Nothing strikes fear in my heart quite as much as the realization at 7:30 on a school morning, that I have not packed my children’s lunches. It has happened more times than I care to remember.
Before we know it, it will be back to school time and along with that, the great lunch debate.
Admittedly, I have not been the best at planning for lunches. Now that we are gluten free, some dairy free, with the possibility of being placed in a peanut free classroom, lunch can become very complicated and planning is now a necessity. With my oldest, who has his driver’s license, I have the option to hand him money. It is not that easy with my younger children.
When I am at the store, I always make sure to stock up on what I think is a good variety of lunch options. However when it comes time to pack lunches, I am often met with disapproving stares and groans. And I am sure I am not the only parent who has gone to pack a lunch box only to find the remains of yesterday’s mostly untouched lunch.
What are they eating? I have no idea.
I have one child that wants to take a regular lunch. As in, exactly the same as everybody else’s non-gluten free lunches. It is very important to her that her lunch blends in. My other child once asked me if I could make shrimp risotto for her lunch. Make, not warm up. This request was at 7:45am. She was so upset when I denied her request.
Apparently, I am not a very understanding mom.
So, this year we are going to try a more collaborative approach. I am hoping that by giving them responsibility for their lunches that they will actually eat them. We are going to plan lunches a week at a time, so that we will always have everything that is needed on hand. We are also going to use bento style lunch boxes and thermoses. These boxes come with separate washable compartments, which not only eliminates the need for plastic bags, but allows them to take a little bit of a lot of things. I will let you know how those work out. I am hopeful.
Our goal is to prep everything for the week on Sunday. The night before each school day, we will fill the Bento boxes and cold thermoses, and have food for hot thermoses ready so all we have to do in the morning is heat as needed and assemble.
I wish you luck with your lunch time routines. I will be fighting the good fight along with you. If you have any great lunch ideas, please share. I would love to hear from you.
Attached you will find a list of foods that we have had success with for lunches and/or travelling and require no to minimal cooking. Stay tuned to the website as we will be adding recipes that would be great for lunches, travelling and more.
Great gluten free lunch ideas
Sandwiches or wraps on GF bread
Lettuce wraps with chicken or tuna salad
Baked Potato with fixings on side – Hot potato in thermos, fixings in bento box
Burger/Cheeseburger/Veggie Burger/Chicken Sandwich with GF bun – Protein in thermos, bun and fixings in bento box
Pizza bagel – GF bagel, a little pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni, etc. on top. Microwave just enough to melt cheese. Can be taken hot or cold. This is a favorite in my house.
Pasta – hot or cold
Meat roll ups – Gluten free lunchmeat, sliced cheese, etc.
Hummus with cut up vegetables
Bite size fresh fruit
Fruit with yogurt dip
Cheese cubes
Fruit squeezes
Fruit chips
Yogurt and granola
Gluten free chips: potato, pretzels, tortilla or veggie chips
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