Packed Lunches….Aaargh!!!
With the kids heading back to school next week…Yay! I look forward to NOT hearing, “Moooom, I’m bored!” What I DON’T look forward to, is packing lunches. Healthy, Creative, NUT-Free lunches!
In a quest to make my life a little easier, I did some research on the subject of packed lunches and talked it over with my “Mommy Friends” and my co-workers….this is what I came up with….
Make their food smaller: kids love anything bite-sized. Instead of a sandwich try a roll-up!
Hard Boiled Eggs: you can make the eggs in advance!
Soups: It’s Healthy and again, you can make it in advance. Throw it in a thermos to keep it warm. (My daughter’s school has microwaves to heat food up, so you can send the soup cold if that’s an option at your school)!
Give ‘em leftovers from the night before: need I say more?
Cream Cheese and Jelly: most schools are peanut-free zones now….replace the peanut butter with cream cheese!
Think “outside” the Bread!: Chicken Fingers, Burritos, Kabobs and Quesadillas!
And, from my co-workers:
**My mom made the BEST nut-free lunches that were simple and easy!
Here's one of her favorite recipes:
Ingredients:
One 20 dollar bill
Directions:
Exchange 20 dollar bill for plate of chicken fingers and fries to the nice cafeteria workers.
Use leftover change in the vending machine to purchase a bottle of nut-free orange juice.
Sit and enjoy!
Ian MacKinnon
Morning Show Producer
The Freeway and Meg Morning Show
**Left over cold pizza
Shalini/Energy Promotions
**Applesauce was (and still is) a hot commodity in my lunch bag J
Monica/Energy Sales
**My mom used to pack me tinned spam sandwiches with no toppings except margarine. I used to trade with a kid whose mom used to pack prime rib sandwiches...I'm still in therapy.
Gavin Mortimer General Sales Manager
**slice of bread, cheese wiz, slice of bread.
no kid wants that.. therefore, no trading!
Zack/Energy Announcer
**I remember i used to always get wagon wheels with my lunch, which was awesome. i'd never trade with the other kids cause they never had anything better than wagon wheels.
Besides that, just the basics really, a good ham sandwich and maybe some leftovers from last nights dinner are what i usually had in my lunches.
Rob Kealy Production & Imaging Director
**No sales input...everyone in our dept is nuts! Conan/Energy Sales
**Guacamole or hummus with pita (be sneaky and blend veggies in with the hummus)
bake homemade chicken fingers and real potatoes fries with salsa instead of ketchup (unless homemade ketchup)
Jenn Hruby Business Administrator
Happy, Healthy Lunch Packing! Now we can look forward to mastering “Litterless Lunches”…….that’s a whole other blog! Enjoy your long weekend.
Erin
It's time for another GIVEAWAY!
6 years ago
3 comments:
Ok...so I have 3 sons which are now almost 20, 18 and 16 and a half. When they were in elementary, I always packed their lunches. Once they reached junior high they were on their own. Our youngest son is the only one left in school so I make sure he has apple juice, apple sauce...and what else...apples. He doesn't really like sandwiches, but there's a variety of fresh vegetables as well. Then of course a granola bar, or some fruit snacks.
Now, my husband still gets a lunch sent with him every day. He works so hard to provide for us that I have no problem making him a lunch everyday which usually consists of leftovers from the night before with some fresh vegetables and rye crackers.
But, enjoy making those lunches because before you know it...you'll be wishing you had more lunches to make.
Starr Switzer (Vancouver, BC) wrote
at 3:33pm
Erin,
Conor has a peanut allergy and so I've found some alternatives. Safeway (and other grocery stores) carry a product called No Nuts which is made from golden peas. It is a good, protein filled alternative to traditional peanut and other nut butters.
Conor also enjoys cottage cheese in his lunch (we buy non-salted and regular and mix it half and half to keep the sodium levels down).
Cheers,
Starr
When I grew up I was lucky that our house was close to school, and the neighbourhood in Regina was basically an extended family. If there were days, or weeks, when one of the mothers was home for the day, and able...all the families paid that mom to feed all the kids at lunch (like $5 per head) and we grew up all together.
Later, as we all went to different high-schools and had to travel to get there...it came back to carrot-sticks, celery, snow-peas, broccoli, cauliflower, bologna sandwiches, and a drink-box or pop. Not as social as elementary school, but not too bad either...nobody wanted to trade for (or steal) that type of lunch.
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