Back to School Series "Lunches! Packing, Planning, and a book that was an eye opener"

Hi everyone, thanks for being so understanding about taking a week off from the blog and the Back to School series. I really was just sick and really not feeling well the whole week. Sorry, I am almost back to 100%.

So I wanted to talk with you about lunches. So if you follow me on my Instagram devoted to lunches, you will see we are now starting our 2nd week of school. I have to admit, I am in a rut on what to pack. Partially because it is SO HOT in Southern Arizona. I don't want to make my son sick because I packed soup, with crackers, and cheese, and a cookie. I mean who wants that when it's 110 and humid out, yuck. So right now, you are seeing a lot of sandwiches and such. I am not packing any heavy dairy products like yogurt or even milk. I might do cheese and that is it. I have gone and done some chicken breasts with bar b que sauce and such. My son did indicate it was to heavy and he felt icky after lunch. So for now, bear with me as I try to navigate the heat a little.


However, for those of you have actually have 4 seasons, this will help. Planning lunches, I do it for the week. I also STICK to what I plan. I might switch some days around depending on how my day goes, but other than that, I don't sub anything. It helps for me to have a stocked freezer on days where it's like I am sick or my daughter is sick to get lunches together. I might unfreeze some waffle sticks I made or cook some meatballs. Those are really the only days I deviate from the plan. I like to include a day or two of left overs if I can. My son is a Stir Fry fanatic so I love when I get to pack that for him to take. Macaroni and cheese, so much to list.

What I suggest doing is writing out foods your child or children like. I don't have two taking lunches so combining to make life easier, I would look on Pinterest. It might just be doing an overlapping list of Mains, fruits, veggies, and snacks. Maybe they get one fruit, veggie, and or snack they like to have that week, the rest is shared stuff.

If you meal plan as it is, go back through and high light stuff you think would make great for lunches. I always had the hardest time last year because my son really didn't like a lot of fruit and veggies. I got him on nectarines, snap peas, and such this summer. So bonus for me, they are in season and inexpensive! If you are worried about budget, I would say less is more. Start out what you think you might need and if you need more, have a friend grab it at the store when she goes.

I will do a little Mom Confession, I totally buy my cantaloupe and watermelon pre-cut in the produce section. I still have to cut them to smaller squares, but It's so worth my time. I never would cut up a whole melon because I hated the mess. So I spend not even 2.00 and buy the pre-cut stuff. It's worth it to me and some weeks like the next few months, it's money well spent. (I don't get my nails done, or even color my hair at all so for me it's my splurge)

Lunches now a days and I know I am dipping my foot into the Political Pool here. However, I don't think the Lunch program is at all over the past 40 years something to brag about. I like how Michelle Obama is trying to get healthier stuff in there, but at the expense of it all. It's really a waste, kids don't like it and school's are losing MAJOR MONEY.  I don't even like half the stuff I have tasted to be honest. Some schools are fairing well, ours is wonderful at the fresh fruits and veggies selections. The selection is AMAZING and if my son would eat the main course we might be okay. However, he still isn't into it and I am saving money by using what we have. So this is a win win for our family.

Last year I read a book called "Fed up with Lunch" find it here. It was written by Sarah Wu and before the overhaul of the lunch program started, you can read about what was served. Sarah taught at an urban Chicago school and her points are well on target with any child in America. I remember the frozen fruit icees she talks about that were in a triangle, those were considered a fruit back in the day. Juice is still considered a fruit I believe last I checked. The book moved me SO MUCH. I really got motivated to show pictures of my son's lunches on that Instagram account. I might do some cute fun stuff for holidays, but I can't do the Bento route, I don't have time. They are cute, but, my son is growing and he just scarfs it all down anyways. I just wanted what he would eat, cheap, and healthy.

Long story short from the book, I saw a difference last year when I started packing the lunches full time. My son was no longer starving when he came home. He said he felt better the second part of the day and wasn't counting down the hours until he could come home. The year before, he would eat constantly the moment we got home. Sandwiches, fruits, etc, and when I saw him at school he barely touched his food. The protein he wasn't getting and his behavior showed it. I was also so upset, at the money we were wasting, he would eat constantly at home and the lunch money was wasted because he barely ate sometimes.

To sum it up, it took some time to find out what would work for our family. Containers, foods, lunch boxes, drinks, etc. If you have a day where they hated the lunch, it's okay, cross the food off and don't pack it. Experiment on the weekends or maybe dinner. Never with the lunches at school. Summer is a great time to get the list of stuff you want to try and try it. Make a special day of the week like "Try it on Fridays", lunches are new foods to see if we like or don't like.

It has been 11 days

I am so sorry, I took a week off from blogging for the first part of summer break. I am back and I have a product review. I just got this product and used it for the first time today, however, I am a huge fan already.

I hope everyone is having a great summer break! I have had so much fun with the kids and all the free time I have has allowed me to really evaluate somethings in my life and for my family. It has been amazing and a new blog I found had a post about finding pause in your day from a higher power. It was titled "Is God Interrupting My Day?" and it spoke to me. I realized I have been lacking in some areas in my love. I am refocusing and some awesome changes are coming thanks to a dear friend who has offered some amazing advice.

Back to the product review. I am sure you have heard me mention Momables on my blog and or social media from time to time. I first came across her blog via a twitter giveaway maybe a year ago. I was looking through her amazing recipes. I tweeted a few questions and she so graciously answered back (sorry, I am one who loves it when a blogger  interacts with their readers. It's a huge plus in my book to be friendly and engage with them as much as you can). The ONE question I asked was if she was using Ziploc containers to pack her lunches and she said "No, I am using EasyLunchboxes by Kelly Lester they are more kid friendly and durable" I thought ohhhh okay, I will keep using my ziploc containers for my husband and myself. So fast forward almost 11 months to last Wednesday and I was on my last container. The lids were no longer clicking into place and my lunch was no longer fresh. My husband killed our very last one by leaving it in his car, the dash read 125 (UGH AZ HEAT) and the container just warped. So using my Amazon Prime, I placed an order and Friday came

For $21.95 (your shipping and totals may vary) I ordered 4 containers and a set of dip containers (8 come in a package) I was so excited (Yes, lunch containers I get super excited over because I love a variety). The moment I opened them, I was impressed! They are super durable (I mean husband proof). I packed them on Sunday for the first time one for my husband and one for myself

(My husband have Vegetarian Taquitos (recipe via Weelicious), homemade Organic Guacamole, and Organic Tortilla chips)

I had Toasted Oat & Honey bread, PB2, cheddar cheese, strawberries, a peach, and blueberries)

I love these containers and will be placing a new order soon for their Brights line and a cooling bag.

If you are looking for an economical way to pack lunches and don't want to worry about the containers being weak or your kids (or in my case husband) losing them. I HIGHLY recommend EasyLunchboxes! I immediately tweeted Momables and said I should have listened to her a year ago.  I am able now to pack a week's worth of lunches in one day and my husband just grabs them and goes. When school starts back up and I am running here and there, I can pack lunches for me to go. 

Disclosure - *This product review is NOT A SPONSORED review. I ordered the product and paid for any and all product, taxes, fees, and shipping. Kelly Lester or EasyLunchboxes did not ask me to review or provide the product. I often love to share products I use in hopes of helping another person in what they might need or works for them.