How to Avoid Fast Food and the Dreaded Lunch Lady
August 6, 2007
Packing lunch to school or work everyday…not fun. We do it because it’s healthier for our bodies and our wallets. But how to find the time in the morning, every morning, to pack it?
I make five lunches on Sunday that will stay fresh all week and I can just grab ‘em in the morning and go. Here’s what I do:
**If you’re a salad lover like me, use either a food container like the Salad Shaker or the Lunch on the Go. They’re both designed to keep produce fresh longer, keep dressing separate from the salad. They come with little ice packs.
**Cook for an army! Cooking more dinner than you need just means leftovers for one or more days. But don’t just throw a plastic cover over the casserole and shove it to the back of the fridge! (You won’t feel like dishing it into a container in the morning.)
After everyone eats, divide up the leftover and immediately put it in containers. I use stackable ones that will take up minimal space in the fridge (and I can always find them).
**Snacks are important in your diet, so there’s nothing wrong with throwing some pre-chopped veggies in a chilled Snack Container (this one even has a removable cup for your hummus or ranch dip)
**Don’t overlook fridge organization! To complete the process, stack one entrée, one salad, and one snack on top of each other, for each day.
It really shouldn’t take up more than 1-1/2 cubic feet in the fridge.
You are soooo right about dividing the food up as soon as dinner is over. When it’s easy to eat leftovers, leftovers get eaten. When it’s a pain to eat leftovers, leftovers get ignored until they can be thrown away.
I make salads and sandwiches every weekend and it’s great! We eat more salad and the lettuce doesn’t rot because I’m too lazy to make a salad with dinner after a long day at work.
For our daughter, we use a wide mouth small stainless thermos for hot food for her lunch. So when we’re done with dinner we pack leftovers into the dish we will heat it in – usually a regular dish bowl (not plastic) with a silicone cover. Saves transferring it into yet another dish to heat it in, and lets us designate it for her lunch.
Now that sounds really efficient! I’m going to try reorganizing my fridge today. Thanks for the great tip.
My DH has started taking leftovers to work. Dividing them before hand is much easier.
Thanks for a great new blog.
Hugs,
Melinda
http://mghollis.blogspot.com/
Unfortunately, my husband can’t take leftovers (he works construction, nowhere to reheat on-site) but I try to make a treat on the weekend so he can have something special in his lunch.
Nice site, by the way, adding you to my blogroll now.
Chrissy
http://dinner-myplace.blogspot.com
I think you have some wonderful and useful ideas, however, figuring how many cubic ft. it will use in your fridg…that puts you right into the middle of the looney bin (another useful container).
I’ve had my eye on that Salad Shaker for my husband for quite some time!
I also make quite a bit of food (went from feeding an immediate family of 5 and then get married, move out and only need to cook for 2… it’s a hard adjustment) and am an old hat at making leftovers specifically for making leftovers. Make chicken and pasta for dinner? Save some chicken and toss them into a salad tortilla wrap for lunch tomorrow!
Making entrees that can easily be “mixed and matched” with other meals keeps things from feeling boring and well… leftover.
Great ideas! And this blog is already in my favorites list. : )
Great ideas! I am sharing them with my daughter who is well on her way to being self sufficient (at almost 20)!
These are inspiring hints, and very timely, as we get ready for another year of “It takes too long to wait in the cafeteria line” vs. “I’m tired of sandwiches . . . ”
I’ll have to start cooking dinners with an eye towards leftovers again. Thanks!
Love the leftover idea! This is what’s been working in our house…the rule around here is that by third grade, you are old enough to make your own lunch. To make it fast and easy for the kids, every Sunday I peel and chop fresh veggies and fruits and fill enough snack size zip-bags for the week (which includes enough for my hubby, too). Juice boxes are standard and easy. Daily snacks are also bagged and ready on Sunday. My kids do not like to eat sandwiches that have been left in the fridge overnight, so that is what they make each morning. They pack sandwich, veggie/fruit, juice, chips, and snack–and I add their “lunch note” from me on their napkin. Fast!
My kids are home schooled. I always make extra for dinner so we’re assured of having a quick lunch the next day.
School lunches are SO grim, and buying lunch at the office is SO expensive, leftovers are the perfect solution. Just gotta get the right containers… Thanks!