Packing School Lunches

Wanna know one of the worst things about back to school; making lunches.

And trying to prepare lunches that would get eaten was causing me to lose my mind and lose my cool.

So I quit and I’ve handed the responsibility on to the kids.

Yes, I still need to ensure all the necessary lunch supplies are in the house, that the kids actually prepare a lunch before we’re ready to leave and then at the end of the day ensuring the lunch was actually consumed.  But that beats packing lunches that aren’t appreciated and are hardly touched.

Ensuring the pantry and the fridge are well stocked is no small task when it comes to feeding 5 chicklets with different ideas of what they want to eat for lunch. One likes a hot lunch others a cold, one might have access to a microwave and another might not. Some eat a lot for breakfast and only a little for lunch while others eat like a bird at breakfast but really know how to pack it in at lunch. Some like seedy wheat bread and others prefer whole wheat with crusts cut off. Red apples, green apples, long carrots, baby carrots.  You get the idea.

With a full fridge and a well stocked pantry, each child can prepare and is expected to eat their own lunch provided it meets my approval and is somewhat healthy and well rounded, containing carbs, protein and the goodness of fruits and veggies.

Typically, this week their lunches looked something like this:

Joe: jam sandwich, cheese string, apple, fishy crackers, yoghurt

Lucy:  toasted bagel with cream cheese, yoghurt, fishy crackers, carrots

Violet: cheese, sausage & crackers, carrots, granola bar, banana

Liam: chicken ceaser salad, packaged dry seaweed,a baked treat, celery

Annabelle: chips and salsa, granola bar, fruit smoothie, apple, apple sauce

But school has only just begun so I’m sure we will switch things up and come up with new lunch ideas as the year progresses.  I’d love to hear your tips and tricks on school lunches and lunch ideas that actually get eaten:)