School Lunch Survival Guide

I swear, I have been trying to post a blog since the beginning of September.  I am telling you when I go back to school, it is just nuts.  NUTS, I tell you!  I will try to get better, ya'll.  We are getting into our groove now, so I am hoping I can get back into my blogging groove as well.

So, of course school has been on my mind.  And with it comes....school lunches.  Instant groan.  I hate making school lunches.  (And I love to cook!) Everyone I know hates making school lunches.  So I am going to go out on a limb and assume the rest of the free world hates making school lunches as well.

Sure, if I could live with myself and give my kids Lunchables every day, I guess it would be easy.  But....that ain't happenin'.  If I let my kids buy lunch every day, that would also solve my problem.  I can't do it.  My youngest buys lunch on Fridays, but my oldest wants no part of it!  That's my own fault, I guess. So, what's a girl to do?

I tell ya' what I'm not to do.  I am not to make lunches in the morning.  I am also not to make sandwiches that look like moose or any other cute animals.  I mean, I will put the occasional note in my kids' lunch box but I don't have time for all that foolishness.  Just pretend your sandwich looks like a moose for cryin' out loud.

I recently received a cooking magazine that had an article on the cover "School Lunches for your picky eaters".  YES!  Finally!  All the answers!  More options!  Someone who will show me the way.  Um...yeah.  Here's one example of what they had:  The goat cheese and veggie pinwheel wrap.  Do you honestly think if my kids would eat goat cheese and veggies that I would be looking for school lunch ideas?  Where do they get these people?  I mean, seriously.  Here's another one.  Because I just can't let this go:  "Give turkey a makeover by adding guacamole, microgreens, sundried tomatoes, chopped olives and cherry pepper relish."  What the crap.  I don't even know what a microgreen is. What kind of kid eats like that?  I swear one of mine lived an entire year on chicken nuggets and ketchup (we counted that as a vegetable).  Hey, if your child eats these things, that's just wonderful. Stop reading now because this is not the blog post for you.  Just sayin'.

Here are a few of my favorite ideas/recipes for homemade kids lunches that I have found in the last year.  They helped me out and I hope they will help some of you too.

1.  Cook up some taco meat on Sunday (you got it, ground beef and taco seasoning) and refrigerate. Bag up 5 sandwich bags of tortilla chips.  Heat some taco meat up in the morning (that's my hubs' job, I got my hands full) and put it in a thermos.  Add a bag of tortilla chips to the lunchbox.  They now have walking tacos.  Oh sure, if they like anything else on their tacos, add that too.  But my kids....you know.  I pray for you that they will eat the same thing for more than one day.  In that case, you now have lunch for the week.

2.  I found this recipe and loved it.  It's easy.  I knew the kids would love it and it makes many so you are set for at least a few days, if not all week.  Add a container of ketchup for dipping (it IS a vegetable)

Corn Dog Muffins

I tried heating them up and putting them in a thermos but my daughter actually likes them cold.  Hey, whatever.




3.  Spaghettios make me gag.  I mean, literally.  When I open a can of them, I feel like I am feeding my kids dogfood.  My youngest loves them.  Of course.  Naturally, I had to figure out a way to make them myself.  Don't you dare scroll past this part.  Stay with me.  Here is a recipe that is super simple and makes A LOT of sauce.  So again, you can make this on Sunday and have plenty for all week, you can even feed a couple kids! We use ditalini pasta and again, make that in the morning.  Throw some sauce on it, throw it in the thermos.  Done.  This spaghettio sauce is good enough for you to eat too!  Hey! Make yourself a lunch too while you are at it!

Homemade Spaghettio Sauce

4.  Another one I love and do a lot in the summer when we hit the theme parks are "Not Too Messy Roll-Ups".  We found this in a Princess cookbook.  I don't know why, but I feel embarrassed to tell you that.  Super easy and healthy.  Could be a side with lunch, after school snack, breakfast or lunch. This is one versatile roll-up!  Not Too Messy Roll-Ups   


5.  If there is something you make that your kids love, like chili for example, cash in on this!  Make a big batch on a Sunday and set aside portions for school lunches.  If you have someone who will eat it all before they make it to the lunches, bag individually and freeze them.  Then take out the night before to thaw, heat up in the morning and throw in the thermos.

The thermos is clearly my best friend.

6.  While getting my recipes and thoughts together for this post, I did start thinking about those old Lunchables.  My daughter just likes the pizza one.  I used to send them on field trips.  But now, well, I think the astronauts could take them into space and they would never get stale.  I just kept thinking about it.  Why can't we make our own lunchables?  The answer is...we can.  Oh yes, we can.  I have a couple options for you:

1.  The Kim Holmes Option.  Make your own pizza crust into little small crusts.  Cook.  Make small containers of homemade pizza sauce.  Put some pepperonis in another little container.  Put cheese in another container.  OK.  I know none of ya'll are making your own pizza crust but me.  I'm not hatin'.

2.  The Everyone Else Option.  Buy a roll of Pillsbury pizza dough. Buy a jar of pizza sauce.  Assemble sauce, pepperoni and cheese in individual containers.  Follow instructions here for making dough.

Pizza Lunchable

Make your own lunchables for your kid.  Become Mom of the Year.  You know you want to.

Hope the first month or so of school is treating you and yours ok.
Conquer the lunch box!
K