Krisitin left a comment last week asking me to post what I make for school lunches. Three days a week I work and so I pack 7 lunches, and 2 days a week I pack 4 lunches. At some point I am going to start having the kids make their own lunches but for right now I can do it faster and cleaner so I don’t mind.
I am sure that many of you have a better system and better ideas for what to make, I would love to hear them! I am out of ideas!
I always make sandwiches, we rotate between peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and honey and ham or turkey. This is how I do the ham or turkey, I use dinner rolls in the 6 pack style.
I slice them once through the middle and flip the top off, then I add the mayo and mustard.
Next, comes the ham and cheese.
Then I flip it over and cut 6 sandwiches.
I have not found any good deals lately on pudding or jello so I have been making my own for almost nothing. I have a bunch of the small ziplock containers, I make either jello or pudding the night before and toss them in their lunches the next day.
The trick is getting them to remember to bring back the container, or not leaving it in their backpacks!
This day we had grapes, juice, turkey and cheese sandwiches and rice krispie treats or a 100 calorie bar.
Today they had Capri Suns, clementines, ham and cheese and pudding.
Tuesday the had Juicy Juice, apples, granola bars, peanut butter and honey and a couple kids grabbed rice krispy treats.
I try and stay under $4-5 dollars a day for all lunches, about $20 – $25 a week on lunches. I buy bread and rolls on sale and freeze them. In August and then again this week at Randalls I bought 13 packages of string cheese for under $.75 a bag, then I freeze and pull out every few days. I also freeze lunch meat and load up when I get it on sale.
The snacks are always very cheap at Kroger mega events. We go through an enormous amount of fruit, I always try and price match it at Wal-Mart. The kids eat fruit for breakfast, lunch, snack and after dinner… I actually have to hide any kind of berries and the little clementines. They can eat 5 lbs of clementines in one sitting.
I would love to hear what you make for lunches!
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I would love to hear more ideas of items that you buy in bulk and freeze. I grew up in a large family, so buying bread and freezing it seems natural, but I haven't thought of freezing cheese or lunchmeat.
Jenn,It is a "peelie" on the bag. Yes a sticker.
this was great to read! i am not a mom..yet..but i love that sandwhich idea. also my aunt has been freezing lunchmeat forever. and recently my dad had gotten way too much ham and cheese. so he portioned enough out for 3 sandwhiches and froze it so i could take it the following weekend to my fiance's to make grilled ham and cheese and tomato soup. i took it out of the freezer and it didnt take long to defrost..made lunch and it was a hit.. i was amazed at how great the lunchmeat came out after freezing it.plus i love lunch and so do kids..its great that theres a little "snacky" i like to call it and a piece of fruit:)cristin-cristiniscouponcrazy.blogspot.com
Will you fix me lunch?BYT I feel like I know you too! Thanks for the nice comment on my blog
Thanks for the tips! I'm always trying to change up lunches and keep them healthy!I'm having trouble w/the Randall's cheese deal? Is it a sticker coupon on the bag?
What is the cheese deal price at your store. Mine are priced $3.99. $2 for 10 cheese sticks after coupon. Not really a great price.My son is 12 years old and takes his lunch everyday. I put $20 in his lunch account last year and he still hasn't used it once. He is 5'7'' tall, weighs 120lbs and plays football. Needless to say, he eats a whole sandwich, we alternate between PB & honey and turkey & cheese. He also takes 2 small Gatorades, a juicy, chips, grapes, and a snack bar. The juicy and snack bar he has after school before football practice if hungry. Sometimes the snack bar comes home and I just leave it in his lunch box.
Geez, your kids are eating better then I do for lunches. That's probably because I sleep in, make my own lunch, and have to book it to work. I like the idea of making Jello the night before, genius. And those sandwiches look great.
Thanks for the tips! I have 4 kids and I pack their lunch 4 days a week. Can't wait to see all your other ideas. Thanks for the great tips!
So I have 3 boys and make their lunch almost everyday. They hate eating the same thing everyday so I have found some great lunch ideas.
1. frozen waffles (toasted)
ham/cheese/sliced apples (very thin), swirl of syrup then wrap it in foil so it stays warm.
2. frozen waffles (toasted)
PB&J
3. PB and marshmellow creme sandwiches
3. Homemade lunchables
just cut and slice everything yourself.
4. can of soup (spaghettios are their fave)
5. homemade pizza bagels.
6. For fruit and veggies I mix even amounts of strawberry creme cheese and marshmellow creme and it makes a thick fruity dip.
7. snack items: peanut butter saltine crackers, beef jerkey or pepperoni, string cheese, yogurt
Those are just a few. We meal plan and lunch plan every Sunday.
Sorry for all the mispellings. I typed too fast and didn’t spell check.
I also make sandwiches using all kinds of different breads, tortillas, bagels. My kids also love love to take cereal and fruit for their lunch. I just have them buy the milk at school. Like I said before they get tired of the traditional lunch items. I work overnight so it makes it nice to pack their lunch the night before too.
Great ideas. My family recently moved to another part of town and we lose some time in the morning due to having further to drive, so sometimes lunch for my 7 year old first grader gets monotonous. It’s easy to do PB and J, with an applesauce cup, yogurt drink and bag of snack mix. I’m going to stock up on some tortillas and mini bagels and try the roll ups. Same amount of time or faster than making a PBJ I’m sure. Just needed a suggestion to get me out of the rut. There are 4 hours that my son’s lunch sits without refrigeration until lunch comes around and I do sometimes worry about spoilage, or things getting soggy or warm. I don’t send him anything with mayo in it, or Jello because it seems it would get runny. Thankfully he’s happy with whatever he gets and never complains, but I’d like to switch it up a bit. Your site is much appreciated. Thanks!