The best advice comes from someone who has walked in your shoes before. Even as a “veteran” mom, I love hearing how other parents do things and handle certain situations with their kids. Parent to Parent is where we ask other parents how they handle a situation and share the answers with you. It takes a village, so leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments. Today’s topic: School Lunches.
Parents talk about School Lunches
Parents Memories of School Lunches
It’s hard to remember, but before you were a parent, you were a student too. What do you remember about your school lunches?
I don’t have to pack lunches yet (thank God!), but when I was little, my mom would write me notes on my paper bag that I would bring for lunch, or she would write a note on the napkin. Just little things like “good luck on your test today,” but they made me smile. ~Tracy
I cannot be the only person who had PBJ, an apple, and a Ziploc with some sort of chip every day…. for years and years until I finally found my love in ham (unrefrigerated- I lived to talk about it). ~Alli
I’m right with Alli; we had a rotation of several sandwich+chip+fruit combos, but no Ziploc, wax paper! Also, I have fond memories of that one special pizza day a month where you got a rectangle slice of cheese pizza, greasier than anything for $1. Pizza day and the rare McDonald’s day (they brought it into school) were the only times we ever had hot lunch. ~Melissa
How Parents handle School Lunches
I am a bad example, my kids will eat only two things, and they beg for hot lunch daily, which is way easier for this working mom! The Jr. high has all kinds of smoothies, salads, and healthy sides, so it’s a win-win, in my opinion. ~Cheryl
My kids also love LOVE hot lunches. We let them pick one a week and try to schedule for days when I know mornings will be tough… like when we have a late night the night before. ~Melissa
They don’t have school lunches yet, but when they brown bag it for field trips or school picnics, I add a drawing and note on their napkin and color their names on their bags. ~Stephanie
Parents Favorite Lunch Products
I love Easy Lunchboxes! ~Melissa
We LOVE everything from mightynest.com, Particularly the Wildkin insulated lunch box and the Lunchbot round leakproof containers. I also bought her a heavy-duty Thermos. ~Jessica
School Lunch Recipes and Ideas
I bought a bunch of small disposable plastic food storage containers (you know you’re going to lose some), and I fill them up at the beginning of the week. I prep fruit and vegetables, peel hard-boiled eggs and cube cheese, then store them on a designated shelf in the refrigerator. I also have a small basket in my pantry for applesauce containers, granola bars, and other snacks that I will prep for the week. When I make the sandwich the night before, I throw everything in her lunch box and put it in the fridge for the morning–it only takes about 5 minutes. ~Holly
My kids are so predictable with what they like for lunch- PBJ, I wonder where they get it? I understand many kids have food allergies, so I also want to give my daughter other options so she can sit with her friends that I’m assuming will have food allergies. Thoughts so far: whole wheat pasta and sauce in a Thermos, pinwheels with lunch meat and cheese, chopped salad with meat and whole wheat noodles ~Alli
I fill a heavy-duty Thermos with boiling water, heat leftovers, soup, chicken nuggets, etc., pour the water out, put the hot food in, seal it up, and have hot lunch every day. I also make a Bento-style lunch with silicone muffin cups in Tupperware, and I put a little of this and that in them. – Jessica
More ideas:
- Mastering the healthy school lunch from Heather
- Lazy Bento Ideas from Loralie
How do you, or did you, do school lunch? Tell us in the comments!
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