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Simple Tips Make Packing Lunches Easier
FEBRUARY 2019

School has been back for a couple of weeks, and the novelty of getting ready each morning has well and truly worn off. We're all back to our regular routines, and time in the morning is precious and often flies by.
From when I was packing a pre-school lunch, the habit was to pack and prep as much as I could ahead of time. My Mum used to tell me I was ready for tomorrow yesterday, and when it came to lunchboxes, I pretty much was. Doing as much as possible ahead of time took the stree out of our mornings.
There is nothing worse than running late in the morning and then desperately trying to figure out something you can put in your children’s lunch boxes. If you find yourself flustered, or end up buying school lunch because packing it seems like too much of a hassle, take a look at the tips below. They will help you get organised so making lunches becomes quick and easy.
Start with a List and Go Shopping
Start by sitting down with your children and come up with a list of lunches they like. This could include sandwiches and wraps, or even homemade lunchables, but it doesn’t have to stop there. If you add a thermos to the mix, you can suddenly pack reheated leftovers, homemade soup and the likes in winter. The key is to find lunch foods and snacks that your kids will eat that are also easy to pack.
Make sure you have appropriate containers. Don't buy expensive containers, but do teach your children to bring them home. They need to learn to be responsible for their belongings, and starting with their luchbox is an easy and relatively inexpensive teaching tool. If they don't bring a container home then they can't have whatever went in it again until you buy a new one for the start of the new school term. That's not being mean or harsh, it's being practical. A four-year-old is more than capable of putting empty containers back in his lunchbox and then putting the lunchbox in his backpack. We need to stop the molly-coddling and excuses - these things cost money, money you have worked hard to earn, and children need to learn that their is a value on their belongings.
Check the pantry to see what you need, and then head to the supermarket or greengrocer to pick up everything you need for the week. Don’t forget about snacks and drinks as needed. These don't have to be bought, homemade is cheaper, tastier and often healthier (check with the school policy on sweets - some schools nowadays act like lunchbox Nazis and have very stricty food policies - just saying!). The list should make this much easier. Once you have several different lunch ideas your kids like and will actually eat, you can simply rotate through them and make the ingredients part of your weekly shopping trips.
Print the list and stick it on the fridge. Have a column for the sandwich/roll/wrap, one for fruit, one for a treat and one for a drink. Let the kids choose one item from each column as they pack their lunch.
I have to say this: don't overpack the lunchbox. I see pictures on the web of all these pretty lunchboxes full of cutesy food and shake my head. Most of that food will either end up in the bin or come home. Kids have a limited time to eat their lunch, and they won't miss out on playtime to eat. And they don't need a five course gourmet lunch - they're kids! Their appetites and kilojoule needs aren't the same as yours. If your child eats half a cheese sandwich and a small mandarin for lunch at home, that's all he'll eat at school.
We talk constantly about the obesity problem in children, and the fill their lunchboxes to the brim and expect them to eat it all! Keep lunchboxes simple and it will all be eaten, you won't be composting your money.
Prep What You Can As Soon As You Get Home
When you get home from the shops, keep lunch foods out and see what you can do to prep things ahead of time. Instead of putting that bag of grapes away, go ahead and wash and store them in little bags you can grab and toss in the lunch box. The same goes for things like carrots and even salads. Slice or cube cheese and store it in a Fresh'n'Crisp bag or a sealed container. Then you can pack inot a lunch bag as needed. Butter bread and rolls and freeze, or even fill them and freeze, ready to just pack. Just think about what you can prep as soon as you get home - you'll be glad you did in the mornings..
Pack Lunches the Night Before
Mornings are busy and not always the perfect time to have to worry about packing lunches. Try making them the night before. Get the kids involved and have them help with lunch prep and clean-up after tea. You can store cold items in the fridge and have everything else sitting in the lunch boxes ready to go. It won’t take you long to get into a rhythm of preparing lunches while you’re cleaning up after dinner. You’ll appreciate this new habit in the mornings when all you need to do is grab a couple of things from the fridge and toss them in the lunch boxes.
Get in the Habit of Cleaning Lunch Boxes as Soon as the Kids get Home
To make lunch prep even easier, get the kids into the habit of cleaning out their lunch box as soon as they get home from school. Even the youngest can help with this. Any uneaten food can be afternoon tea. Teach them to compost anything that isn't safe to eat, take the containers to the sink to be washed. Older children can easily clean their own containers, while you’ll probably have to do the washing for your youngest. Get them to refill their drink bottles and put them in the freezer. Having everything clean and ready to go will make it easier to pack the new lunches after tea.
Stick to these tips and it won’t take you long to get into an efficient lunch packing routine that will make it a snap. Don’t forget to get the kids involved and put them in charge of much of the preparations. Not only will this make your live easier in the long run, it will give them a sense of ownership over their lunch.
From when I was packing a pre-school lunch, the habit was to pack and prep as much as I could ahead of time. My Mum used to tell me I was ready for tomorrow yesterday, and when it came to lunchboxes, I pretty much was. Doing as much as possible ahead of time took the stree out of our mornings.
There is nothing worse than running late in the morning and then desperately trying to figure out something you can put in your children’s lunch boxes. If you find yourself flustered, or end up buying school lunch because packing it seems like too much of a hassle, take a look at the tips below. They will help you get organised so making lunches becomes quick and easy.
Start with a List and Go Shopping
Start by sitting down with your children and come up with a list of lunches they like. This could include sandwiches and wraps, or even homemade lunchables, but it doesn’t have to stop there. If you add a thermos to the mix, you can suddenly pack reheated leftovers, homemade soup and the likes in winter. The key is to find lunch foods and snacks that your kids will eat that are also easy to pack.
Make sure you have appropriate containers. Don't buy expensive containers, but do teach your children to bring them home. They need to learn to be responsible for their belongings, and starting with their luchbox is an easy and relatively inexpensive teaching tool. If they don't bring a container home then they can't have whatever went in it again until you buy a new one for the start of the new school term. That's not being mean or harsh, it's being practical. A four-year-old is more than capable of putting empty containers back in his lunchbox and then putting the lunchbox in his backpack. We need to stop the molly-coddling and excuses - these things cost money, money you have worked hard to earn, and children need to learn that their is a value on their belongings.
Check the pantry to see what you need, and then head to the supermarket or greengrocer to pick up everything you need for the week. Don’t forget about snacks and drinks as needed. These don't have to be bought, homemade is cheaper, tastier and often healthier (check with the school policy on sweets - some schools nowadays act like lunchbox Nazis and have very stricty food policies - just saying!). The list should make this much easier. Once you have several different lunch ideas your kids like and will actually eat, you can simply rotate through them and make the ingredients part of your weekly shopping trips.
Print the list and stick it on the fridge. Have a column for the sandwich/roll/wrap, one for fruit, one for a treat and one for a drink. Let the kids choose one item from each column as they pack their lunch.
I have to say this: don't overpack the lunchbox. I see pictures on the web of all these pretty lunchboxes full of cutesy food and shake my head. Most of that food will either end up in the bin or come home. Kids have a limited time to eat their lunch, and they won't miss out on playtime to eat. And they don't need a five course gourmet lunch - they're kids! Their appetites and kilojoule needs aren't the same as yours. If your child eats half a cheese sandwich and a small mandarin for lunch at home, that's all he'll eat at school.
We talk constantly about the obesity problem in children, and the fill their lunchboxes to the brim and expect them to eat it all! Keep lunchboxes simple and it will all be eaten, you won't be composting your money.
Prep What You Can As Soon As You Get Home
When you get home from the shops, keep lunch foods out and see what you can do to prep things ahead of time. Instead of putting that bag of grapes away, go ahead and wash and store them in little bags you can grab and toss in the lunch box. The same goes for things like carrots and even salads. Slice or cube cheese and store it in a Fresh'n'Crisp bag or a sealed container. Then you can pack inot a lunch bag as needed. Butter bread and rolls and freeze, or even fill them and freeze, ready to just pack. Just think about what you can prep as soon as you get home - you'll be glad you did in the mornings..
Pack Lunches the Night Before
Mornings are busy and not always the perfect time to have to worry about packing lunches. Try making them the night before. Get the kids involved and have them help with lunch prep and clean-up after tea. You can store cold items in the fridge and have everything else sitting in the lunch boxes ready to go. It won’t take you long to get into a rhythm of preparing lunches while you’re cleaning up after dinner. You’ll appreciate this new habit in the mornings when all you need to do is grab a couple of things from the fridge and toss them in the lunch boxes.
Get in the Habit of Cleaning Lunch Boxes as Soon as the Kids get Home
To make lunch prep even easier, get the kids into the habit of cleaning out their lunch box as soon as they get home from school. Even the youngest can help with this. Any uneaten food can be afternoon tea. Teach them to compost anything that isn't safe to eat, take the containers to the sink to be washed. Older children can easily clean their own containers, while you’ll probably have to do the washing for your youngest. Get them to refill their drink bottles and put them in the freezer. Having everything clean and ready to go will make it easier to pack the new lunches after tea.
Stick to these tips and it won’t take you long to get into an efficient lunch packing routine that will make it a snap. Don’t forget to get the kids involved and put them in charge of much of the preparations. Not only will this make your live easier in the long run, it will give them a sense of ownership over their lunch.