This week we continue the theme of planning and packing lunches for school (or work), following last week’s insightful interview with NEST Chef Teri Esensten. We’re constantly doing research on how families approach school lunch, and we love hearing everyone’s experiences. Common challenges range from complaints about kids who are picky eaters, to the difficulty of getting all food groups covered for a nutritious lunch, to concerns about food safety and allergies. One interesting conclusion stands out: the lunch preparer is usually more concerned about offering variety than the kids expect or even want. Often, if you find a few things that work and will cover their nutritional needs, then they won’t mind having it several times a week. One thing we can say with confidence is that you need to listen to your kids and that trial and error will often play a role in shaping your lunch items rotation. It helps to involve your children in the planning, and it offers a great way to engage with them about nutrition.
Feeding Brains and Stomachs
If you send your kids to school with packed lunches, then you are probably getting mentally ready for the challenge of making sure they get healthy, fulfilling options every day. Although most of us have spent the summer making lunches for our kids anyway, the prospect of making sure they eat healthy meals during the school week can be daunting because it takes more planning; we can’t just throw something together.
We tackle school lunches the same way we do the rest of our meal planning: we use the Table365 system (and we’ve included a Table365 Lunch Ideas List)! We all take shortcuts sometimes — this includes letting kids have the option to buy lunch at school some days if that is available — but the absolute healthiest option is to send them to school with lunches that help feed their brains as well as their stomachs.
Feeding Your Family System for SCHOOL LUNCH:
1. Make a plan / schedule
Plan out your school lunches the same way you do your other meals. Even if your child is going to purchase school meals on some days, keep track of those as well so you balance them out on other days homemade options. Create your own template, or use one of our favorites as you plan.
2. Stock your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer
Having all the necessities on hand will make school lunch preparation less stressful. Make sure your grocery lists always have the staples you need. We’ve created a list that you can print and post inside your “lunch-prep” cupboard – personalize with your family favorites, too. Use the Table365 Lunch Ideas List for inspiration and to create your shopping list.
3. Have a lunch-prep area in the kitchen
Save time by creating one lunch-prep station in your kitchen. It could be a cupboard, a few shelves, or a large drawer. Stow all the lunch boxes, thermoses, packing containers, re-usable bags, notes, bento box goodies (if you do that), and anything else you use to create the daily packed lunch. You won’t have to hunt around different drawers and cabinets if everything you need is one area. Check our Pinterest site for some creative ideas for lunch-prep areas.
4. Pack Efficiently
Save time by having multiple containers. Some foods can be prepped ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or cupboard. (Cut up a whole melon for multiple day lunches, snacks, and fruit salads; store in multiple small containers; take out and pack during the week. The same thing can be done with most carbs/grains.) Use multiple thermoses to pack soup or hot leftovers the night before. Freeze a blender of smoothies in small thermoses, and take out to pack in a lunch; and they will be thawed and ready to drink by lunchtime. Make an entire package of tortillas into bean burritos (or quesadillas), freeze each one individually in re-usable sandwich bags, and pack as needed.
Healthy Homemade Lunch = Protein + Carb/Grain + Vegetable + Fruit
The best way to make sure kids get a filling lunch is to make it as well-rounded as you can. Planning something from each of these groups will help you do that. Here is a sample weekly schedule/plan using this “formula” for putting a week’s worth of lunches together. It can also be an example of having one set weekly schedule that you essentially repeat each week with any seasonal substitutions your kids enjoy. See our Table365 list for ideas to make different combinations, or to set up your weekly rotation.
Sample Weekly Schedule / Plan:
- Mon: Soup + cheese cubes + crackers + fruit
- Tues: Bean burrito + roasted vegetables + fruit
- Wed: Tuna, ham, or turkey sandwich or wrap + fruit + vegetable
- Thurs: Pita + hummus + vegetables (cucumber & cherry tomatoes) + fruit
- Fri: Pizza + fruit + vegetable
Super speedy: For the days that go off-track, stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Starbucks offer fresh, pre-packed options of vegetables, fruit, cheese, and crackers that can make a quick stand-in packed lunch.
More school lunch resources:
- 20 lunch recipes from theKitchn.
- For a more in-depth look at school lunch preparation from a cookbook author, check out this article on Epicurious.
- An incredible wealth of menus, recipes, tips, and inspirational photos from Laptop Lunches.
- Pottery Barn Kids breaks the whole process into three simple steps.
Happy Back to School!
