Let’s Talk Lunch Box
School starts back up in a week *chorus of heavenly angels singing* and while I have enjoyed my summer with my girls, I am ready for them to be back in the classroom. Last spring I really dropped the ball with lunch. The pregnancy started wearing on me and lunch became this horrible burden to plan for, let alone actually put together. Mira started buying lunch and what began as a one day a week break for me, turned into a 4 out of 5 days a week free for all. I think that kid had more preservatives in that 3 month span then she’d consumed in her entire 6 years. BAD MOMMY.
In an effort to not suck so hardcore, I sat down and brain stormed with the girls about what they would like to see in their lunch boxes. Mira is surprisingly adventurous while Tessa would love to eat the same thing. every. single. blessed. day. Here’s our lunch box idea list so far
Main Entrees:
Crustless mini quiches
Celery with crunchy peanut butter
Celery with cream cheese
Hard boiled eggs
Peanut butter sandwiches (paired with jelly or honey or banana)
Cream cheese and jelly sandwiches
Fruit Salad
Bean burritos
Cheese and turkey pepperoni stacks
Mini pancakes with maple syrup for dipping
Mini zucchini corn muffins
Mini meatloaf cups
Bean Burgers
Onigiri
Hummus sandwiches
Fried Rice
Turkey sandwich wraps
Granola and fruit with yogurt
Sliced salted avocado and cheese
Various soups in the winter months
Salad with dressing
Sides:
Fruit: grapes, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, clementines, apples, raspberries, cherries, bananas, melon, nectarines, dried cranberries, golden raisins
Veggies: salted sliced cucumber, carrots with ranch, celery sticks and if your kids are less picky the mine you can do grape tomatoes, bell pepper slices, sliced mushrooms
Treats: pudding, jello, cookies, brownies, marshmallow treats, mini muffins, mini cupcakes, sugared pecans, puppy chow, banana bread, zucchini bread
Other: nuts (cashews, almonds, pecans), yogurt, pickles, granola bars, fruit leather or fruit snacks, chips
Tomorrow I’m going to talk lunch carrying receptacles. I think I may be getting swept up into the bento / laptop lunch phenomenon.
What are your kid’s lunch boxes going to be filled with?
August 11th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
when it comes to lunches, the easier the better for me. My kids get a bologna sandwich (sometimes peanut butter), a piece of fruit (usually an apple or grapes), a bag of chips (cheetos, doritos, etc), and pudding or yogurt. And they eat the same lunch with very little variation every day of the school week except for Fridays when they get to buy pizza for lunch.
Lisa’s last blog post..the park
August 11th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I can relate to Tessa. Every single day in grammar school I carried a ham & cheese sandwich, a snack bag of doritos and a Ssips iced tea. I would accept no substitutions. All of this would be neatly tucked into my Smurfs lunchbox of course.
August 11th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Ok, you probably already know this…but I am going to mention it just because I learned it the hard way:
don’t salt the cucumber when you pack it. You will end up with a baggie ‘o water by lunch time.
The salt leaches the water out of the veggie and it turns really gross, and leaks all over the rest of the food. Like I said, probably everyone in the whole world knew that except me, but just in case…
I don’t have to worry about lunches yet, but my big man is starting preschool so I do get to knit/felt him a backpack!
August 11th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
good point about the salt. I have planned on ordering the mini spice contains but you can always put salt in a tiny bit of foil and twist it up for later use and um, that is like the coolest backpack EVER!!
August 11th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Lunch box with reusable containers will keep food better, prevent squashing, save you money, and reduce the amount of plastic in the landfill. If you can, go for the reusable containers!
daisy’s last blog post..Dangerous Days, indeed.
August 11th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
We *love* our laptop lunchbox. If you get one, just be sure to get the additional containers so that you can have one set in the wash and one in the box. Tim brings ours to work at least three times a week. Today he had mixed nuts, strawberries, an apple, and a PBJ sandwich. I told him before he left that he had a 4th grader’s lunch. You should have seen the smile on his face, he was so happy.
I might just have to steal some of your ideas for his lunches!
Angela’s last blog post..Wrapping My Head Around My CBAC
August 11th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Thanks for leaving me the zucchini bread link. Several of my squash plants have succumbed to wilt disease, so I may not be as overstocked as usual.
Speaking of lunch boxes, I bought my cute Hello Kitty bentos for $1 at Deals (that’s one of the dollar stores around Indiana.) The containers stack and are just the right size for anything but a salad. I bought a my matching (bright green) insulated lunch bag for a dollar as well.
Kay’s last blog post..Dog Days?
August 12th, 2008 at 1:05 am
I don’t know what my kids will be getting in their lunches, but I do like your list! I may have to do something similar, it would give them some variety! Last year wound up being a whole lot of the same every day!
I like those lunchboxes too. I’ll have to see if my kids would use those and remember to NOT throw away the containers!
Heidi’s last blog post..well-rounded….
August 12th, 2008 at 1:58 am
My kids are pretty good. We do alot of cheese/pickles/crackers, sandwhichesm tortilla wrap sandswhiches.
Our schools are peanut free which is a sad day with no PB&J to take to school. I have till Sept 2nd before I start the lunch brigade, I”m enjoying the reprieve LOL.
Jacquie’s last blog post..We’re having a blast!
August 12th, 2008 at 11:57 am
My daughter is fairly boring and will only accept a limited number of lunch box fare. To break up the monotony I order her one hot lunch per week. Otherwise, she generally takes a hard-boiled egg with bread or crackers, a chicken sandwich, or a cheese sandwich. With that, I send some kind of vegetable like baby carrots, sometimes a few pickles, and for dessert she’ll have yogurt or applesauce. For recess I send either fruit salad or an apple/orange/peach.
She can’t take peanut butter because the school is nut-free, and they’re really vigilant about no junk, which I love but I do wish that sometimes I could send her a couple of cookies for dessert as a special treat.
I really wish I could get her to branch out and take some more interesting stuff. I may try to get her to take a thermos with some hot pasta or whatnot.
Sherry’s last blog post..Menu Plan Monday