Ian's Lunch

Oy vey!  I am getting ready to send my newly turned 6 year old to kindergarten.  I am so not ready for this.  But I'm trying this week to get myself together.  He's excited and thankfully I don't have to worry about emotionally prepping him as much as myself.  My husband is working with me as well... ha ha!  He's trying to be supportive.  Tonight we go and meet his teacher. 

Honestly I'm dumbfounded by the amount of stuff I'm required to have to do to send him to a simple classroom.  Thankfully he is done being immunized and has registered.  But I am so confused on school supplies, does he need a new backpack or can he use the one from last year, will he be happy with his Darth Vader lunch box or does he need a new one and what is up with this school uniform policy?  Ugh.  I love it and hate it.  He can't wear anything he owns so he's going to be the lovely owner of several pairs of brown and blue pants and about 10 plain polo shirts.  :-) 

So I was going to sit down and make a list of everything I need to do before August 20th, his first day.  Which by the way...I hate that more and more school start in August.  AUGUST!  It's like they lost the last two weeks of summer.  Oh well.  Instead of a list and continuing to complaining  I decided to research ideas on brown bag lunch ideas.  I don't think I want him to buy lunch.  That seems ridiculous. 

As I was reviewing ideas on brown bag lunch ideas, it must have slipped from my attention that children in schools were now being sent to school with options fit for a celebrity on a vegan raw diet.  My word.  Some of the things I found were ridiculous ideas for children.  If I sent my kid to school with a mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich on Foccacia bread he might get beat up.  I'm not saying I want to give him PB&J everyday, but come on.  Some of these people who have written articles online must be living on the moon.  Because they are well ahead of my child's taste buds. 

And as much as I love the idea of soups packed up well in a thermos and giving it to be son I hate the idea of soup all over his "uniform" clothing.  I have seen him eat soup. 

So I was happy to have found a mom online who had some practical ideas that I could run with.  In the past I have always purchased conveniently packaged foods like applesauce cups, yogurts in the small packages etc.  But after reading this ladies ideas, I came up of a few of my own so I wanted to list all my fun ideas for Ian's lunch! 

Containers:
It's important in saving money since he'll be going everyday to have some containers to put some of the food in, instead of buying individual containers.  So I am planning on getting the "Take Along" brand by Rubbermaid, I think.  They twist on and off instead of snap which will hopefully avoid messes.  I'm also going to get some of the plastic sandwich boxes which will hopefully help keep sandwiches from smashing and can also be used for making your own lunchables! 

Main Courses:

1)  Sandwiches:  Obvious.  But I heard about these Sandwich Sealers and Decrusters.  At first I thought they sounded stupid since my kids eat the crust.  But they apparently keep the sandwich together better and neater.  And you can make your own PBJ Uncrustables which kids love. 

2)  Thermos Meals:  I probably won't do this right away until Ian gets bored.  But I like the idea of getting a Stainless Steel thermos that you can put Mac and Cheese in or other (non-liquid) leftovers.  Again, soup for my kids is a bad idea in public, but maybe your kid is different. 

3)  Lunchables.  I have bought them only on occasion when they were on sale.  My kids like them.  They don't beg for them.  But I like the idea of making up my own for Ian's lunch.  Take a plastic sandwich container and add your own cut up meat and cheese, put the crackers in a snack size bag to keep them from getting soggy and add a treat like a cookie or granola bar to really snaz it up.

Healthy Sides:

1) Applesauce Cups (make your own and save)
2) Yogurt Cups (ditto to the above)
3) Fruit Cups (you get the idea)
4) Dried Fruit Mix - Take Banana Chips, Raisins and Pretzels or Dried Cherries, Animal Crackers and Dried Mango...mix it up.  Use the snack size baggies for good portion control.
5) Carrots and Hummus or Dip of your choice

Yummy Snacky Sides:

1)  Jello or Pudding Cups (you can make these as well for a fraction of the cost of buying them) and you can make the sugar free version to make them better for your kids. 
2) Animal Crackers - mix up the plain with the chocolate and blow your kids mind at your creativity.
3) Goldfish - in case they miss preschool snacks. 
4) Homemade Goodies (mini muffins, mini cookies etc.) - Freeze them and put them in your kids lunch and they will have defrosted by lunch :-)  Use a snack size baggie for portion control.
5) Chips - I will probably not do chips, but if I do I would do the baked and I believe Pringles makes a good baked chip.
6) Rice Krispie Treats!  They are just good. 

Drinks

1) Juice Boxes - I avoid juice with the boys because it's not good for their teeth and it's just unnecessary calories for them.  But on occasion they have them and obviously they are really convenient when pressed for time.

2) Milk Boxes - I may look for a brand I like and price it.  But I may also just make my own.

3) Water - Probably the best alternative.  You can get those really cute little bottled waters at Aldi and get like 24 for the cost of one 6 pack of  juice boxes.


That's it.  Those are my ideas!  Counting down the days til school starts!!!  Not happily...but willingly :-)