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 situation and share the answers with you. It takes a village, so leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments.
Today we’re talking School Lunches!
Memories of your own:
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 the same several sandwich+chip+fruit combos, but no ziploc, wax paper! Also I have found memories of that one special pizza day a month where you got a rectangle slice of cheese pizza, greasier than anything for a $1. Pizza day and the rare McDonald’s day (they brought it in to school) were the only times we ever had hot lunch. ~Melissa
How you do:
I am a bad example, my kids will eat only 2 things and they beg for hot lunch on a daily basis, 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 to also love, LOVE hot lunch 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
Favorite Products:
I love Easy Lunchboxes! ~Melissa
We LOVE everything from mightynest.com Particularly the Wildkin insulated lunch box and the Lunchbot round leak proof containers. I also bought her a heavy duty Thermos. ~Jessica
Recipes, Ideas, etc. :
I bought a bunch of small disposable plastic food storage containers (you know you’re gonna 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 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 frig for morning–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, then heat up leftovers, soup, chicken nuggets, etc, pour the water out, put the hot food in, seal it up and she has hot lunch every day. I also do a Bento style lunch with silicone muffin cups in a 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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