For a homeschooler, lunches can be the bane of our existence. These kids seem to want to eat all the time…and it always happens when we are right in the middle of division problems or sentence diagramming. But, we can look to Benjamin Franklin for some motivation for feeding these ever-hungry learners-
“Failure to plan is planning to fail.”
Ben Franklin’s quote seems to fit most parenting and schooling situations, but it definitely applies to feeding our families. When we haven’t planned, we end up scrambling, serving less than ideal options, wasting money on last minute grocery runs, or running behind on our daily schedule. So, here are a few homeschool lunch ideas to get your creative meal planning juices flowing!
The Veggie Tray
My absolute favorite way to serve a healthy lunch is with my plastic veggie tray. I fill the sections with food I usually have in the fridge- carrots, celery sticks, apple slices, raisins, turkey roll ups, pita chips or tortilla strips. I’ve also been known to fill the tray with cheese quesadilla pieces, chicken nuggets, or other good lunch foods. The fun part of the veggie tray is that it can be prepped in the morning and stored in the fridge until lunchtime and then just open the lid and let the kids go crazy. Also, there are no plates or utensils to clean up. With my crew, one full tray is enough food and variety to fill and please everyone. For larger families, two or more trays might be necessary.
Leftovers
My next favorite lunch is leftovers from dinner the night before. When I have enough ingredients to our evening meals to make more than necessary, I do. I know that even if the kids won’t eat it, I will. Rewarming burgers, soup, pizza slices or meatloaf is quick and easy to do when you pop that casserole dish in the oven and get back to one more assignment before lunch.
Stock the Freezer
The food-prep pros have the corner on quick lunches (and breakfasts, too!). With a little internet search, you’ll find dozens of ideas for single serving freezer meals. My personal picks are sausage/egg/cheese English muffin sandwiches, any type of lunch meat and cheese sandwiches, bean and cheese burritos, breakfast burritos, chicken salad sandwiches or other family favorites. Simply buy the ingredients in bulk, make the sandwiches or burritos all at once and freeze wrapped in parchment paper (for the ones you will want to warm) or plastic baggies (for the ones you will eat room temperature), label and freeze. Once you have a stash of these gems in the freezer, your family can make their own lunchtime choices after they eat breakfast and it will be ready by lunch. These are also good for last minute field trips or evenings you’re running late for dinner.
When all else fails
Some of us are horrible at prepping food ahead of time – or have seasons of inability to prep (like a baby arrival or sudden illness) – and we need homeschool lunch ideas for those situations too. Thankfully, our grocery stores are stocked full of quick meal ideas which require little-to-no prep. Repurpose one of the plastic drawer storage towers you have in the basement to hold fruit cups, apple sauce cups, granola bars, crackers, tuna salad kits and other packaged food. Fill a drawer in the fridge with cheese sticks, pepperoni slices, yogurt cups, and anything else your learners enjoy. Make an “homeschool lunch menu” options list and post it so everyone can see what is available. Ask your family to make note of when your stockpile is low.
The best quick lunch advice is to be like Benjamin and plan ahead! Figure out what works for your family, what their likes and dislikes are and go from there. I frequently poll my kids to see what their new favorite foods are at the time, then I try to add those items to our menus.
One final note: Lunch prep is a great task for growing kids. Once your children are old enough, ask them to take turns prepping lunch for the others while you tend to another task whether that be a chore, one-on-one time with another child or something else you need to accomplish.