Packed lunches can be very stressful for a busy parent and often the easier option is to order a school dinner. But what do you do if you have a little one is not keen on those? My 3 children prefer packed lunches (even my 3 year old who eats lunch at home) , I think in part due to not having to queue and wait for food and because they get a wider variety of things they really like in the lunchboxes. The only way to make it less stressful for you, is to be really well organised.
What are my packed lunch ideas?
I like to divide my lunch list into categories. I pick 5 items per day for each lunch box and it varies what goes in daily. I decant large bags/boxes of fruits etc into small snack pots* ( or ziploc bags if you prefer- I use pots because I don’t like disposable throw away items) and put them in a large drawer I have specially designated to lunches and snacks. That way I can just throw a pot into their lunch bag without doing any prep on the day. I also stack up little pots of carrot/cucumber/grapes etc in the fridge so they are ready to go.
I even do this during holidays so that when the children want a quick snack they can help themselves or if we head out to the park, all I do is grab a few pots per child and we are ready to go!
How to use this printout:
- First decide on your main meal
- Then choose an item from each remaining column. Think about your choices based on what is in their main meal. For example: If I have put a cheese sandwich in, I will not always put anything extra from the dairy column.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR A PRINTABLE COPY .
A typical lunch could be as follows:
- A cheese and ham sandwich
- A pot of dried fruit
- a pot of carrot/cucumber sticks
- a drink
- a cake bar
*I use the little pots usually designed for baby food …even for my 8 year old…so don’t throw those out when your baby is all grown up!
For those who have asked: I will post some pictures of our snack drawer as soon as I get a chance, that’s a promise!
More packed lunch ideas here!
I am a preschool and primary school teacher and mum to 3 children. I have been involved in education since 1997 and have trained in a variety of educational specialist areas. It is with this expertise that I write articles to help parents and educators provide quality learning experiences for the children in their care.
