So, it hit me today. My heart sank and my brain started to hurt. If you looked closely you might have even seen a little smoke coming out of my ears as those inner wheels started to turn. I panicked! Over what, you might ask? Over something that I’m sure is second nature to a lot of you. But it’s my first time and I’d never even given it so much as a single thought before.
.
.
.
.
I have to pack a school lunch tomorrow.
Yep, a school lunch has me in a state of panic. Partly because I’m sending my baby off to pre-school and there are so many emotions that come along with that, but also because I’ve never packed a school lunch before. See, I’m not the Betty Crocker kind of Mom. I’m the take-out sushi kind of mom. And if there’s one thing I DO know it’s that Spicy Tuna Rolls are NOT gonna last in a lunch box until noon.
HELP! What the heck do I send in this kid’s lunch???? She’s not too picky and she’s not afraid of healthy foods, but I also want her lunch to be fun. Well, as fun as it can be when it doesn’t contain a spicy tuna roll and some yellow tail sashimi.
Post your ideas in the comments section here on the blog. I’ll let "the kid" pick her favorite and the winner will receive a $20 iTunes gift card.
Deadline is 6:00pm Wednesday. I have to go to one of those grocery store thingies before bedtime, ya know.
Have a terrific day, everyone!
H
“The Kid” needs ICE CREAM!!! And….um…Ice Cream, and then a side of Ice Cream sounds real good….oh yeah, don’t forget to put a ziploc of Ice Cream in with that to go along with the Ice Cream.
I’m so proud of you and I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, Roo…You are a big school girl now….WOW!!!!
Love,
Daddy
I have no suggestions, so obviously don’t enter me in the contest. 🙂 BUT, I just wanted to commiserate! My baby starts preschool Sept 20th (they phase the three year olds into Montessori last). Really, though, for lunches a sandwich sans any kind of mayo is always good. Add a little baggie with some crackers or Pirate’s Booty and you will be good to go! Maybe a little cookie and a fun note with stickers too. 🙂 Hang in there, mama!
Deep breath in…Deep breath out…It IS overwhelming but you can do it!
Some things that I’ve packed for my daughter are:
Sandwiches:
1/2 a turkey sandwich
1/2 a pb&j sandwich
Dairy:
String cheese
Go-gert (freeze ahead and will be soft by lunch and not go bad)
Fruit/Veges:
Grapes
Apple
Baby Carrots
Snack:
Chips/pretzles
Crackers/goldfish/teddy grahams
Cookies
Little Debbie Snacks
*Oh!* You could buy some Hershey’s Hugs and Kisses and send a couple of those along the first day.
Drink:
My daughter either buys milk at school or you can send along a juice box or water. Another tip, if you freeze the juice box it acts like an ice pack to make sure the food stays cool. And by lunch if it isn’t completely thawed it will be like a slushy. Hey you could probably send your sushi that way!
And don’t forget a napkin that says “I love you” on it…(although you may get some grief about that later from your darling little girl she needs to know you love her)
Do you have a insulated lunch box or will you be using a paper bag? If freezing the juice box and using a paper bag you may want to put a plastic bag around it so that it doesn’t soak the bag when it thaws.
Finally, there’s one special thing I did with my daughter on her first day of all day Kindergarten. I asked her to hold out her hand. I kissed the palm of her hand and told her to put my kiss in her pocket that way she could pull it out whenever she needed it during the day. She’s now in 2nd grade and she still wants me to do it…altough I’m not sure how long this will last 😉
Hope this helps!
Good Luck!
PB & J!! (Peanut Butter & Jelly)
I do totally sympathize with you. I have to pack lunches daily and coming up with something for two different kids. One is picky and one will eat anything. Here is a list of ideas we do….
In a thermos we pack
-Hamburg helper singles
-Mac and cheese singles
-Corn dogs
-Hot dogs
-Chicken nuggets
-Ravioli’s/spaghetti
-Lipton Rice (my daughters fav)
-If I have leftovers from the night before i will sometimes put them in their lunch
Old Standbys
-Peanut and butter sandwich (& Banana)
-Ham and cheese
Add a freezer pack (they come in cute little shapes now)
-Apple cut and dipped in orange juice so it doesn’t brown
-Go-guts/yogurt
-Cheese stick
-Fruit in little containers or make your own (if I open a can of mangeron oranges I will just make up 3 cups for the week)
-Granola bar
-Chocolate kiss
-Oatmeal cream pie
-Cookie
And last but not least….I always leave a little note of love.
Can’t wait to get some more ideas from others. I do agree you get into a rut on what to send.
~ Teresa
Ashley is about the same age as your daughter. She likes the lunchables. The cheese, turkey and crackers, fruit chewies or veggies and then dessert. Not sure about the icecream…but chocolate chip cookies are always a hit. Add a special little picture note with a heart to show you love her and she is good to go. Hang in there…a few tears later you will be good to go. 🙂
If it were me I would want a peanut butter and marshmellow creme sandwich, some kind of fancy red colored drink and then some cookies to top it off. She’ll be the cool kid and the lunch will be all gone! Good luck.
OK here’s what my kids LOVE…there’s not really a recipe, just ingrediants that you throw together.
I get the canned chicken from Costco or Sam’s club (I know, I was afraid of the canned part too…but it does turn out great) You DRAIN and RINSE and drain again the chicken. Then break it up with a fork in a bowl. Chop a GRANNY SMITH apple (yes, it must be a granny smith) and add to the chicken. I use a Pampered Chef food chopper and it takes about 2 minutes. Then you chop a few green onions (I use just the white part of the onion) with the food chopper and throw it in. Add enough mayo (I use Kraft) to make it wet and everything sticking together. Then add a scoop or two of sour cream. Then add dried dill weed…enough to make it look peppered. If I had to make a guess it would be about 1-2 teaspoons, but I usually just shake it in until it looks good.
I sent this to my little one first day of Pre-school (yesterday) with saltine crackers and the whole thing was gone when I picked her up. It’s also great as a sandwich with bread. It’s best to make it the night before…it tastes even better the second day.
And we do napkin notes…write a note on a napkin with a marker.
They also have cute freeze packs that you can get at the store. My girls have a princess crown and a flower. (They are about 3″ square) You put them in the freezer over night and it’s like a block of ice to put in their lunch box to keep things cool.
Good luck! 😉