Let's Talk Food

School lunches, to be more exact.
Next week I start back full time and the kids will be at the sitter's.  My students start the 14th and then HooBear starts preK on the 15th. This info is crucial because starting the 14th I'm restricted to 30 min lunch, which consists of taking kids to/from lunch, personal bathroom break and doing whatever needs to get done before the next lesson. So figure about 13-15minutes for lunch. I do not kid. And HooBear got a lunchbox for school and thinks she will use it every day.

All this made me start thinking "Oh crap, I gotta start planning to take my lunch in everyday. Ack, and HooBear doesn't exactly eat sandwhiches!"   Last year I ended up doing WeightWatchers shakes for lunch for Healthy Choices frozen dinner, which worked pretty well. I had to make sure I ate a protein packed breakfast and had snacks towards the end of the day. This was usually almonds, cheese sticks or yogurt.  I ofcourse can't snack in front of the kids so whatever I take needs to be eaten quickly or else I would eat it while they were  at Music or Computers.

So I started looking online.  I actually didn't have to look far because I happened to be on Pinterest and saw 2 intriguing pins for school lunches.  The first one was 20 lunches that were gluten and allergy free over at Keeley McGuire's blog. I'm not concerned with either of those but I loved the simplicity of the meals and saw how easy it (seemingly) is to come up with creative yet healthy and balance lunches for kids. It also inspired me to realize that my lunches don't have to have HUGE amounts of food, but it's all about balanced meals.   This site also made me go on the hunt for some Bento items. Check out the little Bento cups she uses to hold the carrots or dips to keep them from touching the other items.

Another great way to compartmentalize and make use of all those Gladware containers that don't exactly fit what we need.

The second site, Once a Month Mom, is one that I used to follow a lot, before baby #2.  It's for Once a Month Cooking...you know, you spend one day a month shopping and preparing several meals that can go in the freezer and last your family of 4 through the entire month.  I tried a few recipes with great success but once AbbDabs got here, all extra time went out the window - even though this technically saves time in the long run, I just couldn't cut it.   So I was excited to see some freezer ideas for lunch box lunches.

I haven't dug too deep into these recipes but I'm thinking I can afford to try a few of them and get the family's feedback.  (Forgot to mention that the Hubs is the only leftover eater in the house, and he does it out of the fact that if he doesnt then we're wasting food....taking one for the team! Atta boy!)  But anyways, check out the recipe for Pizza in a Sleeping Bag, or Cheesy Ham Biscuits.  YUM and totally doable for the kids or me (remember the less picky Hubs, he'll be happy too!).


So what exactly do you take to eat on your lunches? Do you pack lunches for you kids (especially non-sandwhich meals)??   Where do you get your meal ideas? 
I'd love to hear!