Recipe Wednesday: Brown Bag It

 I have a confession to make. I've never made a brown-bag, packed, school lunch for my kids.

Ok, ok, I am **slightly** exaggerating....i did make lunch for Will in preschool 3x a week last year but it was ALWAYS the exact.same.thing: jelly sandwich, crackers, yogurt, cereal bar. Every.single.day. It was brainless and an afterthought.

Well, two big things have happened this year...#1 School lunch prices skyrocketed from $1 (teacher discount!) to a whopping $5.70 (#teachersgetnorespect)!!!!Soooooo...Brookey will not be able to indulge in school hot lunch every day as she has the past 3 years. #2 Will has been branching out a little with his food choices so he will consider things other than the dreaded jelly sandwich.

Soooooo..i guess that means Mama needs to get off her butt and start making lunch everyday. Ugh. Luckily Pinterest and the internet have saved the day and I think I have this one under control. At least for the first few months :) I wanted to share with you some ideas about how I am going to make this school lunch thing happen...

First off--I am NOT this mom:

Really, people?? Who did this??? I want to know who it is because I want to be their friend. Because as their friend, I would tell them how ridiculous they are and after that, I would **strongly** suggest some additional hobbies to fill their time so they are not spending their time making cantaloupe hearts.

I'm very practical and short on time so my kids will be deprived of watermelon balloons. Sorry, kids!!! #pleaseforgive

Below is my practical-no-catelope-hearts-school-lunch game plan:

1) Shopping:  I started with a shopping trip! Yay! I bought the kiddos new, good sized lunch bags-this is Will's:

Then, I purchased these Rubbermaid lunch "bento-box" things from Target. They fit perfectly into the lunch bag AND they came with an ice pack :) I can't find them on Target online, but here they are on Amazon: Rubbermaid Lunch Blox

2) "Main Courses:" I scoured Pinterest for some "main course" ideas outside of the typical sandwich (which will STILL be on the menu, of course!). Here is a list of what I came up with...these are things my kids will eat..if your kiddos are more adventurous eaters then there are so many more options!

- Sandwiches: Jelly, Turkey, Ham/Cheese
 - Ham and Cheese skewers (substitute any meat or cheese...turkey, salami, Will even likes turkey pepperoni). Something like this:

- Whole wheat tortilla chips and shredded cheese/cheese cubes:

 - English muffin with cream cheese/peanut butter
- Quesidillas (my kids will eat them cold!)
- Mini bagels with cream cheese/jelly/honey, etc.
- Waffles. This looks great! Who says you can't have brunch for lunch?? Will would request a side of sausage :)

- Meat/Cheese/Crackers (aka: homemade Lunchable)
- English muffin cheese pizza
- Leftover pasta with red sauce
- Pasta Salad
- Cereal and milk
- Mac and cheese
- Tacos! You could also just use those "Scoop" chips and put whatever "toppings" on the side.

3) Fruit and Veggies: I want to include at least one fruit or veggie in each lunch, so here are my top picks that pack and travel well:

- Grapes
- Apple slices (squeeze a little lemon juice on them to prevent browning)
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Orange slices/Cuties
- Apple sauce cups
- Fruit cups
- Mandarin oranges
- Carrot sticks
- Melon 
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Cucumber
- Banana

 4) Sides & Snacks: Last, I brainstormed a bunch of snacks I know my kids will eat. Here are my ideas:

- Cereal bars (they LOVE the kids Clif bars, available at Costco)
- Veggie sticks
- Goldfish
- Crasins/Raisins
- Cheese sticks
- Pretzels
- Cheese Its
- Wheat Thins
- Muffins
- Yogurt
- Graham crackers
- Fig Bars
- Popcorn
- Danimals
- Kettle chips

5) Mix and Match: Now the easy part! I just mix and match! Each week I'll pick 3-5 "main courses", 2-3 fruits/veggies and 4-5 "sides"...then just mix it up! You can definitely do the same, just substitute things that your kids like to eat. If they don't eat many "main courses", add in more fruits/veggies and sides. No one said there HAS to be a main course in every single lunch! Well, maybe that chick who made the sandwich house with pretzel windows but we don't know her :)

Visually, the "mix and match" would look something like this...a main item, fruit/veggie and a few snacks:

 You can see that you can make tons of combinations with just a handful of items.

This "brainstorming" and list-making will definitely help me all year long, as I venture into the world of lunch making. I hope it will help you, too! I'll leave you with a few more pictures of simple lunches that will hopefully get you inspired for the school year. Happy lunch-packing!

PS--If you have any other great lunch ideas, I AM ALL EARS!!! I'll be looking for great ideas all year long! XO~ Casey