This is not a sponsored post. Just one of those “I like this, you might too” kind of things. I did use affiliate links because I might as well make the 60 cents commission. 60 cents. Not kidding.
If I had to list the top 3 things that I hate doing the most as a mom, it would be:
1. Putting away folded laundry.
2. Emptying the dishwasher.
3. Making lunches.
My aversion to making lunches does not discriminate solely to school lunches. I’m talking the meal of lunch as a whole. I don’t know why this is…especially since I don’t mind making breakfast and I mostly enjoy cooking dinner. There’s just something about stopping everything I’m doing in the middle of the day to make another mess in the kitchen. Plus, I don’t really like eating lunch foods…so maybe that’s why. Someday I’ll sit down and psychoanalyze all of this, but for now…I just really, really, really, REALLY do not like it.
Packing school lunches is kind of like adding insult to injury. The worst kind of making lunch in all the land.
A simple Pinterest search will give you all KINDS of clever ways to make lunches for your kids. Healthy options. Making things varied and fun. If this is the morning you want to feel like an inferior mother…by all means click on that link.
I assure you this is not that post.
I also assure you that I in no way think this is all that amazing or ground breaking of a technique. But I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen something ridiculously simple on Pinterest…and smacked my head thinking “Why on EARTH didn’t I think of that?!” In fact, I even have a board called just that. Sometimes things are so simple, they escape you. So, this is my I-know-this-isnt-revolutionary-but-it-might-make-your-mornings-easier-so-Ill-go-ahead-and-post-about-it-anyway.
Here’s the trick: make ALL of your lunches at once. For the entire week. In one shot.
Shocking, right? I know. But seriously. I’ve started doing this and I cannot tell you how AWESOME my mornings are Tuesday through Friday. (Mondays are the worst…because not only am I making lunches…but I’m making TEN of them. Yuck.) And with the new year and all, many of us are looking for ways to simplify.
I start by raiding my fridge and pantry for anything and everything that might be included in a lunch.
I put it all in a big pile on my counter. Edamame, black berries, raisins, oranges, pineapple, graham crackers, pretzels…whatever. It’s all game.
I normally buy the big containers of yogurt and portion it out in their little easy lunch boxes (more on that in a bit)…but Chobani follows me on Instagram and back in October, they asked if they could link to our family Halloween picture in exchange for a box of yogurt.
My kids loooooove yogurt. Like, if given the choice of a toy from the dollar bin at Target, or an individual yogurt cup from the refrigerator section…they often choose yogurt. I am not kidding. They’re kinda weird.
So, this week, they were treated with individual cups of Chobani Champions too. They thought they were in school lunch heaven.
Next comes what amounts to an ENTIRE loaf of bread.
All lined up. Like little whole grain soldiers. I make my kids eat the kind of bread with sticks in it. (Not really sticks, but that’s what I call bread that has visible seeds and stuff in it.)
My kids love peanut butter and jelly the way I love a day at the spa. They would happily eat it every day, three times a day. I was assured by my pediatrician that if served on whole wheat bread, it’s really not a terrible option. So, I go with it.
It’s not clever or shaped like Phineas and Ferb, but it works.
I will admit to cutting the crusts off of my kids’ sammies.
Here’s the deal: I don’t eat my crusts. I know, I know. But I can’t exactly make my kids eat their crust, as I’m peeling mine off.
I only cut the crusts off because I can cut reaaaaalllly super close with a bread knife. Left to their own devices, the kids end up peeling away 3/4 of their sandwich.
Plus, we take these spoils and feed the ducks at the park. Reuse, recycle, and such.
I bought a set of these EasyLunchboxes
It seemed really silly to me to put everything into 4-5 sandwich bags at 8 a.m. just to have them be tossed in the trash by the kids by noon. Times three kids. Times five days a week. That’s a lot of baggies. For just a few hours.
Plus, I can buy snacks in bulk and portion it out this way. Waaaaaay cheaper.
When I decided to start doing lunches all at once, I ordered two more sets of EasyLunchboxes
I line them all up and just start filling them up. I even package up their lunches immediately with the necessary fork or spoon right in the box. The shorty Take and Toss utensils fit perfectly and they’re cheap so if they accidentally get tossed in the trash, I don’t lose my mind.
Sometimes I want to tuck in a fourth option like raisins or blueberries. A silicone cupcake “wrapper” makes a perfect bitty holder.
They all get stacked in the fridge. Waiting their turn to make it into someone’s lunch.
Now…if you remember, Henry is in a hybrid schooling program and only goes to school twice a week…and Lucy only goes to preschool three times a week. Yet, I make 10 lunches. (Jilly eats the school lunches.) Can I tell you how AWESOME it is to tell Henry on a home school day “Hey bud, it’s lunch time. Go grab a lunch and eat.” Boom. He pulls one out. Done. I don’t have to do anything.
It’s so beautiful, I could cry.
While Mondays are kinda miserable with making ten dumb lunches…Tuesday through Friday are almost poetic.
Grab a box…fill up their water bottle…maybe grab an extra snack item or two…
20 seconds of work.
Hold me.
![IMG_3128[1]](http://liferearranged.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/IMG_31281.jpg)
Now for a quick caveat: the EasyLunchboxes
The Easy Lunchbox people created their own bags
So there you have it: super simple. Not earth shattering. But morning in the Gibson house changing.
Do you have a lunch packing system? Why do I hate making lunches so much? Psychoanalyze me. Go. (Actually, don’t. I’m scared.)
UPDATE: many of you have asked about sogginess being an issue. I haven’t had trouble with this. I suppose if your PB&Js did get soggy, you could do peanut butter on both sides of the bread with the jelly in the center. Also, I haven’t gotten any complaints about the pretzels/crackers and stuff being soggy either. I store my bread in the fridge all the time (which is dumb because it gets eaten super quickly around here), and have never had any issue with sogginess in that case either. There has never been condensation in the containers so everything is just cold…although likely room temp by the time the kid’s lunchtime rolls around. Also, I think I once saw something about a mom wrapping the sandwiches in saran wrap to keep them from getting yucky. Maybe if you were doing a mayo/lunch meat combo?
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You are brilliant.
I don’t have kiddos yet, but I did my student teaching last year and I sub now, and I agree–I hate making lunch. Maybe because I’m not a huge fan of sandwiches, but breakfast and dinner foods are so much better! You aren’t alone.
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Adam’s preschool and pre-k class serves lunch, so I’ve been extremely lucky and not had to worry about the lunch thing yet….until August when he starts Kindergarten – and then I believe I will promptly dread it. I WISH my kid would eat PB&J! One question though, how do you keep the sandwiches from getting soggy??
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WONT EAT PB&J????!!! He needs therapy. ;) As for soggy…never had a problem. That might be an issue if I was making mayo/lunchmeat sammies…? I guess you could experiment with it and see what happens. Like science class in high school. Without the hot quarterback lab partner.
How does the PB&J hold up 5 days later? It doesn’t get soggy?
Never had a problem with it. You could always do PB on both sides and jelly in the center (since I would imagine it’s the jelly that would cause sogginess). But I haven’t had to.
Hahaha, your top 3 hates are mine too! I make my boys (11 & 6) unload the dishwasher :) And, I saved the link for the Easy Lunchboxes this morning to show my husband when he gets home so the post timing is perfect! If we end up packing for a week, I may do it on Sunday evening when the husband is home to entertain the littles since Monday mornings are crazy bananas around here.
I despise making lunches too! Maybe it is all the packaging of four baby carrot sticks here and 6 pretzels there, slicing the apple, gathering the ingredients, trying to make it healthy and varied…interesting phenomenon to analyze! But I love your idea. About two years ago started using small glad/ziplock containers to separate out bulk snacks, fruits and veggies. Saving money, saving waste, saving time! How do the pretzels and graham crackers hold up in the fridge…not soggy?
So do the crackers and pretzels get soggy? I like the idea, but I’m kind of lucky that my husband makes the lunch for our Kindergartner. I hate that he constantly uses up ziploc bags though.
I store my loaves of bread in the fridge in general and they never get soggy either. The pretzels and stuff stay fine too. But really, even if I had to pack the snacky stuff every morning, that would STILL be way easier.
You are brilliant.
I have three kids, 10, 9, and 7. They all go to public school. My daughter will eat school lunch twice a week otherwise it’s all Mama lunch all the time.
You have just officially changed my life.
It’s funny because I make 5 salads in a mason jar for myself every Sunday night to last the week for my lunches. You’d think I would have thought about the kids in that way sometime in the last 8 years they have been in school.
Do wonder about the sog factor?
Brilliant. I love you.
See soggy comments above.
But seriously…it’s so simple, right? Sometimes I feel silly sharing things like this because I assume y’all will just laugh at me. I mean, duh! But…I figure if I can make one person’s morning less horrid, that’s worth it. ;)
Love the salads in mason jar idea! What size do you use?
Heather Irene @ Rambling Rose´s last blog post ..A "Rich" Legacy
Hi Heather! I use the wide-mouth quart mason jars, but that is a TON of greens. If you do a search on Pinterest you’ll find the quinoa ones – she shows how to make the full salad or how to just pack up the toppings without the greens.
Jeannett, we are on week 2 of these lunches and I am in LOVE. THank you so much! My kids all have martial arts after school and get crazy hungry even with the snack I pack them. Now I also toss in a “lunchable” and that is their dinner! They love it and I love that I don’t have to cook dinner when we get home late! THANK YOU!
Ellen´s last blog post ..Out with the old – in with the new!
I share your aversion to making lunch. Some mornings it makes me want to cry. I’m totally doing this though. I think it may revolutionize my mornings. :) Thanks!
I’m not a big fan of packing lunches either. My son (with special needs) isn’t up to going through the lunch line at school plus he’s a super picky eater. I feel like a loser mom because my kids get very little variety. There are few things my son will eat and my daughter would eat a sandwich for every meal if she could. I’ve never seen a kid like sandwiches the way she does. I may have to try the plastic containers. I have the reusable bags and I use plastic containers to keep from buying disposable baggies. It might be nice to have everything in one container.
I only have one that I m packing lunch for. I like to make it the night before. I make the pb&j and put it in the freezer. I package everything else up too. I don’t use baggies. He has a Lands End lunchbox and I use small containers from IKEA that fit in it really nicely.
Actually, my problem is not making the lunch, but finding WHAT to put in it. PB is not an option since there are so many peanuts allergies, we cannot use it at school. Also, there are allergies to eggs in my son’s class, so I can’t use mayo or his favorite tofu spread.
Plus, we are newly vegetarians (but I do not really cook!), and I would love to go all the way to vegan, but then no yogurt, no eggs, no shrimps or seafood, no peanuts or any nuts, no meat. Hummus is good, but I can’t serve that every day, plus my son is soooooo picky on veggies and fruits!! Help!
Best idea ever! We love our easy lunch boxes too!
I have been making school lunches for the last TWENTY (gasp!) years for my children! But I have cut down from 4 to 2 since those boys started college and everything! It is a hateful task, and as they grow older, definitely the most UNAPPRECIATED task that we do as parents. Mine have to pack their own snacks the night before so if they don’t, they lose out! (or they learn to take someone else’s snack if someone doesn’t get up on time.) I liken your lunch idea to school uniforms…if they don’t really have a choice in what they take, there is no reason to complain. Everybody is equal in the lunch kits. You are brilliant!
“School lunch heaven”… whoa, now that’s quite the compliment. You are definitely a lunch packin’ pro, friend. It’s always nice to have a system, and it looks like yours is a great one to follow.
I dont have such strong negative feelings towards lunches (I usually go with sth simple) but I do hate to cook dinners…mainly because I am a terrible cook and there’s no lie about it! I should also have come up with a system like that…just cooking 10 dinners at once may be a bit more problematic! :) Let me know if u invent sth like that, I will be grateful to you till the rest of my days!!!
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Miss A sucks down an entire adult-size container of Chobani yogurt. Yes. She practically licks the interior of the thing. And she will eat one for lunch and dinner if I let her.
She is in daycare all week at a licensed facility ie: looks like a school, so she eats her meals there (breakfast/lunch), so in that arena I get off light.
Cheers,
Caryl
Making lunches all at once is certainly the way to go. We make up a big batch of sandwiches and rolls and put them in the freezer. We just get out what we need in the morning and by the time the kids eat them they are thawed. My kids are old enough to pack their snacks, they just follow some guidelines such as 1 homemade thing (which are usually in the freezer also), fruit, etc. Makes the mornings so much easier.
I love those containers! I have 4 under 4 all day (3 are mine, the 4th is my niece whom I watch), and I hate making lunches. Well, hate is a pretty strong word, but lunch always comes as a surprise to me (as does dinner!). I should probably start making up batches of lunch like you do! Then I’d have a little more time to put folded laundry away (also an issue over here!)
Yet another way that you are a better mom than I am. I make my kids pack their own lunches starting in kindergarten. This way no one can complain about what they get. I control the snack selection but provide a variety and expect them to pack a balanced meal: sandwich, protein, fruit or veggie and snack (usually trail mix, GF crackers, chips, etc., nothing even half as yummy as what you pack). So yes, there is a way to “slack” more than just making them all at once.
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This is very economical. This saves a lot of money because food will more often go to the stomach and not to the trash. Plus, this saves you from a stressful morning. Very bright idea indeed! I notice you have different colors of lunch boxes. Does each color corresponds to a day?
I bit the bullet and ordered two sets. It’s Sunday night and lunch for my kindergartener is being strategically planned out. It’s PB&J all the way in this house and with three younger sons in tow, these will be well loved. Heck, I’ll probably start packing my lunches in them too. Thanks for the suggestion. Simplify, simplify!
I hate making lunches and #1 isn’t due until June! My husband is an electrician and typically doesn’t leave the job site at lunch, so I pack him a cooler everyday with 2 sandwiches (PB&J since we’ve been trying to keep costs down), Gatorade, and snacks. Since I’ve been pregnant I have majorly slacked in this area, which has led to lots of lunches bought. Thankfully, he’s been working on a site that is right around lots of places to eat, but you can only imagine what that has done to the budget. I’ve been even worse with trying to find healthy snacks throughout the day from me and my growing belly. Those EasyLunchboxes would be great for me! I think Sunday night is about to become “lunch night!” Thanks, Jeannett!
Heather Irene @ Rambling Rose´s last blog post ..A "Rich" Legacy