1. CREATE A Lunch stationA lunch station is an area for all your lunch making needs, it should include your containers, non-perishable snacks, lunch packing essentials, and even a designated area for your kid to put their lunch bags back at the end of the day. Having a lunch station will keep all your things in one area within reach and will also help keep things organized, which is the next on our list! Some ideas I found below: This idea is from design improvised This idea is from The Shirley Journey 2. organize it!The worst thing about lunch making for me is not being able to find the lid for my containers or the things I need to make what I want. So having a drawer in my kitchen with organized containers makes the biggest difference and will make the morning madness so much easier. My drawer has anything from picks to heart post-its (to make little love notes for my child). I like to have a few different containers available for cold lunches, thermoses for hot lunches, water bottles, and even lunch bags. Having extra supplies also help when your kid forgets their lunch at school. I've linked some inspirations I've found on Pinterest below: 3. create a menuI definitely like to switch it up on Ayden because I don't want him getting tired of the same lunch. I might do a cold lunch one day and a hot lunch the next, but I also don't want to go crazy thinking of what I'm going to make him for lunch. So I've made myself a menu for 3 weeks worth that I will just alternate every 3 weeks. My menu consists of mostly the same ingredients, but are made differently. I can go on and on about what my menu looks like, but I can share with you all at a later post. This tip pretty much creates a routine for you without your child knowing or at least tasting it :) and this will lead us to the next tip! 4. Prep AHEADThe more I prep, the better my mornings are. Any non-perishable items you can prep a week in advance will help you significantly. Whether it would be portioning the snacks or prepping all your containers. Your menu will also help because you can include this in your shopping list to ensure that you have all your needed items to make your lunches. I have also recently discovered make ahead lunches (lunches that you can make ahead of time, freezing, and then just microwaving whenever you are ready to pack it for lunch. These make-a-head lunches are perfect for when you're running late! Linking some of my recipes below. 5. get them involvedMy son may be old enough to make his own lunch, but I still like to make it for him. I do have him help me quite a bit. I will sometimes have him make his own sandwich as he can decide if he wants ham vs turkey or maybe he wants mustard vs mayo. I will then cut it up for him and add his snacks. He also helps me make our make-a-head lunches. By getting them involved, they get excited to eat their lunch because they know they made it. The hard work also pays off once they've eaten it :) 6. Give them choicesMy son is not a picky eater, but he will mostly eat what HE wants to eat. So if he had a choice, he would have chips for his snack all day everyday. I like to put a fruit or vegetable option in his lunch, but I've also noticed that if I just put a random vegetable or fruit that he's really not fond of, IT WILL NOT BE EATEN. Instead of getting upset with him for a decision he didn't make, I've recently transitioned to giving him options instead. For example, his vegetable options may be carrots/celery or grapes/bananas. If he chooses it, he will typically eat it, and if not, I have the right to scold him for not finishing the vegetable or fruit option he's requested. 7. bento box it!I've recently been obsessed with bento boxing (if that's even a word) check out my instagram for proof. Just like their attention span, their taste buds quickly craves for other things and bento boxing requires me to portion it all out. From their vegetable to their desserts. Ayden enjoys the option he has for lunch and it makes me feel that his lunch is nutrionally balanced! 8. spend a bit of time to make it fun/cuteAnother thing about bento boxing is that you can make everything so cute! Ayden gets so excited to open his lunch to see what I've done with it. There are so many different ideas on Pinterest that you can go on and on with the different ways to cut a sandwich. There are bento box kits to get you started. It only takes a few more seconds to cut up sandwiches or to cut or make grape skewers with cute picks. Some of this extra stuff can definitely be done a head of time if needed, but I sweat it's definitely worth it!
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AuthorMom to two boys! 8 years in the Plastic Surgery industry. Join my journey as I tackle this mom life! Archives
August 2019
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