Mornings can get crazy with Rad’s school & work schedule, and my working schedule. (plus we both are NOT morning people, so we tend to sleep in a little too late)

I have very  little time to make a breakfast and lunch in the mornings.

I quickly learned I need to have things set aside and ready to go, for a

Routine lunch-making system… or else, we don’t get a lunch for the day…

PANTRY LUNCH BIN:

I have a bin in the pantry for organizing every side that I can throw into Rad’s lunch.

(keep in mind that Radley eats a LOT, so you can obviously adjust the proportions for the person you make these lunches for.)

I keep bags of the following foods:

1.  Tortilla chips (It’s a healthier choice and cheap…. we’re poor college students…)
2. Multigrain Nut Chips (From Costco)
3. Peanuts
4. fruit snacks
5. Pre packaged ritz crackers
6. Graham crackers.
7. Granola
8. Granola/Protein Bars

1) I always ALWAYS  include peanuts (he loves it as an energizing snack after his Basketball class), I also add a cliff bar as another snack throughout the day.

2) I then choose a choice of chips or crackers ( sometimes I do crackers and make sure to pack him string cheese and ham…this mixes things up and give him a little more protein),

3) I use the graham crackers to sometimes dip into his yogurt. YUM! And sometimes I’ll put a fruit snack in there too.

FRIDGE LUNCH BIN:

In the fridge the lunch bin contains:

1. String cheese,
2. Prepackaged fruits and veggies (cucumbers, celery, carrots, grapes, apples, and other types of easy to take fruits or vegetables)
3. Yogurt cups
4. pudding cups
5. Spoons
6. (sometimes pre packaged deli meat.)

1) I always include a vegetable (including a small dipping container of ranch dressing… or PB if its for celery.), a fruit, either a yogurt or pudding cup, spoon, string cheese, and sometimes I add deli meat to go with his string cheese. (He loves his protein)

FREEZER:

Go-Gurt or mini yogurt chips I make and keep frozen… ( I do this if I want to mix up the way he has his yogurt)

I also always have mini water bottles bagged together in the freezer or lunch ice packs, to put in his lunch to keep things cold throughout the day.

MAIN COURSE:

His main meal in his lunch is normally a couple sandwiches. (Either a meat and cheese, PB&J,PB honey banana, or a chicken salad sandwich.)

 If I do chicken salad sandwiches its nice because I can prep some beforehand in a tupperware container and use it a couple times that week! It’s really yummy too!   **(It’s just mayo, sliced pickles, and chicken ……….which we have cooked, shredded, prepped and bagged in the freezer. Mix it together. Put it on the sandwich, and some spinach if you want… And viola, you have an EASY YUMMY chicken salad sandwich.) This one might be one of Rad’s favorites.

On days when he is at work (and can use the microwave) I can give him left overs. Or I will pack tostadas, refried beans in tupperware, cheese in a separate tupperware, and salsa. It’s an easy thing for him to put together and heat up. He loves that lunch too!

THE FINISHING TOUCHES:

The last step for Rad’s lunch might embarrass him, but I always try to leave a message on a napkin letting him know that I hope he has a good day & to remind him I love him… I like to think it just spices up his lunches a little bit. And I’m glad he actually loves it when I write little notes… It’s cute when he notices the days when I forget or am in too much of a hurry to write something. I think I love leaving the napkin messages as much as he does.

I like keeping it pretty simple and prepared. I am loving this lunch system I have so far,  but if you have any other fun (quick & easy) lunch ideas for your husband/family I’d love to hear them! Make sure to comment below. Thanks for reading!!

XOXO

          ~Rissa