This morning I got up to make the kids lunches. And in went the same old, same old! Juice, pretzels, sandwich, orange slices and a fruit snack. Basically this is the same every day. Maybe it is grapes instead of oranges, or a different kind of cracker instead of pretzels. But here is my problem...
1)The kids get so tired of sandwiches. Really I can get away with one a week. Tops. Otherwise they just keep bringing them home...UNEATEN.
2)They have no way of heating anything up. So if I sent them with dinner leftovers, they have to eat it cold.
3)I feel like I spend half my grocery budget on lunch items (juice boxes, fruit snacks, granola bars etc)
4)School lunches are out of the question. They are 3.25 per kid, per day. I could go to McDonalds and get them food off the dollar menu and pay less than the 9.75 it would cost per day!
So I am asking ( this was also my facebook status!) WHAT DO YOU PUT IN YOUR KIDS LUNCHES? I am making a running list, so help a girl out, would yah? :)
6 comments:
I don't make lunches yet... and growing up, mine consisted of pretty much the same as what you put in your kids. But... what if you used pitas? Would they eat those? You could make some homemade things as well.... chex mix, veggies (celery with peanut butter), popcorn balls, fig newtons, or maybe put your own homemade spin on lunchables. I see that you try to keep the lunches pretty healthy which is good. Maybe you just need to "dress" up the sandwich with a different type of bread (sub roll, croissant, etc) Other than that I am out of ideas. If I come across a great site or blog that has ideas - I will send it your way.
Sometimes a bagel with cream cheese or saltine and peanut butter "sandwiches". Both pretty cheap if you buy generic...
ok, same dilemma. i give it a lot of thought.
this year, i decided no more juice boxes and fruit snacks. no one rebelled. they get a water bottle that i reuse.
i also have children who do not like sandwiches all that much. i have a hot thermos that i use to give them soup, leftovers, etc... it will need to be the kind that costs about 10-15 dollars. the cheapo ones don't work. i own one, so they share it throughout the week.
sometimes, they take a baggie of cereal, spoon and bowl. they buy milk at school and have a bowl of cereal. they can throw on fresh fruit.
i also cut tortilla into small circles with a biscuit cutter. Give them pasta sauce in a small tupperware. Cheese and pepperoni in a ziploc. They can make their won pizzas. Kinda fun:)
hope it helps!
I think we're all in the same boat. I send water, too and reuse the bottles. Sometimes I'll put in kool-aid or juice, but not very often. They love it, though and feel like they got an extra treat that day.
I also send leftovers and spaghetti-o's sometimes. (hint about the thermos--boil water and fill the thermos with it, leave the hot water in there for 20-30 minutes and then dump out the water and put in the super hot[heat them up really good] leftovers/soup/spaghetti-o's. The water heats up your thermos and helps it stay warmer longer)
Sometimes instead of a plain old sandwich, I made their sandwich on a roll, or give them a roll, a cheese slice or cheese stick, and a slice of ham. So, they can make it a sandwich or eat it separate. For some reason that makes it taste better.
I really read your comments for ideas for next year. So sorry I am no help to you since Brenten doesn't start until the fall. I am going to steal ideas from the post though.
Some great ideas above!! I sometimes buy those peanut butter cup things. and Austin takes crackers and a plastic knife and spread peanut butter on to crackers. I also can make him a little tortilla roll up thing. I just take a small tortilla and fill it with sandwich meat or tuna and roll it up. You can make a bunch and half them in the fridge to grab whenever. (They make yummy snacks too) Good luck!!
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