School Lunches

Ah, yes, the dreaded school lunch.  School starts on Tuesday and we will have been away for the weekend and then the stores are closed when we get back.  I need to start planning last week now for what we will put in E's lunch on the first day (not to mention every other day after that).

When I was growing up, my school only had a cafeteria in grade 6 when the new school open (Hillcrest Academy, what up!) so I brought a bag lunch everyday.  I think I mostly had sandwiches, fruit, and maybe the odd granola bar or pudding (but very rarely, we didn't eat a lot of packaged foods). When I got to high school I was "allowed" to buy pizza for my lunch once a week from the local pizza place downtown.  I remember thinking when I graduated from high school, "I never have to pack a lunch again!".  Then I started my summer job, and had to bring a lunch most days.  But when I got to university and lived in residence for 3 years, I had a meal plan at the cafeteria and was spoiled by not having to put together any more lunches.  Then I moved out of residence and my lunch making resumed.  And I still pack a lunch for work most days.  So therefore I am a bag lunch expert, but I still feel challenged by knowing E needs lunch everyday.  I want to make sure he eats it but I also want to make sure he doesn't eat it all for recess.  I'm also torn between not wanting to buy a lot of prepackaged snack food but also the convenience of just throwing a bunch of stuff into his lunch bag without having to prepare a lot in advance.

I have found a few ideas on Pinterest (of course) for 30 days of lunch, no repeats.  Something that is obvious but that I've just figured out by looking at these posts is that there is no magic to preparing a lunch.  Buy fruits and vegetables and put them in a container.  Cut up cheese and meat and put it in a container.  Make cookies and muffins and put them in a container.

We have a lot of plastic containers, and a few special ones for lunch, so I think I'm ready.

Also I have no idea what the food situation is like at the school.  I don't think they have a cafeteria, but I think they have pizza day sometimes and a lunch lady who prepares some things (although whether a JK kid can go over to purchase these items is a question). We'll figure it out as it comes.  At the very least, the after school program has a snack so even if E eats all of his lunch for recess, he won't starve before we come to pick him up.