Parents have so much to focus on during back to school time and the school week that it can easily become overwhelming and hard to navigate, whether you’re used to doing it all or not. So every opportunity to cut some time or have some tricks to the routine is greatly helpful. For example, some hacks for lunch boxes can help to reduce prepping time spent on kids’ lunches each day. Here are some helpful back to school lunch box hacks for parents.
Use Your Freezer
Sandwiches and other main parts of your kids lunches can be frozen when they’re made so you save some time on the day of. You can make a sandwich or the sandwiches for the week early and put them in the freezer, then move them to your kids’ lunchboxes in the morning on the day of or the night before. By the time they need it the sandwich will be thawed and ready to eat.
Portion Early
If you buy things for lunches ahead of time such as fruits, veggies, chips, or other snacks you can spend time portioning and prepping those on the weekend before a school week. This way you can just grab a portion for the lunch to put in their lunchbox when you’re preparing the rest of their meal instead of having to cut up and portion out them that morning or night.
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Make A Menu
Some kids like to eat the same thing all the time, but to allow them some choice you can make a little menu for them to choose from for their week over the weekend. Look through what you have for the week’s lunches and give them a list of options for sides and sandwiches (or other options) to choose for each day. This is better for older children that want more choice.
Keep Apples From Browning
There are multiple ways to keep apples from browning when they’re cut up. You can cut them up and soak them in a little water with lemon juice before bagging them, the citric acid with keep them fresh and their color from changing. Or you could put the apple pieces back together like a whole apple and put a rubber band around it to keep the cut sides from air exposure.
Use The Right Containers
Container options for kids’ lunches are available in all types, so choose ones that work best for you. You can use a thermos for soup or hot foods like nuggets, taquitos, and more. Or you can use condiment containers to prep condiments early to put in your lunchboxes. The possibilities are limitless.
Make It Fun
To keep kids eating what you pack, it’s important to also make it fun for them. Find ways to make their sandwiches more silly or fun with cookie cutters or other methods, cut up sides in shapes, or anything else that’ll put a smile on their face. This is especially helpful for younger kids to keep them eating the things you pack, you can also add notes to the boxes too.
DIY
So many popular sides for kids can be made at home in a healthier or more unique way such as fruit cups, trail mixes, and more. You can make DIY fruit cups, make homemade applesauce to put in a side container or anything else you have at hand the weekend before. You can even let your kids help with this process to have some fun bonding time and make sure they like it.
No matter what your kid likes to have for lunch or how many lunches you have to pack each day, these hacks can help any parent make the lunch box packing much easier and more efficient. These tricks will help you make at least one part of your back to school routine more smooth this school year.