When my son started full-day school, I found lunch preparation to be quite daunting. I recall making lists of his preferred foods, experimenting with portable recipes, and assessing if he could manage to open his containers independently.
As I established a routine, I discovered the value of having structured systems for preparing lunches and meal prepping.
- Organize lunches into categories like main, veggie, fruit, and snacks. Keep a few staple options for each category. For instance, alternate between sandwiches and bagels with cream cheese for the main course. Keeping school lunches simple and consistent helps reduce unnecessary stress. Ensure your shopping list includes these lunch essentials.
- Create designated lunch stations in the fridge and pantry. Allocate specific areas for school lunch items in your pantry and fridge. Use a basket in the pantry for snacks and a container in the fridge filled with easy-to-grab fruits, veggies, cheese sticks, and yogurt. This setup streamlines the packing process, eliminates multiple trips to the pantry or fridge, and allows you to monitor your staple supplies easily.
- Prepare and freeze items in advance whenever possible. Prepping in advance is key. Pre-spread cream cheese on a batch of mini bagels stored in a freezer bag. Similarly, make and freeze homemade sandwiches. You can also chop carrots ahead of time and store them in water, half a bag of grapes for easy packing, and prep strawberries by washing and removing the tops ahead of the week. Completing lunch prep tasks before they are needed can significantly improve efficiency.
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What tips do you have? Share in the comments!!! Happy Lunch Packing!