This spot for a lunch-making station has most supplies I need to save me some shuffling/flying around- spoons to be tossed in, napkins, clips for chip bags, baggies, small containers, toothpicks with the little colored plastic on top so they hold a sandwich together. (Photo by Leslie Milby)
Back-to-school means goodbye to summer snacking, and hello again to lunch packing.
Lunch packing may just another checkmark to complete in your quest to get out the door in the morning, but when you start to get multiple kids getting multiple lunches — plus yourself — it can change from a task that’s not too bad, to a bit inconvenient to an all-out ordeal.
Whether you decide to create a sandwich that looks like a butterfly perched on a celery stick made out to be a tree with raisin ants crawling on it or just want something healthy and filling so no one is “hangry” when they get home, here are of a few of my lunch-packing revelations and tips.
Lunch Logistics
When more of my kids decided to join me as lunch packers, the first big change I made was creating a lunch-making station. I’m not a big stuff-on-the-counter person, but it’s worth the tradeoff to me.
This spot has most supplies I need to save me some shuffling/flying around- spoons to be tossed in, napkins, clips for chip bags, baggies, small containers, toothpicks with the little colored plastic on top so they hold a sandwich together but don’t get eaten with the sandwich and whatever else I’d be reaching for every morning.
Have you heard that saying about marriage: Having a spouse is having someone consistently standing in front of the kitchen drawer you want to open? Having all the lunch goodies in one spot helps alleviate morning kitchen madness, especially when other family members are getting a quick bite for breakfast.
This helps keeps the peace! Also make sure to check and refresh your stash of ice packs and packing containers.
Another hack for me is putting leftover snacks near my packing station — last ends of a goldfish bag, a bag of chips someone forgot, the last two cookies in a pack.
These odds and ends can fill up spots in a Bento box or you can make them into a little trail mix.
When kids come home, we are usually in the kitchen grazing on snacks and so I take that time to empty folders and backpacks and, always-always, to clean out lunchboxes.
Washing Bento boxes and re-freezing ice packs in the afternoon at a set time ensures that they are ready to go in the drying rack for the next morning or whenever you choose to re-pack.
Afternoon snack time can be another hack to be prepared for. Take note of what time your child last ate, especially on half days or fog delays.
Younger grades can sometimes eat quite early and therefore be hungry, while your older kids may have eaten not that long ago and just need something small.
For my youngest children, I’ve definitely embraced the Bento box concept.
The blueprint they make of throwing in a main component, fruit/veggie, something crunchy, something sweet helps my overthinking mind to know I have packed enough.
At their age, I feel if I did several smaller containers, some wouldn’t get opened or make it back home. With everything in one spot, I noticed that my kids eat a little more of everything.
If you decide to invest in some for the school year, think first about your kids’ preferences and what you might pack.
My daughter Laney often has fruit she likes chilled, cheese, yogurt etc, so her box has a freezer pack built into the bottom, while youngest Lucy doesn’t like her items too cold, so I use separate ice packs as needed. Bento boxes definitely work for big kids (and adults) especially the bigger ones. I like a giant salad or exotic and exciting things, like leftovers in my lunch, so I’ve found regular containers function better.
What to pack
When it comes to menu, I’ve found communication is key, especially at the beginning of the year. New lunch schedules, habits, and yep, these kids sure got bigger over summer.
“It was fine, but don’t buy it and pack it again” is definitely valuable feedback to pass along to our household shopper, also me.
If something keeps coming back mangled and mostly uneaten, I ask about it.
I’ve often found my kids in the pantry like baby raccoons, expertly unwrapping the trickiest food with ease but when a certain snack kept coming back,
Lucy confessed she struggled to open it so I started doing a little rip on it for a certain batches of thick peeled oranges, I peel ahead. Laney started out with a full sandwich but when our dog LXZander was routinely getting a half to himself when I unpacked, I started packing half and saving the other half for the next day. In my lunch recap questioning, I also ask if there is anything their friends have packed that maybe they’d like as well.
If it’s not a heavy sports night or someone wakes early enough to help, I also let them take control and work on packing their own lunch.
So what do I pack? I’d call it utilitarian with a bit of fun, but certainly nothing cute.
For the most part, my girls are solid sandwich eaters which is a delight. Landon is not, but I do find that if I pack Kings Hawaiian rolls and lunch meat and cheese slices, he would either build a sandwich or eat it all separately.
If a fancier bread or fun shape will get a few more bites in their stomach, then by all means do it. If I have my sandwich in a wrap with my favorite cheese, I’m more likely to eat it, too.
Everyone gets a fruit of the week that I rotate pretty frequently, pending what they might be craving and what is on sale and seasonal.
While my kids do not have a Red 40 dye sensitivity, over the summer, I decided to start phasing it out and we tried quite a few brands of dye-free candy and gummies.
All struck out with my kids as the texture is quite different from regular fruit snacks and candies, so while my kids admittedly don’t have perfect diets, we’ve swapped out the oh-so-easy and inexpensive fruit snacks and splurge money and time on real fruit.
Veggies can be a harder sell and for packed lunch texture purposes, I typically go basic with raw broccoli, carrots, snap peas, cucumbers and the like. If they come home uneaten a few days, I take a break and load more veggies into dinner instead.
For fruits and veggies, Lucy, my little hippie, loves smoothies.
We’ve started making them in the morning and pouring them into a leakproof insulated cup for lunch with some extra large ice cubes thrown in after blending.
Just make sure your child has access to some muscles to assist opening! I also have thick disposable straws on hand so a dirty one isn’t rolling around for the voyage home.
I pack a crunch because I don’t feel a lunch is complete without one. Nothing exciting here — Goldfish, pretzels, popcorn, cereal and other snacky things, and if it’s fitting, I’ll sprinkle in some tiny chocolate chips.
I found that my girls do well crunching on chips when they are protected in their boxes, while a baggie of chips never seems to get eaten (except by the chickens during clean out).
With that into account, I do buy individual bags of chips when they are on pretty good sales and they seem more enticing to the kids.
If you have a creature of habit like my oldest, Landon, it may be worth it to shop at a box store or Amazon for one type of chip rather than a variety pack. For him, it’s the Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips!
Otherwise, my husband ends up with all the rejected varieties in his lunch (Funions for days).
There are few things all my kids love, but greek vanilla yogurt seems to be high on the list for everyone and I quite frequently buy a big container.
It makes a great side or star of the show. Lucy loves hers with berries and pecans, Laney with mini chocolate chips, and Landon with granola on top.
Target’s Good & Gather brand has a great rotating variety of granolas and is our top pick for yogurt and other lunchbox items as well.
For easy shopping, I know to look for this brand as it is fairly priced and has a standard of cutting out artificial flavors and sweeteners, synthetic colors and high-fructose corn syrup.
Find your favorite store’s “clean” brand for easy shopping too. Safeway has O-Organics while Giant has Nature’s Promise.
Breakfast for lunch is also in our rotation after a bit of trial and error.
Pancakes or muffins are foolproof, as is an English muffin with butter and jam.
For waffles, we’ve found some of the pre-made frozen kinds, like Kodiak Protein Waffles, seem to stay crisp better than homemade waffles seem to get a bit soggy.
I toast, I butter and slice and throw in some syrup and add a side of bacon or sausage, and a hard-boiled egg.
We also like a good dip. Admittedly, they are one more thing to pack and wash, but I’m team-whatever-makes-them-eat.
Hummus, guacamole, Tzatziki and of course, ranch dressing can be great additions. Try tying the dip to multiple items in the lunchbox.
For example, ranch could go with boneless barbeque bites, carrots and celery.
Hummus would be great to spread on a pita and then a dip for pepper slices.
We stumbled upon chocolate peanut butter — yes, different from chocolate hazelnut spread —and found it to be good on a roll, pretzels, apples, and of course, marshmallows.
Some of these dips can be high in sugar, so just factor that in if you are making it a point to go healthy.
Sauce can also be helpful. Landon delights in Chik-Fil-A barbeque sauce, so I always request sauce when we dine out there and save it to throw in his lunchbox if the situation fits.
Keep hot food hot
I’m sure many lunch packing folks out there will agree when I say Thermos Funtainers and other hot lunch containers drive me a bit batty.
It is absolutely worth it to dump in boiling hot water to heat up the container but it’s also so obnoxious!
The best solutions I’ve found are using an electric kettle.
You can skip the water in the thermos and “over-heat” food instead, but be cautious on food that gets rubbery or yucky.
For all the pain and suffering, a thermos like container will open some pretty great lunch options:
• Italian! Spaghetti, ravioli, meatballs and the like all work especially with a pinch of extra sauce to keep them moist. Throw in garlic or naan bread and a little salad if your kid is so inclined and it’s a feast!
• Tacos! Whether ground beef or shredded chicken, pack shredded cheese and your favorite toppings. Add flour tortillas or an individual bag of chips to make a walking taco.
• For foods that get soggy, like chicken nuggets, line the bottom with a paper towel to absorb some moisture. Or better yet, you can also get brave and see if your kid is ready for grilled chicken chunks instead, which pack much better. I love to have my husband smoke a big batch of chicken breast which I then cube up for us all to eat that week and freeze the rest to use in the next month or so. Cubes also work cold thrown with a wrap.
• Chili is another great food for everyone’s lunch box. Maybe they get theirs with corn chips, and maybe yours is with rice.
• Baked beans and hot dogs can be warm and filling. Make a batch of Pigs in a blanket which can also be sent hot or cold.
• Tomato soup and grilled cheese strips.
Parting Thoughts
In the younger grades, you may have a snacktime to pack for.
Especially when my little one’s were buying lunch, it was always tricky to remember a snack so I started packing a container that would tuck into the front pocket of a backpack with a few snacks that they could pick through and choose. Nuts, granola bars, and other shelf stable, non-smushable items worked well.
Is anything dying in your pantry?
My mom friends and I often will say, “here’s some Gatorade with an offensive flavor to my kid that I know yours like!” You can also bring individually sealed items to your local blessing box. Re-home what doesn’t work and start with a fresh pantry.
Don’t let Pintrest and its “150 lunches to pack for your kid” article draw you in too deep.
Pick your tried and true favorites, experiment with some new things, and take it easy on yourself.
Pick out a few health priorities, but don’t overhaul so much your kid won’t eat any of it.
Chat with friends who can likely relate and offer their hacks. I hate to say how many times my bestie and I have discussed lunch packing over Orange Crushes!
Lastly, a confession: On Lucy’s first day of school ever, I left her perfectly packed lunch on the counter, so my last hack is to bring it with you!
