1000’s of lunches–Done!
Today is my birthday. My goal is to get 1000 views on my blog–can you help? I would love it if you could spread the word. I’ll be posting tomorrow to see how close I get. Thanks and Be Blessed.
The first school that my kids went to did not have a hot lunch program. I have made 1000’s of lunches between my 4 kids and packing my husband’s lunch. Now that I have it down to a science–I will be homeschooling 2 kids while 2 go to school and my husband eats awesome food, very economically at the cafeteria at work. With my experience I feel like I have a handle on this aspect of my life. I have also worked as a lunch room volunteer and that experience is very eye-opening. What kids throw away is amazing and as a parent very annoying.
Food:
I made a few lunches and timed what my kids could eat in 20 minutes. That is the amount of time they get at school. My goal was to pack nutritious food without waste.
All kids have a water bottle. That’s it. I love the thermos water bottle with the straw that pops up. I only used them with water. If I add ice in the morning it will still be there in the afternoon! I do not send the kids to school with milk or juice.
Fruit and Veggies:
carrots
cut up cucumbers
peppers
brocoli
whatever raw veggies I know they will eat
apples–cut up and sometimes I split one apple over a couple of kids
bananas cut in half–I will also split a banana over a few kids as well
grapes
strawberries
blueberries
I don’t use fruit cups, pudding cups, jello cups.
Main Dish:
Peanut butter sandwich is our standby–the year we were in the peanut free room is the year we started to homeschool–it was just another hurdle on the long list of things . . .
hot dogs wrapped in foil
chicken nuggets–homemade with out breading–served with dipping sauce
tortillas as a wrap–I’ve used peanut butter, nutella, lettuce and cheese
ham and cheese roll ups
bagel with cream cheese
hamburger buns rather than bread–that way there are no crusts–I also like Hawaiian rolls for this same reason
Taco Salad
Chef’s Salad
Chicken salad sandwich
Tuna sandwich
Olivia sandwich–melted cheese with relish and ketchup
Cheese and crackers
Leftovers:
Pancakes sandwich with a slice of leftover bacon in the middle–one kid would get this each week
French toast bake
Quiche
Chili
Chicken Noodle Soup
spaghetti with meatballs
Tortileni with butter
Ravioli
My goal was to have a protein item and a fruit or vegetable. I try to make it as simple as possible and avoid processed foods. I may serve crackers with soup or chicken salad but as a general rule I do not give my kids “crunchy” snacks at school. Kids will eat the bag of Doritos and throw the rest of the lunch out. On the off-chance that I do give them chips I will split a bag among a few kids so I know they will only get a few bites and move to the healthy stuff.
I don’t typically pack sweets in the lunch box.
I’m picky about what I pack. I see how kids eat–sweets, chips, juice box and then maybe the “real food” so I just try to eliminate those first 3 things.
Some websites that I often go to for great ideas are Laptoplunches.com and Once a month cooking.com.
I found this super cute cube to pack lunches in while I was writing this post. I would recommend buying two of the containers because kids sometimes lose things.
I’m linking up today with these wonderful blogs!
Happy Birthday! I’m visiting from Thankful Thursday. I hope you do get your 1000 views and THANK you for your lunch suggestions. That is always a great challenge for me : ( . My post today revolves around picky eaters : ) so if you have a chance, you can read it at: http://gisela-myredeemerlives.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-about-some-of-grandmas-potato-salad.html
BTW, my birthday is tomorrow…small world : ) Have a blessed day!
Great tips!
Glad you liked them–I just found you in Spam–and I thought of Spam sandwiches . . . another lunch idea!
Happy birthday!! Love the lunch ideas! I will tweet your request!
Thanks–I didn’t reach my goal but maybe next 8/9!
Thanks! I had an awesome birthday. I didn’t hit my goal but it was sort of unrealistic–maybe next year . . . thanks for supporting my efforts.