Lunchbox Wars

Who knew simply preparing lunch for your kids would be such a mission and at times cause outright fucking anxiety? Welcome to lunchbox wars, where rules, judgement and even competition is paramount and only the strong.... and organised survive.

It feels like it really shouldn't be that complicated, but it seems packing lunch for your kids is one of the tasks that new school mums appear to struggle with. Nude food, allergy free, not enough plastic... too much plastic, lunchbox etiquette and the expectation placed on parents from schools can at times emit the wrong kind of vibes and even dare I say set a negative tone from the start of the school year. Now I'm not here to pass on any uncalled-for opinion, you do you baby and as long as your kid eats and isn't going hungry I kind of lean to the 'Who Cares' side of the spectrum.

The fact that everything in a kids lunchbox is up for evaluation, parents get told that they've packed too much food or not enough when in hindsight if you're a tuned in parent (which I am sure you all are) usually they are the best judge of how much their child tends to eat. My two kids are very different, have different lunches entirely most of the time as Izabella like carbs tends to eat a lot in one setting so I know her morning tea is usually a quick nibble of stawberries and she's going to smash into a thermos of pasta or roll at lunch time. Where my son Dominic who has special needs tend to constantly graze throughout the day not to let his blood sugar drop, so he has easy grab food like sushi, crackers and melon bites.

We know our kids, what we are going to have success with, if it's supplied and what they aren't going to eat, because hey they've decided they don't like red food anymore. School's, yes it's fine you want to inform parents that you want to reduce plastic at lunch time, but sending notes home to parents or enforcing that they need to have food from every food group might be a bit much. As for other parents maybe it's time we all mind our place. I've seen mum's literally cry at the comments of another mum shaming her for being a 'uppity bitch' with too much time on her hands because she cuts sandwiches and fruit into different shapes, 'calm the f--- down Karen and keep your comments to yourself... we're all just surviving here'. I think that's the common bond, parents are left feeling like they can't win, they either don't care enough or care too much.

Maybe it's time to take your power back, forget trying to compete for best mum award and do what works for you and your family!

Now vent over, all I will recommend is get your kids involved in the process. The rule in my house is pretty simple the kids are to take lunchboxes out of their school bags as soon as they get home and place them on the bench. I find doing the lunchboxes the night before is my salvation in the morning as I don't have to panic if a shoe goes missing (which they occasionally do) or an alarm didn't go off. Getting into the habit of preparing them the night before is a great habit to get into and just allows you more time in the morning to eat with your kids (meaning you actually get to eat breakfast) and grace if shit happened to hit the fan that particular day.

I have a splash back in my kitchen where important dates to remember are kept and a shopping list that everyone has access to. If the kids want particular snacks that week they can write them on there for me, or if your kid is old enough to have a phone you can even have a 'shared note' shopping list for groceries that all the family has access to. If someone finishes off a food item they can easily add it into the synced note on their iPhone and either parent can collect it on the way home, great way to save nagging and reminding as a bonus.

I'm all for reducing plastic and helping out our wonderful planet, so I'll try and avoid the single packet snack bags and I'll buy anything like 'teddy bear biscuits', 'm&m's', chips, yogurt and stuff in a bulk packet and then use reusable containers, a perk to that is it's actually cheaper and you get more than if you opted for the single packet stuff. I've found even keeping the 'M&M' mini tube container and then just refilling it with the large packet useful and saves some coin.

If you're a bit stuck or bored with what to pack bento style lunchboxes are always fun (if you don't already use them you can even use silicone muffin tins as dividers) definitely invest in a small stocky thermos for the occasional hot lunch (we do a hot lunch tues & fri), beauty is you can just reheat last nights lasagna or whatever and throw a serving in there which will stay hot until lunchtime and usually a bit more filling than a basic sandwich and it mixes things up, probably even save them asking you for a less healthy hot lunch option from the canteen.

I don't really care what other parents or even teachers for that matter think of me, but I do care what my kids think and how they feel. Occasionally or when I know they have a test I like to leave them a little surprise note with some encouragement or just to say I'm thinking of them. You'd be surprised how much they appreciate it, especially if they're having a hard time. A little note on a pad these are from Kmart or on a piece of fruit is a super easy way to unexpectedly brighten their day, even partners would welcome it ever so often when you know they might be stressed.

Food for thought.... forgive the pun

xB

Here's a few more ideas if you're stuck I'll even post some recipes if you're keen.

Sushi (add a icepack ideally) Antipasto Style Plate (cheeses, hams, crackers)

Ham & Cheese Scrool Rice Paper Rolls

Pasta (in thermos) Chicken Tender Wraps

Burrito Dips with Carrot,Celery & Cumber Sticks

Savory Muffin Finger Sandwiches

Soup (in thermos) Bliss Balls (nut free)

Zucchini Fritters Teriyaki & Fried rice (in thermos)

Bagle Pasta Salad

Chicken Gyro Savoury or Sweet Kebabs