Let’s talk about school lunches…

I don’t know about you, but I always loved taking my lunch to school. Back then lunch boxes and brown bags were nothing like they are today. My mom always packed the best lunches and it always made me feel special. For each holiday she would make some themed lunches. So stay tuned for them. Everyone always said I had the best lunches, so sometimes I would sell them or trade them. Not that often but every now and then I would.

So when it comes to my kids’ lunches, let’s just say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I really enjoy packing lunches and being creative with them.The kids love their pack lunches. The kids take turns helping with their lunches. Yes sometimes it makes the process a little bit longer, but it gets me some one on one time with them, which they need and love. 

I know packing lunches for three kids can be a lot some days. They seriously couldn’t wait until they had packed lunches and didn’t have to eat school food. But I know this is important to them and me. Plus it helps to make sure they are eating healthy and not having a lot of artificial flavors, colors, msg and other preservatives that are super unhealthy for the kids, especially JJ. JJ has ADHD and a lot of foods can trigger this. So we are constantly trying different foods and making sure he has all the right foods. We don’t want him to miss out on things, so I like to make some homemade sweet treats. I do a lot of planning for lunches because I use leftovers almost everyday. Plus I am trying to limit trips to the grocery store. 

 Here is a list of things I like to make sure is in their lunch.

1. Protein-lunch meat (either turkey or salami), chicken fingers, chicken or a protein pasta.
2. Fruit-this depends on the season berries, apples, oranges, melons or grapes
3. Veggies-cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, carrots or broccoli. Sometimes they might be cooked, but usually raw. I might add a little bit of salt and pepper to the veggie, or even ranch seasoning. Maybe add a little almond butter or peanut butter to the celery.
4. Carb-bread if I am making a sandwich, very picky about what breads I use, taco shells, pasta, mac and cheese and their favorite is rice. 
5. Extras/Snacks-range from protein balls, yogurt, cheese stick, trail mix, granola bar, apple sauce, fruit pouch and sometimes a sweet treat
6. Drink-Usually water, every so often Lele and Isabella might get a juice. 

Tips for packing lunches

1. Use leftovers. Almost every day at least one of the kids has leftovers in their lunch.
2. Pack what you can at night. I usually pack some of the veggies and fruits, while cooking dinner.
3. Get the kids involved. Mine like to grab their own snack and they all love packing the fruit and veggies. They also love to make skewers of fruit or meat cheese.
4. Cut up veggies and fruit early in the week and mid week. Lele and Jimmy do a lot of this for me.
5. Make the lunches fun. They love anything we can make into a skewer.
6. I basically pack all their lunch the night before unless I am making a sandwich. That I will pack in the morning. JJ and Isabella weren’t eating all their fruit and veggies at lunch. So I started packing JJ’s veggies in his backpack for a snack with another snack and Isabella her fruit in her backpack as a snack with something else. This routine has helped so much and it gives me time to do Isabella’s hair.

I can’t wait to share more ideas with you for Fall.

That’s the Dish from my Kitchen to your Kitchen ????

Billie-J0