Brown Bagging It: Packing School Lunch

My daughter went into 1st grade this year and even though I only have one year of lunch packing under my belt, I’ve learned a lot and wanted to pass along some tips.

In thinking about my daughter going to school for a full day everyday last year at this time, I already knew that I would want her to take her own lunch every single day.  In fact before school started I had told her, my husband and my friends that Anna would not be allowed to buy from the cafeteria.  I really strive to feed my children a natural and organic diet and just the thought of cafeteria food makes me cringe.  Plus, they only have 20 minutes for lunch and standing in line really cuts into that already short period making it even less likely she will be able to finish her lunch.  However, since then I have relaxed {very} slightly.  You see, I didn’t count on the “cool” factor of buying lunch.  My daughter begged me to be able to buy lunch.  I think it was a combination of seeing her friends do it and wanting to feel ‘grown-up’.  I tried to match up the opportunities to buy with what I felt was least offensive on the school cafeteria calendar and agreed to letting her get a hot lunch once a month.  That system worked well for us – halfway through the year she even stopped bugging me about buying lunch and I actually enjoyed a little break in the morning once a month!

This post, however, will focus on all those other days when she brings her lunch.  Last year as I was trying to plan ahead for my first year of lunch packing I did what I normally do to research almost everything in life – I turned to Pinterest.  As I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, Pinterest is a great help for food ideas.  But at the same time it is extremely overwhelming and creates a feeling of not being a ‘super’ mom like the other moms who create beautiful artwork in their children’s lunches every day.  Some of the things I came across were so involved and crazy over the top I honestly couldn’t believe it – didn’t these children need to transport their lunches?  I would like to see some Pinterest posts of what they actually look like when the kids open them at school.

While I did get some really great ideas from Pinterest, I also ended up spending quite a bit of money to prep.  In terms of supplies, here is what I purchased and their worth:

• Bento Style Lunch Box – I do like the Bento Box we got and we have used it, but not as frequently as the tried and true (and cheap) Ziploc container simply because the Bento can’t hold a sandwich.  We also have several small containers that fit together in the Bento style
  • In case you are not aware, “Bento” style lunches started in Japan and are basically a catch-all term now for individual serving lunch boxes with compartments for several different elements of a meal
• Silicone Cups – I use these and like them; however, I bought a pack of 12 on Amazon and really never used more than 3 because they get washed and reused pretty frequently.  Also, I found a smaller set at Ikea shortly after I ordered mine that were cheaper so I would recommend looking there.
• Veggie Shape Cutters – I didn’t use these as much as I thought I would.  They were super cute and my daughter seemed to appreciate her cucumber slices cut into flowers, but maybe not enough to make them worth it, although they are pretty cute and a nice special touch.  This was another case where I saw a set of pastry cutters at Ikea that had a wide range of sizes that would work for veggies up to sandwiches, and of course was a much better deal.
• Sandwich Shape Cutters – these cut off the crust and supposedly make the sandwich into two shaped halves.  I felt like it cut off too much of the sandwich, which is wasteful, and it really didn’t look much like a shape so I didn’t use it more than a handful of times.
• Thermos Funtainer – I wanted this for packing hot foods; unfortunately, it never stayed hot until lunch no matter how scalding the food was when I put it in.  I have since read from other moms that it varies a lot from container to container how well they perform.  I guess that is a result of them being made in China?  I am going to try a new one this year {and save the receipt this time!}.

When it comes to lunch packing:

I am just not a ‘night-before’ type.  I know a lot of people who do pack lunches in the evening but I always feel things will get soggy sitting for that long.   One of the best things I did last year to expedite the process is to create a list of lunch possibilities.  I keep it on my fridge for quick and easy reference.  To start, I decided that I wanted to make sure Anna’s lunch contained food from 6 main categories every day in order to keep her diet well balanced.  I scoured Pinterest for ideas in each category and made a master list that shows ideas of foods we generally always have on hand and that I know Anna likes in the categories of: Veggies, Fruit, Grain, Dairy, Protein, and Treat.  My list is shown below, but I highly recommend putting one together for yourself.  There were many occasions when I was racking my not-yet-caffeinated-enough brain in the morning while putting lunch together and a quick look at my list gave me ideas needed to round out her lunch. 

I found we quickly fell into 4 main lunch types:

1. Sandwiches – this doesn’t require much explanation – I won’t lie that there were many days when I fell back on the standard PB&J.  She likes it, I know she will eat it, and it has protein, fruit and whole grains – still better than the mystery meat being given at the cafeteria counter in my opinion.  We varied it up with PB & banana, jelly & cream cheese.  Unfortunately, my daughter won’t eat lunch meat or tuna fish right now, but I’m hoping that changes this year.
2. Sandwich Alternatives – these can frequently contain the same insides as traditional sandwiches but in new ways that keep things interesting for kids.  Some ideas are tortilla roll-ups, “sushi” {bread rolled thin, layered with toppings then rolled up and cut into 1-inch slices}, bagel sandwiches – I even did just bagel and cream cheese on some desperate days {it isn’t that different from a grilled cheese really, especially if you use the thinner style bagels}, breakfast at lunch {using waffles or pancakes as the ‘bread’ in a sandwich}.
3. Finger Foods – this is probably the easiest way to cover all the food groups and is a great use for the Bento Box.  I just mix and match foods from each of my categories with no ‘main’ food but a little of everything.  This is another way to create your own homemade version of the popular Lunchables, with WAY less chemical preservatives and artificial ingredients!
4. Leftovers – probably the easiest lunch {especially if you have a properly functioning Thermos}.  Last night’s pasta, chicken, meatballs, pizza, and soup all make great next day lunches for your kids.

A little prep goes a long way towards setting yourself up for successful mornings, and there is great satisfaction to be found in knowing your little one is opening a lunchbox packed with love halfway through their day {inserting a little love note is also a nice touch!}.  Little things like that can make a big impact in the long run!

What are some of your favorite items to pack for lunch?