Packing Lunch

For the parents with picky eaters, sensory issues, allergies and more, packing a school lunch is going to be a big part of the next eight months.  Here are a few ideas I use to keep the process quick and easy.

The Hidden Pantry

I have a pantry set up on the storage side of our basement. Mikey is vaguely aware it is there, but he never tries to seek it out on his own.  If food is upstairs in the refrigerator or the kitchen cabinets, Michael will help himself and eat whatever portion is available – even if it is a family size bag of popcorn! Some of you may need to use locks to keep your children out of the extra food, but I recommend having some lunch staples put away where they will not get raided.  This insures you have food in the house when you go to pack the lunches.

The Basics

I include a protein, a fruit, a veggie and a dairy in Mikey’s lunches.  So, he might have beef jerky, an apple, baby carrots and a yogurt. Then, I usually put in a bag of chips and a small candy treat.  Mikey is a big eater, and I want school to be associated access to all the same good foods he loves at home.

Allergies

Mikey is a huge fan of nuts. He likes peanut butter, cashews, pistachios, honey roasted peanuts, kind bars, Lara bars, fluffernutter sandwiches…are you getting the picture? Because there’s more. He loves Reece’s pieces, peanut butter cups and macadamia nuts.  But lots of schools are nut-free.  Just keep classroom allergies in mind when you pack lunch each day, especially because our special kiddos often can’t remember to be careful with their food or not to touch other kids during lunch.

Getting Fancy

Because nuts are not an option, I sometimes need to send in a hot lunch in a thermos for Mikey (otherwise, he only has a few nut-free lunch options, and he gets bored).  I sometimes make pasta and red sauce or macaroni and cheese ahead of time and put the into thermos-size servings in the refrigerator.  Then, I can quickly heat them in the microwave before school and put them into a thermos in his lunch box.

What are your favorite lunchbox additions?