packed lunch for our busy days

October 16, 2014


packed lunchLast week, Cristina asked in this post, how I handle lunches for our homeschool busy days. We jam-pack their swim, piano, and hip hop classes all on one day, so we are mostly on the go on that particular day. We start with two hours of homeschooling (usually we tackle our english language arts), then we head off to swim. On the way, we listen to our Latin or Spanish chants. Glow is the first to have swim lessons, so while she is swimming, we are reading from our history book. After the girls have swim, it’s back in the car and I serve them lunch on our way to piano. After piano, we get home and do more school (math and science) for about two hours, then we go to hip hop. Once we are home from dance, they finish up any work left undone and it’s about time for dinner. It’s a pretty intense day, but we have the routine down, so it makes it manageable.

For lunch, I just pack the girls some PB&J (sunflower butter for True) sandwiches, along with apples and carrots for all. Carrots are still a choking hazard for Glow, so she gets an extra fruit. That pretty well fills them up until we hit snack time at 3:30pm. I make the sandwiches in the morning, while I’m making Ben’s lunch, and I do everything assembly line style so it’s pretty quick.

I must admit, I’ve been really bad making sure I eat lunch on those days. I’ll bring a some sort of bar (I like these, these, and these) and fruit for me, but I’m usually starving by the time dinner comes around. Lately, I haven’t been feeling the PB&J sandwich, so it’s why I don’t make myself one; I probably should though.

Do you pick up fast food on busy days or are simple sandwiches your go-to like us?

 

9 comments on “packed lunch for our busy days”

  • amanda veneman says:

    As an RD, I’m curious to know what you pack in Ben’s lunch!

    • Rubyellen says:

      It’s somewhat similar. We are creatures of habit. It’s funny you ask because he started writing for Hero Nutritionals and one of the posts he wrote is a day in the life of an RD, and what he eats (and his family). I’ll link up and share it once it’s posted.

  • Stella says:

    I know that pb&j sandwiches are very common in the states for kids as a lunch but to me I don’t get how that can be enough.. Anyways, I am hungry person with a crazy high metabolism so it’s 99% of the time hot lunches for me. Sometimes dinner left overs (like when I worked in an office) but now when I’m a wahm, I cook lunch or do something w left overs for my son and I.
    What do you usually eat as a snack in the afternoon? Usually when I shop in the the states (so is American) I always find so many e-numbers or strange ingredients :/ I’ve made my own peanut butter in the states but here it’s easy to find an organic one that’s just peanuts and a little bit of oil.

    Sounds like a very intense but fun day! 🙂

    • Rubyellen says:

      I agree. A lot of American food products are filled with so many strange (unnecessary and horrible) ingredients, but there are also some very natural options, if you know where to look. The peanut butter we use is just peanuts and some oil too!

      This is what our lunch looks like when we are out and not home. When we are home, it’s typically a hot lunch from leftovers from the previous night’s dinner or I’m cooking something. If we do bake something, they have that for snack from time to time. Typically though, it’s crackers with some more fruits and vegetables, or maybe some greek yogurt.

  • Anastasiya says:

    Here, in Russia, nutritional traditions are very different. Soup at lunch is a must. At least, most of the time. Kids get used to certain eating habbits at kindergarten and school, and we usually stick to them. When we are away or busy, I cook some snacks beforehand and add some processed sweets (shame on me). My son’s metabolic rate is very high (thanks to his dad), so he eats quite a lot and everything turns into energy. Well, for a lunch away from home I make chicken breast nuggets or simply bake chicken breast pieces (but they aren’t as popular as nuggets). The kid doesn’t like soft veggies, so I add crunchy carrot sticks, cucumbers and sometimes cabbage pieces or homemade pickles. As for fruit, here goes everything: apples, pears, bananas, kiwi. They make his favourite winter brunch. I just cut them into pieces and serve. Pre-cut fruit is eaten faster. And then add some dairy drink for myself.

  • Nikki says:

    It’s not the best option, but on my very busy days where I don’t have dinner leftovers to take for my work lunch I’ll make a lean cuisine (usually the lemongrass chicken) and throw a cup of cooked broccoli in with it to help the meal stretch and to give me a little more nutrition.

    Lately I’ve been thinking about making a big batch of veggie breakfast burritos that I could freeze and have ready fast for my work lunches.

  • cristina says:

    Thank you !! lots of great ideas in the comments as well <3

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