Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Lunch Time



It's that time of year when the kids all head back to school and it's time to start thinking about lunches.  Even if you don't have school-aged children you still have to eat lunch yourself and, if you are like me, it can be hard to come up with some interesting and healthy ideas that are not just boring sandwiches.

I am not a big fan of sandwiches.  I remember going to school as a child and my mom would pack me a sandwich.  Quite often is was Mac N Cheese Loaf, this awful, congealed meat substance that had bits of macaroni and cheese scattered throughout.  Luckily for me my grandmother lived directly across the road from my school.  I would go there everyday at lunch time and she would have a TV tray set up in front of a television tuned to the Flintstones.  If I happened to get the dreaded Mac N Cheese loaf she would make up a nice Nutella sandwich for me.  I loved my grandma!  I fed my other sandwich to the dog.  I don't know if my mother ever found out.......well, she has now once she reads this blog!

When my boys were in school their favourite lunch on a cold, Canadian winter's day was hot dogs.  Hot dogs were extremely easy to make for them, so that was a bonus.  I put two wieners into a wide-mouthed thermos and covered them with hot water from the kettle.  I let them sit for a minute to heat up while I packed the buns (with the ketchup already on it), snacks and drinks.  After a minute I drained off the water and added more.  This kept them hot until lunch time.  I tried to give them something hot quite often in the winter because I knew that they had a 45 minute recess right after lunch.  They went to a small school in the country and the playground was surrounded by farm fields.  There was no windbreak so it could get pretty cold playing out there.

Personally, I struggle with lunch ideas.  It's not that I don't like lunch.  I mostly work from home and I find that I tend to work through lunch until I am starving mid-afternoon.  At 3:00pm I don't want to make myself a huge lunch because it will just spoil my dinner.  More often than not I would simply grab a snack and, because I was so hungry, it usually was not healthy.

Recently I found this website Iowa Girl Eats.  She has a recipe for a Green Monster Smoothie that I am obsessed with right now.  This is my lunch most days and I have to say that it is delicious.  It's quick and easy and, with an immersion blender, it is a breeze to clean up.  Don't let all the spinach in the recipe scare you; you can barely taste it.


For other lunch ideas check out this website Easy Lunch Boxes.   They have hundreds of ideas for a healthy lunch that will keep you and your family from getting bored.

After you've had a look at Easy Lunch Boxes, check out this extremely talented mom at Lunchbox Awesome.  This mom has directed her artistic flare to her son's lunchbox.  She is much more talented and has way more time on her hands than I. 



How awesome would it be to be her son!  Wondering just what your lunch is going to look like each day.

What are some of your favourite lunch ideas?  I could really use some help!






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