lunch

the back story:

i ate "school-lunch style" breakfast, lunch and dinner with my daughter for 3 days when i went to the 5th grade camp with her school.

i got really sick. way too much sugar, preservatives and absolutely nothing healthy (unless you count the mushy, red-delicious apple, which i do not.).

i began packing my kids lunches.

i found this blog.

i obsess.

i blog.

my hope is that this post will open up someone else's eyes to the possibilities. i honestly enjoy my time spent in the morning packing their lunches. it reminds me that mothers who know are nurturers.

and if you don't have kids yet, please remember to nurture yourself. all these lunches came together really fast and a lot of them are just leftovers. it's not as hard as you think it might be.

lunch #1: leftover vegetable soup reheated in a thermos container. slice of homemade bread.

lunch #2: chef salad with ranch dressing and boiled egg. croutons. sliced cheese and homemade granola bars. recipe from here, (click for valuable/hilarious tips) but i substitute 1/4 c. maple syrup for the brown sugar and dried fruit and seeds for the chocolate chips. it's delicious both ways!

lunch #3: whole wheat bagel with cream cheese. orange slices. snap peas with ranch. annie's honey graham bunny crackers.

lunch #4: zucchini bread with cream cheese and cauliflower. pistachios. sliced apple.

lunch #5: grapes. peas (taken right from the freezer). carob raisins (no sweetener added). ham and cheese sandwich.

lunch #6: leftover lentil almond burger. edamame. sweet potato fries with ketchup in the sauce bottle.

lunch #7: blue and white corn tortilla chips and peaches. beans+salsa mix topped with cheese. green salad.

lunch #8: carrot sticks, olives, and boiled egg in a car shape. granola. honey yogurt topped with frozen mixed berries.

lunch #9: leftover southwest quinoa salad. (let me know if you're interested in my recipe.) raspberries and banana.

to reduce waste, we started using containers instead of plastic baggies. i love the new ziploc containers with the 3 divided sections. if you have anything juicy, they do a great job of keeping the rest of your food dry. they are dishwasher safe. there are similar boxes here for a little bit more that are BPA-free here. i'm planning on working them into the budget next.

i also love the sassy on-the-go feeding set. we use the containers that come with it almost every day. (perhaps you noticed the blue or pink containers in the pictures). and they're BPA-free.

both containers are available at target.

for lunch bags, i like the kind that doesn't tip the lunch up on the side. we found both of these at target:

so i hope that gets you started.

what do you do for lunch for yourself or your kids? share your ideas!

sources for things that i have and that i'd still like:

sassy on the go feeding set | target | $6.19

ziploc lunch containers | target | $2.39 for 2

lunch bags | target | $8 to $9

silicone muffin cups | amazon | $9.99 for 12

sauce containers | allthingsforsale.com | $2.99 for 4

food picks | allthingsforsale.com | $2.99 for 10

egg molds | amazon | $1.55 for 2

sauce container | the container store | $1.99

stainless steel lunch box | planetlunchbox.com | $34.95 (maybe for christmas. kind of pricey for our budget)