So, as the summer winds down, I know that my nieces in other states are preparing to start school in the next week or so. Here in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, we don’t start until after Labor Day, but I thought I would share some products that I have found to help make packing school lunch easier.
5 Tips to Make Packing School Lunch Easier
Pick the Right Lunch Box
Make packing school lunch easier by choosing the best lunch box.
First, we love our Pottery Barn Lunch Boxes (affiliate link). Sunshine will be starting fourth grade in just a few weeks and she has had three lunch boxes since the time she was three. We replaced the first one because of our dog. Although we probably used it for over year after it acquired the teeth marks. I think I got her a new one for kindergarten. The second one I replaced only because she asked for a new one after three years. It did not actually need to be replaced. The boy originally had a lunch bag from a different company and I hated it. It was super hard to clean which is a problem when you are packing lunch for a little boy. Pottery Barn Lunch Boxes are easy to pack and easy to clean. They have loops on the back so that they can be strapped to the outside of a backpack too. It is worth it to invest a little more in lunch boxes. A high quality lunch box can last your for several years.
We also have had great luck with Pottery Barn Backpacks. Sunshine used her first one for 5 years and only upgraded because she needed the next size up.
Pick the Right Containers
Make packing school lunch easier by picking the right lunch containers for your needs.
I hate the idea of using throw away plastic bags for lunches. It just doesn’t seem penny wise let along good for the landfills. And, really, who like a squished sandwich. My favorite containers are from Sistema. They come in a variety of sizes, with snap-on or screw-on lids and in clear or in colors. There are square sandwich sized ones, round yogurt ones and a variety of smaller snack sizes. We love the ones that have compartments like the two section one for homemade lunchables (see below), the dip one and the duo-sandwich box which is perfect for a sandwich, fruit and a snack. The dressing cups can fit inside a small snack box for veggies and dip. These containers stack well for storage and inside the lunch boxes. I also use silicone cupcake cups in regular size and mini size to keep items separate.
For the adults, (and it’s school lunch for us too!) I often use mason jar with silicone sleeves. I love taking foods that will be reheated in the microwave in a mason jar. It just feels better about using glass for reheating. I make a lot of homemade soups for school lunches and these silicone sleeves by Jar Jackets and leak proof lids have rocked my world. The wide mouth pint jar size is perfect for soup. Not only does the sleeve help protect the jar, but it makes the hot jar easy to handle as it comes out of the microwave. They also come in an eight-ounce size which is perfect for cut veggies or fruit. I use the jar sleeves along with lids that have a silicone liner so they will not leak. (My favorite lunch time soups: Hearty Tomato–regular or Whole30/gluten free and Drumstick Chicken Soup)
Pick the Right Time
Make packing school lunch easier by doing it at the right time for you and your schedule.
I am not one of those moms who packs a weeks worth of lunches on Sundays. Sometime, I will do two days of lunches at once, but rarely more than that. I find that the easiest time for me to pack lunches is while I am making dinner. We eat a lot of salad in our house, so it is easy to cut a few extra carrots or cucumbers at the same time. And the perfect time to make a peanut butter sandwich or put chicken nuggets in a container is when the meat is cooking or the Cheesy Ham Shepherd’s Pie or the Eggplant Bake is in the oven. I can even get this done in the short amount of time it takes to make Baked Orange Garlic Salmon or Salmon Sliders.
Pick the Right Food
Make packing school lunch easier by picking the right healthy foods.
When my kids were younger, one of the teachers at our daycare complemented me on the lunches I made for Sunshine. My husband said (as he often does), “It’s not a contest.” But with lunch making, I actually think that it is. I want my kids to have healthy lunches that they will eat. My kids would eat Lunchables everyday if I would let them. And for convenience, I do sometimes buy them. I justify it because the are packed in a plant that is less than 10 miles from our house, so I am supporting the local economy by doing it. However, more often, I make homemade lunchables.
No matter what goes in to lunches as the “main course,” I always include a fruit, vegetable and a little snack. We go with the current kid favorites: apple slices (for my boy with no front teeth), grapes, watermelon and cut veggies.
My kids would also eat peanut butter sandwiches everyday, but I try to create variety, so here are a few favorites at our house.
Homemade lunchables: I cut deli meat and include crackers or mini pitas or mini bagels.
Chicken Nuggets with ranch: I use frozen pre-cooked chicken nuggets or chicken strips or my homemade Whole30 Chicken Nuggets. (The frozen ones are thawed by lunch time.)
Peanut Butter Crackers: Use graham crackers or butter crackers for variety.
Apple Slices and Peanut Butter or Almond Butter. Get an apple slicer (love Oxo brand) to make these super speedy to whip up. I put the nut butter in a silicone muffin cup because it is easier clean up.
Pick the Right Label
Make packing school lunch easier by using the right label.
I used to label all of our lunch gear with a sharpie; however, sharpie washes off in the dishwasher after a few washes. Now, we are loving Mabel’s Labels (affiliate link) here in our house. They stick to all of our Sistema lunch containers and all of our water bottles. And, they are dishwasher safe. We have been using the labels for several years and despite weekly (or more) dishwasher runs, they are still firmly attached. The same holds true on the clothing labels. They have gone through both the washer and the dryer and they are stuck in place.
So here we are, ready to go back to school, and school lunches are right at the front of a working mom’s mind. I hope that you found a few of these tips to be helpful! Let me know if you have tips to make packing school lunches easier too.
PS. This post may contain affiliate links. When you click the link and make a purchase through the link, we make a little money, this helps to keep The Semiconservative Granola Girl going. Thank you for your support.
