I’ve packed a lot of lunches. No, really, our oldest goes to a private school where lunch is not served, so every single day, we pack a lunch for him. I tell you what, it’s a little exhausting! You never realize how easy it can be to get into a rut, to use the same food over and over and even the same storage containers. It’s a very mundane, same ol’ same ol’ responsibility. Shouldn’t lunch be fun? It’s the one time during the day that he gets to sit back, relax, eat and chat with his friends.
As his mom, I feel obligated to at least TRY to give him a great lunch. Whether it’s fun containers, silly notes, a surprise treat, or something totally unexpected, that little break from schoolwork should be good for not just his body but his soul.
What I’m saying is – even if you find yourself making a sandwich three times a week, grab a cookie cutter and make it into a fun shape. Pretzels or cheese crackers? Why not a little of both with a dash of dried fruit? Forget the sandwich altogether and try a wrap!
The best lunches, according to my son, are the leftovers. You know, when there’s leftover pasta, or an extra hot dog and fries. Because I know how much he loves those, I don’t tell him there are leftovers. Then when I’m packing his lunch, I just cut the hot dog and bun in half and he now has TWO mini hot dogs for lunch. It’s like I’m winning the lunch jackpot… er, he is.
All of these lunch ideas fit so nicely in our Rubbermaid LunchBlox that packing lunches has gotten easier! The big compartment (the pink “sandwich” blox) fits a number of items: a sandwich, a wrap, crackers and cheese, corn dog muffins, chicken, pasta – really the possibilities are endless.
The two small containers are perfect for sides and treats, and even have measurements listed on the sides. An entire healthy lunch fits into these three containers, and they fit into a lunch box perfectly. The ice pack is only needed if you have items you need to keep cold.
You know what I’m thinking would be great in one of the small containers? Some yogurt with granola on top. How often can you send that for LUNCH and have it actually survive without leaking?
Here are some other great ideas for lunch that you can try this school year:
DIY Uncrustables || Peanut Butter Roll Ups || Corn Dog Muffins || Spicy Beef Tacos || Mini Biscuit Pizzas || Halloween Mummy Dogs || Sweet & Sour Meatballs || Homemade Chicken Nuggets || Crescent Pizza Rolls
Want to make lunch even more fun? Just click the image below to open and print your very own blank lunch notes!
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Rubbermaid through their partnership with POPSUGAR. While I was compensated by POPSUGAR to write a post about LunchBlox, all opinions are my own