school lunch tips

School Lunch Tips

These new school lunch ideas, from sandwiches to snacks to hot meals.
1. Make a big batch of PB and J sandwiches in advance and freeze them
A great idea from Money Saving Mom These will keep just fine for about 4 6 weeks. Just take one out of the freezer in the morning, pack it, and it will be thawed and ready to go by lunch time.
2. Put a rubber band around a sliced apple to keep it from turning brown
Alternatively Don t slice the apple.
3. Rice or Pasta
You can also freeze individual portions of rice or pasta and reheat them before you pack lunch
4. Freeze drinks the night before and theyll double as ice packs
The rest of the lunch will stay nice and cool, and the drink should thaw by lunch time.
5. You can also freeze a clean wet sponge to use as an icepack
When it defrosts, it ll come in very handy for cleanup.
6. Have your kids pack their own lunches
You can stick a note to the fridge to remind your kids what should go in their lunch every day, and maybe lend a hand with trickier parts (like sandwich making). But it s easy to have them do their own assembly before bedtime every night. You ll save time, and they won t be able to complain about what s in their lunchbox, because they put it there.
7. Make a snack station for your kids to choose from
You can keep dry goods on the counter and perishables in the fridge. This tip from Real Simple saves time, helps eliminates the same thing every day problem, and gives your kids some (but not TOO many) options to choose from.
8. Fill up reusable food pouches with homemade smoothies
Try some of these easy smoothie recipes or just mix up whatever fruit, yogurt and juice you have around. Fill up a bunch at once and fridge or freeze until you re ready to use.
9. Hard boil a bunch of eggs at the beginning of the week
They re an easy, prep free way to add protein to your kid s lunch, and will keep fine in the fridge. Pack with a little container of salt and pepper for dipping.
10. Make lunches at night not in the morning
It s gotta get done one way or the other, but you re a lot less likely to be frazzled (and thus pack a better, healthier lunch) when you re not rushing to get out the door. You can also kill two birds by packing up leftovers from dinner.