Because breakfast is a bit of a production around here, lunch has been an issue for me. I don't want more dirty dishes. I don't want to spend more time at the stove. It's hard to transition from math problems and Pollyanna and shaving cream art to kitchen duty.
I've tried this. I've tried that. This and that didn't work. I needed something quick, and I wanted something healthy.
Insert The Lunch Tray. Hooray!
The idea:
Fill a tray.
Serve the tray.
Put the tray in the fridge for the next day.
Pull the tray out of the fridge the next day.
Refill any empty compartments.
Serve the tray.
Repeat.
What's going in the tray?
The boys helped me make a list of what they like. My only criteria was that I could cut/chop/dump it on the fly, and that it would keep in the tray for a few days.
- monterey jack cheese cubes
- mozzarella cheese cubes
- green olives
- black olives
- carrot sticks
- celery sticks
- cucumber slices
- sugar snap peas
- grapes
- berries
- apple slices
- almonds
- peanuts
- cashews
- sunflower seeds
- whole wheat crackers
Some days I will put a little container in the middle with a dip or spread ~ egg salad, peanut butter, hummus, or even Nutella.
Think of all the possibilities!
I love it!
1. It's easy to assemble.
2. It's simple to clean up.
3. No plastic baggies are involved.
4. The leftovers are the next day's lunch!
Maybe lunch isn't broken at your house, but it was at mine. Now it's fixed.
Are you curious about how other homeschoolers feed their families?
Check out Feeding the Homeschool Family
We do this lots! Especially in the summer :o) We have always called it a smorgasbord lunch! The problem around here, usually there aren’t any leftovers! Ha!
Genius! I’m doing it!
I have the same problem as Brandy- no leftovers. 🙂 This is my favorite way to serve lunch when you have a little bit of this and that to use up. We call them dipping lunches because I make several different trays (9 kids=more food) which each center around a different dip. Sometimes we even have this for supper on Sunday evening.
This is an awesome idea! Thanks Ami!
That is a great idea! Thanks for sharing!