Today, Rocks in My Dryer is having Works for Me Wednesday: Backward Edition.Perfect! I've been in a quandary lately about lunch. I need your help!
I pack Hubby's lunch for school everyday (OK, OK, sometimes he does it himself) and Bug and I eat at home for lunch everyday. The problem? A human can only eat PB&J so many days in a row without losing a decent chunk of their sanity.
Mostly we do sandwiches. I jazz it up slightly by alternating between egg salad, chicken salad, turkey and cheese, and the old American standby-- PB&J. I have been trying to cut down/out the turkey lately since I'm pregnant and I want our eating habits to move away from lunch meat anyway.
So... how do I keep lunch fresh here at home and in Hubby's lunchbox? How can I be creative and original without spending too much time or money on lunches?
10 comments:
I find myself struggling with the same situation as I pack lunch for our family each day. For myself, I have enjoyed a break from the "sandwich fest" by packing a fresh fruit salad, a portion of cheese and some type of quick bread (ie: banana, date-nut, etc). I often throw in a hard-boiled egg too. I have been pleasantly surprised with how filling it can be and it is a healthy, balanced alternative to the sandwiches.
i like to take after my mom's example and make leftover meals for lunch. if we have baked chicken for dinner, i might throw the leftovers in a pan with some rice and make chicken-rice for lunch, or if you make turkey for dinner, you could toss it in some broth with veggis and make turkey soup for dinner... but it takes more time than sandwiches.
you could also change it up with doing wraps instead of sandwiches, and packing the wrap full of veggis and sprouts (or leftover dinner meat!) instead of the lunchmeat.
My little girl and I love english muffin pizzas, quesadillas, and leftovers. Also, I have to confess that I keep a stash of chicken nuggets in the freezer for those days when nothing else will do. We still do sandwiches two or three days a week, but the variety helps us not lose our minds!
I'm a big fan of leftovers, too. But I also recently got this cool little container (made by a company called Fit and Fresh) from Target that is several separate containers separated by an ice pack that fits inside. It's nice because it's a compact way to pack several types of things but not be carting around a huge back. I like to make bean dip to have with veggies, veggie sandwiches, yogurt with fruit, quesadillas made with leftover chicken from the night before, or pizza also made with leftovers. I love to make sandwiches on english muffins, too. For other great ideas, check out this blog, which is all about packing lunches.
http://lunchinabox.net/
Here's a site you might have fun with:
http://www.cookingcute.com/
Bento is a Japanese way of packing an attractive lunch. Don't worry, you don't have to get the fancy boxes! Even slices of cheese cut into triangles rather than squares (or use cookie cutters!) will give your lunches a kick.
Have you ever tried peanut butter spaghetti (more fancily known as Peanut Noodles)? How about fried rice?
Here's an idea I saw on Rachel Ray that I think is really cool: separate favorite salad ingredients in little baggies, including such things as vegetables, cooked chicken, and nuts. Put some salad dressing in a very small container with a secure lid. Put it all into a plastic storage container that's big enough to hold it.
At work (or home), empty all the bags into the box. Pour on the salad dressing. Close the box and shake until the dressing coats the salad.
How neat is that?
Leftovers are "da bomb!"
What about hummus and pitas? Or bean dips and taco chips? Taco salad?
We also switch up the breads...rye break, sour dough, wraps or pita breads.
If you husband has access to a microwave, you can do what I do - make HUGE dinners (for our family of two n' a toddler) and then just pack the left overs up for lunch! We eat a lot of Chinese food here, so it ends up being left overs, over rice...but it's filling and doesn't take 30 seconds to pack. The next day, baby and I eat whatever is left, or make some quick pasta.
I'm a big fan of bento boxes. You can put a lot of different items in them. Check out these links for some great ideas:
http://www.laptoplunches.com/LaptopLunchPhotos.html
http://lunchinabox.net/
Hi Shiela!
I don't know if you remember me but we used to have Math Studies class together in High School...I just got married and the hubby won't take/eat a lunch unless I have packed it for him...I try to variate between sandwiches, pasta, wraps, and burritos...he needs something he doesn't havt to warm up so it's hard! Your daughter is too cute! It's hard to think how far we've all come...my blog is www.ramblingcreativity.blogspot.com stop in if you have a chance!
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