it out together to come to an agreement. Miraculously, there is never an argument over this.
So, here are some ideas. Although I can use some help myself!
Yogurt and half a peanut butter sandwich.
The cut apples from McDonalds that don't turn brown. I go to the drive through and beg for them to sell them to me individually. If they say yes, I buy as many as they will allow and usually throw in a diet coke to pretend it's not the only reason I'm there.
Sandwiches made with leftovers like bbq boneless chicken, meatloaf, roast beef. I never thought they would like this but tried it this year and it worked!
I bought thermoses and sometimes do pasta or soup. I heat it up just before putting it in the thermos and am told it is just the right temp at lunch time.
For snack time, cheerios mixed with raisins. (dry, of course) This is a favorite.
Big lunchbox hits with my kiddos:
2 thin slices of homemade banana bread with cream cheese sandwiched in the middle.
Easy-peasy fruit salad {prepare Jello instant sugar free/fat free white chocolate pudding with 3 cups of cold milk instead of the 2 the box calls for. Then slice up whatever fruit you have in the house...apples, bananas, grapes, etc. and toss in the pudding mix} I put this in a disposable plastic solo cup with the Press & Seal wrap on top. I include a disposable spoon and they can throw it all away when they're done and i don't lose any plastic containers!
I use the same containers for pasta salad, too.
I always include a joke in their lunch, too. Their friends have come to expect it. They all look forward to it. I get them off the internet. :-)
Well, I got tired of keeping the food straight so I have them make their own lunches. 3 of them started in third grade but the rest weren't mature enough until 5. Having homemade bread is the most important thing to them. Important enough that they make their own bread! (bread machine) One sandwich filling I made that was a big hit was peanut butter with applesauce, honey and miniature chocolate chips mixed together; kept in the fridge it makes the peanut butter easy to spread.
hi,
my daughter is one of the annoying kids allergic to nuts that make making lunch extra difficult these days! (sorry) i am pretty stuck insofar as anything new but a few big hits are:
-blt
-flour tortillas, grill with cheese so crispy.
-pasta (multi-color) with butter or butter and parm grated on top
-soy butter (crunch tastes really good actually) and jelly
-cream cheese and jelly
-chicken nuggets if you have them the night before for dinner but make sure they aren't too dry.
-mac-n-cheese
-grilled cheese
but after that i'm stuck!
i agree with the person who said notes are nice. i try to put them in as often as possible. another nice thing to do is to use a cookie cutter and make the sandwich a shape. i like my heart cookie cutter.
frozen gogurts...genius --r!
I'm with the popcorn...we bought an air popper and pop 2 batches. Then I pack a bunch in baggies so I can just grab them in the mornings.
Frozen mini-muffins are good, too.
My kids love strawberry mini-wheats in baggies. Good fiber, too.
I'm pretending I have good ideas. I'm a horrible lunch maker. really.
You might be interested in this blog
http://berlinswhimsy.typepad.com
Amber frequently posts about kids lunches and has fab photos
i've been doing lunches for just about 12 yrs...yikes. my dd is the pickiest. i picked up a thermos this yr (for like $3/clearance) and will start putting chowder/mac&cheese...they also like cold fried chicken, salads, pasta, pb&j sammies...on field trips we always do subway...and they get to order all the fixins they like... oh lunchables are a fav...
lynda in calif
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