Holidays are over, New Year came and went. As soon as the holiday chaos ends, the regular chaos starts again. Kids go back in school. James goes back to work. This means scheduling, uniforms, backpacks, homework, laundry, sports bags, after school stuff, daily showering, early breakfasts, school snacks, school lunches, and after school snacks. Ugh. I saw quite a few posts on social media about parents being excited to send the kids back to school. I'm not excited. I like it when the kids are home with me.
But, to take the edge off of the chaos, I engage in a champagne and yoga pants moment and do some brainstorming for the school lunches, snacks, breakfasts and after school snacks. It's all about advanced planning and taking advantage of your chest freezer. Make a schedule, ask the family for input, and make make a list. All this do ahead planning will save you time in the long run, so you're not running out to the grocery store every day.
My oldest son Zade, is a really picky eater. And, he doesn't like the hot lunch that is provided at the school, except for every other week, when he gets pizza. So, it's up to me to make sure he gets a lunch that he likes enough to eat. He also needs routine in his meals, and a balance of textures and colors. First thing I do is get the kid involved. "Zade, what are your favorite foods?"
"Pizza, hot dogs, mac and cheese."
I can work with that.
"What do you like having for lunch?"
"Peanut butter sandwich and bagels with cream cheese"
Done. That sounds like 5 lunches to me. Pizza. Hot dogs. Mac and cheese. Peanut butter sandwich. Bagels with cream cheese.
Next, take the kid grocery shopping. Don't forget the list you made, and your resusable shopping bags. This is not a hassle, this is GREAT! Having the kid next to you gets him to choose his fruits, veggies and snacks. They might also surprise you, when I say, "Choose a veggie to have with chicken for dinner" he eagerly gets the broccoli. Or, "find the fruit for your lunch this week" and he says, "apples!" My thinking is that I can give him the power to choose his foods, so he's more likely to eat them. Even if he eats half of his lunch, it's a success. At the end of the day Zade has chosen the following side dishes: mini Fuji apples, baby carrots, Babybel cheese, pistachios and "chocolate mushrooms". We take everything home and I finalize my plan.
Monday: homemade mini pizza
Tuesday: Homemade bagels with cream cheese
Wednesday: Homemade mac and cheese
Thursday: peanut butter sandwich
Friday: alternates weekly with school hot lunch (pizza) and hot dog from home.
I balance each main course with either a fruit or veg, something crunchy, and a dessert. Which, for the time being is, pistachios and "chocolate mushrooms " respectively. School snack is the Babybel cheese and either the fruit or veg, whatever isn't in the lunch, I also throw in something leftover from breakfast. Planning and shopping DONE! Now to start cooking!
It takes up to a day to prep everything. I suggest starting early, having good background noise, wearing slippers, and having an easy dinner planned. By the end of the day you might be sick of cooking. First thing I make is the mini cheese pizzas. When there is a "break", maybe when the dough is rising, I prep something else, like making the pizza sauce, or grating the cheese for the mac and cheese. Multitasking is great when you've practiced these dishes over and over again. Otherwise, stick to one dish at a time. You won't get overwhelmed, and each dish will turn out nicely. Remember, you're making lunch for about a month, maybe 6 weeks, so there is a lot of work involved.
When your pizzas and mac and cheese are done, let them cool. While they're cooling, take a break, pop the bubbly if you have to. Sample the mac and cheese and pizza. Next on the to do list is homemade bagels and portioning the food, so you're going to need your energy. Take a break and reward yourself. Prep the bagel dough, and as it's rising, start portioning your other food. Put each pizza in a baggie, and store them in the freezer. Put the mac and cheese in take out boxes and then in the freezer. Separate the baby carrots, and pistachio's into snack size baggies. While you're at it, make some smaller to go cups with cream cheese. Finish baking the bagels, and then you're good to go!
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