Recent acquisitions

OK so recently, and somewhat in conjunction with my previous "left overs" post, I ventured out to get a thermos to put the kids' food in for school. I had attempted the use of the inexpensive "take alongs" tupperware bowls I had, by warming the food in the bowl, then wrapping it in a dishtowel to insulate it some, while at the same time insulating it from getting the rest of the lunch (drink, fruit, yogurt, etc) hot and making it go bad. I was super-heating the food in order to get it (hopefully) hot enough to still be warm by lunch time. However, after a few days of this, I realized it wasn't going to work, and I went to get the lunch thermoses. I went to Target to get mine, however I know Wal Mart and other retail stores like that sell them. I had actually looked for one at Kroger first, because I was there at the time, but did not find any. At the store, they had many brands in different sizes. They also had nice looking ones that were plate-shaped and had a folding spork in the lid. This would have been perfect for an adult, but for the purposes I needed them for, notsomuch. (had it been for me or the hubby, I most likely would have gotten that) So I got the 10 oz food thermos for the kids. Now, being as I had one of the kids with me, I was conned into getting the character thermoses, but had I not had them, they would have had the plain, less expensive, off brand ones.
Now, a tip I learned on day 1...you definitely want to temper the thermos first. Apparently, foods that are not soups do not transfer heat into the thermos as well as liquids do. I had used chicken pot pie, and when I picked the oldest up and asked him if his lunch was still warm at lunch, he told me that it was cold. The next day, I put hot water in it and put the lid on and let it sit for 10 minutes, then dumped out the water and put lunch in, and that day I was informed that his lunch (spaghetti and meatballs) was still warm at lunch.
Another thing, when doing leftovers, I go ahead the night before and portion out what lunch will be in a separate bowl from the rest of the leftovers. Then I warm it in that container in the morning while I'm tempering the thermos, and transfer it into the tempered thermos.
Having worked in food service throughout high school and college, I'm really big into safe food temperatures. I try to make sure to get the food hot enough that it stays at a safe temp until lunch (which for my kindergartener is 1030), while at the same time keeping the cold foods at a safe cold temperature. This was my biggest reason for not liking how I did the hot lunches the first couple of days. I was not comfortable with the fact that the food may not be at safe temperatures. So with the Thermos, I can have the hot food in a container in which it will stay that way, while at the same time having the ice pack in the insulated lunchbox to keep the cold foods/drinks cold. This really helps me to feel more comfortable that they're getting a nutritious and healthy lunch, but also a safe lunch.

Been a while/the greatness of leftovers

OK so my apologies for my hiatus...hubby came home on R&R and I've been busy with appointments and school stuff and other things with the kiddos. So needless to say, the blog here has kind of taken a back-seat to life. However, I am hopefully back for the long haul now :) (until hubby redeploys of course, and then I'll most likely take another hiatus).

So with no further ado, meal idea time!

So I will be the first to admit that I am NOT a morning person. I have deployment-induced insomnia at night, and when 0600 rolls around, I am NOT ready to be up. So many times, I find myself facing the whole "OMG it's almost time to go and I forgot STILL need to make lunch!" Now, my husband is NOT a leftover eater. If it bears the POSSIBILITY of being something that I have re-heated from a previous day/night, he will not touch it with a 10 foot pole! LUCKILY, the kids are not like this. So lately, I've been making dinners that warm-over easily, and making enough of it to send to school with the kiddos. Menu items for this will be another entry, but suffice it to say that I think about how good this will be tomorrow for lunch :). So on those mornings when I am in "OMG" mode, I'm set! :D And I don't feel guilty for "giving in" and just sending him with 2 bucks to buy lunch.

Anyhow, so I know it's not much, but many mornings, leftovers from the night before have been my saving grace. And like I said before, more to come in another post ;)

Keep packing those lunches mamas!

The essentials

OK so I thought I would start with what I believe to be some of the essentials to sending lunches to school with children. So I decided to do this in list form.

1) Thermal Lunchbox
This is imperative in keeping food both cold AND warm. What you you put in warm will stay warm for a period, and what you put in cold will stay cold for a period.
2) Small tupperware-ish bowls.
In my opinion, I prefer using small tupperware-ish bowls as opposed to using ziplock-ish baggies. While the ziplock baggies allow for more room in some cases, I prefer not to use them for environmental reasons. After spending 3 1/2 years in Germany and learning the art of recycling and reusing/repurposing, I find that I much prefer the small tupperware-ish bowls that I can wash and use again and again. It's also cheaper in the long run to invest in some inexpensive (think store brand, ziplock, rubbermaid, etc) sandwich-, and snack-size bowls than to use a new bag (or 3) every day, and have to buy a new box of baggies every couple of weeks.
3) Re-usable ice packs
When sending cold foods, like sandwiches, fruits, yogurts, salads, etc, these are an INTEGRAL lunch-packing supply. Freeze them at night, pack them in the lunchbox, and re-freeze each night to be used again when needed (often times, tomorrow LOL!)
4) A small Thermos jug
This will help you to be able to send soups, stews, chilis, etc, and are also good for keeping things like warm sandwiches warm.

This is just a small list of the essentials that I feel are needed to be successful in sending lunches to school with your lil one every day. If there are other things that you feel are necessary, then by all means, have it! I think it's best to have all things you may need on hand, that way if you decide to send something last-minute that requires something like the Thermos for instance, then you are not scrambling to figure out what to do in a pinch!

Idea sharing :)

If you have ideas to share for lunches, email me at lunchpackingmama@gmail.com. I'll compile my ideas along with those of others to create these blog posts :)

And so it starts

I'm a military wife and mother of 2 boys, a wannabe foodie, on a budget, trying to come up with fun and healthy ideas for sending lunches to school. I have a 3YO who has to take lunch to preschool every day, and a Kindergartener who wants to. I started out the school year purchasing lunches for my kindergartener, and became very disenchanted when he was coming home starving every day, and told me that he wasn't eating because he didn't like the food. Upon investigation of the school menu, I was appalled to see the "healthy lunches" that the schools were providing (and it is on a 3 week rotation cycle, so every 4th week's menu is exactly the same as it was 3 weeks ago). Also, the price of $2 a day for a substandard meal was just ridiculous in my opinion. So I went out, bought an insulated lunchbox and some fruits, veggies, meats, breads, etc, and became a lunch packing Mama! This blog will consist of different things that are able to be sent to school for my lil ones for lunch. Hopefully I'll have a new blog at least weekly with different ideas. I figure if I can pick my own brain and the brains of my friends, then hopefully I can give some ideas to other Moms out there who wish to send healthy, affordable lunches to school with their kiddos!