packing lunch

Lunch Time: Fueling Success!

Abby H.
My kids don’t have a lunch quite this fancy, but it looks amazing!

During the school year, I take my lunch to work every day. Not only is it cheaper than getting takeout daily, but bringing food to work helps me stay “on track” with my nutrition goals.

My kids also take their lunches every day. California public schools offer free breakfast and lunch to all kids, but my kids don’t like the offerings, and that’s ok with me.

Here are my top tips for packing a tip-top lunch- a lunch that gets eaten!

  1. Invest in an insulated lunch bag. I have this one and it’s awesome. It keeps everything at the correct temperature.
  2. Speaking of temps- Blue ice is ok, but these flexible ice sheets are better. You can wrap them around stuff in the lunch box/bag that needs to stay cold.
  3. We have various-sized thermoses, perfect for keeping hot food at the best temp. To really keep hot food hot, I recommend pouring boiling hot water into the thermos and putting on the lid to let the inside heat up. After 10 minutes, dump out the hot water, pour in the hot food, and screw the lid on tightly. These 10-ounce thermoses are perfect for kids lunches. Spaghetti, soup, mac n’ cheese, and leftovers of most types work really well in these containers. My daughter loves Sanrio, and she has one of these with Kuromi.
  4. My son loves Smoothies, and to keep them cold and frosty, I use an insulated bottle like these. Much like prepping a thermos for hot food, keeping smoothies frosty, prep an insulated bottle with ice old water (with cubes)for 10-15 minutes. Dump them out, pour in the smoothie and screw the cap on. I include a boba straw with his lunch.
  5. I like salads for lunch, and with a container like this one from Contigo, all of my salad “parts” stay fresh and the lettuce doesn’t get wilty or gross.

In case you are wondering what my kids and I have for lunch, here are just a few examples:

Boy child: Smoothie (contains fruit, greek yogurt, fairlife milk), chips or pretzels, granola bar, fruit snack, protein cookies.

Girl Child: Something hot (usually chicken noodle soup or mac n’ cheese), apple slices, chips or pretzels, cookie, fruit snack, cheese stick.

Me: Meal Prepped lunch (2 ounces meat, 4-6 ounces of veggies, 1/2 cup starch), Salad with 2 ounces of meat,  or a frozen entree with at least 15 grams of protein, 2 small clementines or 1 orange cut-up,  1 cup of veggies (carrot sticks or celery), serving of guac or hummus, can of fizzy water.  My morning snack is a cup of Greek yogurt and 1 cup of fruit.

Packing an awesome school lunch on a budget!

Abby H.1 Comment

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Most kids are on Fall break right now and school starts back up on Monday, but this post comes from my heart. I can’t tell you how many times I opened my lunch bag as a child, only to be disappointed by a limp, sweaty bologna sandwich, a warm juice box and a bag of chips. My mom is an awesome cook, but lunches as a kid were always uninspired. She packed us the same lunch that our friends had.

Kids now have a lot more choices when it comes to lunches. Cooler bags/soft sided insulated bags are now chic, and many schools have restrictions on what kids can bring to school (mostly due to common food allergies).

Here are some tips that can help you pack a yummy, nutritious, frugal lunch for your kids (or heck, even for you if you pack your lunch for work):

  • Plan ahead. Take an inventory of your pantry, fridge and freezer.  Make a list of lunches you can make with what you’ve got on hand.
  • Eat what’s on sale! You’ll save more if you eat what’s in season.
  • Involve the eater of the lunch: if you involve the kids, they’ll be more apt to eat what’s packed.
  • Keep Lunch fun! Use cookie cutters (like this one– I love it for sliced cheese) to make sandwiches, fruit, and cheese into fun shapes.
  • Set aside time for prep: When you get home from the store, set aside some time to chop veggies, fruit, and cheese and place single servings in baggies. Store the baggies in a drawer in the fridge. Resist the urge to snack on them!
  • Resist the urge to buy individual packages of snacks. They are usually not the best value for your dollar. Set aside some time after your shopping trip to portion out cookies, crackers, snacks and even yogurt.
  • Along the same lines: Resist the urge to buy pre-made sandwiches, like UnCrustables. Many schools don’t allow Peanut Butter (or other nut butters) in school lunches.  If your kids love those sandwiches, make your own. All you need in an empanada press (like this one) or a Wonder Bread Sandwich Sealer and D-Cruster a loaf of bread, your fav. peanut or other nut/seed butter, and some jam or jelly. Make about 12 sandwiches for less than $10. The average price for a box of 4 UnCrustables is around $3.50! You can use whatever type of sliced bread you like too!
  • Sandwiches need not be an everyday food! Make wraps with tortillas, sliced cheese, deli meats, and flavored cream cheese. Send sliced cheese, sandwich meat, and crackers (think a homemade Lunchable!) in a plastic box in separate muffin papers. Cold Pizza, salads that include a protein, soup in a thermos, heck, even cereal in a plastic container and a thermos of cold milk.
  • Re-use your empty Mio containers to send condiments or salad dressing to keep sandwiches and salads from getting icky and soggy. Simply remove the wrapper from the empty bottle, pop the top off and clean out the bottle and lid.  Once they are dry, fill 1/2 to 3/4 full and write on the front of the bottle with a sharpie.
  • Don’t just stick to Major Grocery Store chains! I love shopping for lunch yummies at Grocery Outlet. They have a wide variety of crackers, cookies, lunch meat, and a killer cheese section!  Now that we have a Grocery Outlet and a 99 Cents Only in the same shopping center, I can get most of my school lunch shopping done in one trip!

Oh, and most importantly- Don’t forget the note. My mom always put a note in our lunch each day. It made my day, especially when I was having a hard morning!

Looking for more ideas on keeping school lunches fun? Here are a few books I found on Amazon: