One of my least favorite things about sending my kids off to school (or camp during the summer) is fixing bagged lunches for 5 kids. There is nothing fun for me about slapping 10 pieces of bread with some combination of peanut butter, honey, butter, cinnamon, mayo, cheese, and ham. One kid likes peanut butter and honey. Another likes peanut butter, butter, and cinnamon. One prefers ham and cheese, no mayo. And another wants ham and mayo with no cheese. Cut diagonally. Cut straight across. Cut into fourths. DON’T CUT MY SANDWICH, MOMMY! Somewhere in there, I have a child who doesn’t like sandwiches at all, which can make packing a healthy lunch somewhat of a challenge.
Last week, I received a small box with an assortment of samples from Safeway’s Eating Right Kids line (thanks to Safeway and Team Mom). We have already tried a few things from the line–like their fun shaped whole grain pastas for kids, and their snacks and juices. The kids fought over who was going to get to take the lunch to school. Reese ended up with the granola bar and fruit. AJ ended up winning the ravioli. What kid can resist food with Looney Tunes characters on the packaging? The kids need never know that there was a bottle of 100% juice on the box, too. It was long gone before they even saw it….Hmmm. And Yum.
I love the food. My kids love the food. My challenge is the shear number of kids I’ve got….and the amount of convenience foods I need to buy to stock 4 or 5 lunches. So my question to you is–what are your tips for making school lunches affordable, enjoyable, and healthy? What are some alternatives for making my morning lunch-preparation less painful?
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