I make my son lunch for school. They offer hot lunch–but I’m not a fan of the hot lunch. I have been volunteering for lunch duty a minimum of once a week for 6 years now! I see that the kids don’t eat the hot lunch, not only is it wasteful but kids need lunch to make them productive people in the afternoon.
Can you imagine eating breakfast . . . then maybe a snack in the afternoon . . . then dinner? I would not be very pleasant to be around!
I pack my son the same lunch each day–I might mix it up a little bit–but for this boy, he like his food to be routine!
Menu:
- Peanut butter sandwich (at the moment he is really enjoying this Planters Nutrition brand)
- V8 Energy drink (we tried a water bottle–but the lunch boxes get kicked by other kids . . . so after a few water bottles were broken–I go disposable. Yes, this does bother me. They do have water available in the lunch room–he does that if the V8 style drinks are not on sale.
- an apple–cut up in smaller slices so that he can share with friends. The kids at school love cut up apples–I don’t fully understand it.
- and something else–sometimes nuts, sometimes a muffin from breakfast, maybe some crackers.
Cost:
- Bread: $1.99
- Apples: $6.76 (organic fugi apples)
- Peanut butter $2.49
- V8 fusion $3.00
- after school bars $5.00
- Total Cost: $19.24 or
- $14.24 if you take out the after school bars!
$14.24/5=$2.85 a day for lunch!
My next step is to make this lunch even more healthy! on a budget. More ideas check out this post!
Do you pack lunch for your child? What tricks can you share? Please use the comment box below and help out 100’s of other moms like me who are trying to make a positive impact, with small steps.
Be Blessed.
I’ll be linking up with these great blogs–check them out–Moms like you and me, trying to make the world a more joyful place.
I am with you on that Renee, I would let my son buy lunch maybe once a week for the novelty, but I don’t think the school lunch is as nutritious as what I pack. He always gets a hearty meat and cheese sandwich, a cut up apple, water bottle, possibly a protein bar, maybe some fruit snacks. He still comes home ravenous, but he is a growing teenager!
Kathleen–sometimes the school has pizza lunch fundraisers and he will do that. My son has a snack in the car when I pick him up from the bus stop! We are just entering the stage of eating . . . I cooked 2 pounds of pasta for dinner tonight with the intention of having leftovers! NOT. I need to rework my meal planning.
Does your son eat the same lunch each day or does he like it changed up?
Be Blessed.
Nice post! Have you considered a more nutritious bread? My son ate whole-wheat without complaint for years, but in first grade he stopped eating the crusts, then started complaining about the taste of the bread. We have found a couple of brands of white whole-wheat that he likes; it’s just as nutritious but is made with a lighter colored grain that seems to have a smoother texture.
Dad is the lunch packer in our family, but when he was away for a week here’s what I packed for lunch. I had fun thinking of a variety of foods that would go together! My son is more flexible now at age 8; in kindergarten he insisted on PBJ every single day.
Becca–thanks for your comment! I often make my own bread so that it can be GMO free–my criteria for bread is NO high fructose corn syrup . . . we use bagels, tortilla wraps . . . it get mixed up.
Be Blessed.
My Husband is the chief lunch packer and we try to switch it up every day – one day PB&J, one day chicken tenders, spaghetti-o’s, etc. We are hard core couponers so I would say our lunches definitely cost $2 or less but we also don’t insist on organic apples or bananas so I am sure that also accounts for some of our savings.
Thanks so much for sharing at our Best Of The Weekend party! Pinning to our party board. Have a great week!
Claire–thanks for hosting “best of the weekend” and thanks for sharing on Pinterest!
I agree that our lunches could cost less. I do try and buy the top 10 foods organic. My son LOVES honey crisp apples–those are not organic but are expensive–they are the best apple ever!
When I packed lunches for my other kids I would pack leftover pancakes, egg sandwiches, mac and cheese–when I had lunch duty I would bring them in “hot lunch”.
I wonder how inexpensively I could make a lunch and have it be organic, GMO free and edible!
Be Blessed.