School (lunch) is almost done!

School is almost over for the year, and you know what that means?  Number one in my book is NO MORE SCHOOL LUNCHES!   I find making them to be a huge disappointment, and this year was the year to really try to engage the kids in making their own.  For the most part, we really tried to involve them, whether it was at the grocery store level, or at the "make your own damn lunch" level, or both.  Ideally you really want them to make their lunch themselves, but timing is everything.  We have found the best time to make school lunches is right after dinner, after the table is cleared, and the kitchen is still a bit of a mess.  By making their own lunch, it really gives them some value to what they are eating and they know what to expect.  I probably should have been doing this a long time ago, but I can be a bit of a control freak (really??!) so this was also a big step for me to actually let them do it.

Of course every kid has their preferences...my son loves sandwiches, or any type of home-made sub, but not every day.  My daughter does not go for sandwiches, although once in a blue moon she will. Her favourite school lunch this year was taking leftovers from dinner.  She'll take leftover potatoes, leftover perogies or leftover pasta...and she'll eat it cold!  Other things the kids will take include home-made soup in their thermos, though thermos lunches have not gone over well this year.  They also love that "Wow Butter" made from soy.  It really does taste like peanut butter, but is completely nut free.

In the end no matter who makes their lunch, there are always days when all of the lunch comes back.  And what's the grossest part about school lunch?    Emptying their lunch kits at the end of the day.  The kids are getting better at this, but sometimes that stinky lunch bag sits in their school bag all weekend, only for us to deal with it on Sunday night.

Tips for making school lunches:

• Give your kids a choice of a grain, a protein, a fruit and/or vegetable and a treat
• Always pack a water bottle
• Take them grocery shopping, or if this is too painful, have them write down their ideas for lunches, and take that list to the grocery store
• Have them pack it the night before...it really saves you in the morning
• Use an icepack, or find a lunch bag with a built in ice pack.  We bought our lunch box from pods'n'peels (see link below), and we store it in the freezer.  Keeping stuff cold really helps keep it fresh
• Get your kids involved  

All in all, it has been a better "school-lunch-year", but I for one will not only be celebrating school being over, but will be rejoicing in 8 weeks of not worrying about school lunches!

http://www.podsnpeels.com/store/