Some of you have been back at school for a few weeks now and others are just starting back up today. But no matter when you started, I’m taking a guess that more than a few of you are already loathing packing lunches. So I’m going to share a few tips that our family uses to make this chore a bit less painful.
Precut and bag veggies. Anytime I buy cold veggies that can keep well for a while, I cut them up and place them in individual baggies in the fridge. That makes them super easy to grab in the morning and I know my kids are getting in at least one vegetable during the day. If any of us have to add cutting and washing vegetables to our morning routine, I know it’s probably not going to happen. Carrots and celery can keep in baggies for quite a while. Pepper slices don’t last as long–maybe just a day or so–and I like to cut cucumbers that morning.
Pack it the night before. Some things are better fresh–I totally get that. But my kids and I get as much together as possible after dinner. Kids fill their water bottles, pick their fruit, grab a bag of veggies and choose what they want for their lunch. If they can organize it ahead of time (like a yogurt), they can do all of it the night before and just grab it from the fridge in the morning. If they want to make a fresh sandwich, they know they can get that quickly in the morning. We are not our best right away in the morning and having decisions made and lunches partially packed makes our lives so much easier. We also know ahead of time if we are out of something they want so we have time to decide on a good alternative.
Have kids pack their lunches themselves. My kids range in age from 5 to 12, so there are varying needs for help in packing. For my older kids, they know they need a fruit, a vegetable and a protein as well as a water bottle. Then they can choose what else they would like (but no straight up dessert–the granola bars they choose are close to dessert anyway). They are pretty good at knowing how much they will eat and know to grab an extra snack if they have sports practice after school. My 5-year-old just started packing lunches 3 days ago so he gets a little time to learn what to do. But he can definitely fill a water bottle, grab a fruit and vegetable, pick a snack and decide what he wants to eat.
These three tips have honestly made mornings so much easier. Packing lunches was my most dreaded chore before I had the kids (mostly) take over. Do you have any awesome tips you can share with our readers?
