The First Lunch

School is underway, and the summer went by far to quickly. Back to schedules, hockey, dance, piano, and school lunches. I really don't enjoy making lunches, as last year, there were many times during the week when the lunches would come home, with only the snack eaten. Now that the kids are a bit older, they know about the importance of nutrition and having 3 - 4 of the food groups at a meal. Also, they can really take part in choosing and making their lunches the night before.

So tonight, on the eve before school, we dug deep in our pantry for the lunch boxes, opened them up, and made our first school lunch for the 2009 - 2010 school year.

Before you get started, open up all the lunch boxes, and place them on the counter. Make sure they are clean, and there are no "surprises" in the morning. You can put any non-perishable food items in the lunch box the night before.

Order Up!!

• Ham sandwich on Rye bread --cheddar and mayo for my son, one plain for my daughter. I made the sandwiches and put them in the freezer. My sister-in-law told me she does this to avoid that "warm sandwich taste"
• Side order of sliced pickles in a mini-ziploc for my son's sandwich
• Grapes-- washed, put in a ziploc container
• Blackberries --washed, put in a ziploc container
• 2 Home-Made Cookies each
• Nutrigrain Bar
• Yogurt Tube -- put in the freezer the night before
• Juice Box (100 % juice) -- in the freezer
• Water bottles -- put in the freezer the night before, 1/2 filled with water. In the morning, just fill the rest with water.
• Mini Freezer packs -- 1 pink one, and 1 yellow one. I bought these at Co-op for under 2 dollars each. They really work well to keep things cold, which helps foods taste fresh.

Everyone gets a sandwich, fruit, treat and drink. There are a few extra's, as I know my son is very active and has a bigger appetite than my daughter. In the morning, it's just grab...and GO!