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
I shared this idea with my wife to help lighten her load a bit. She wasn’t so sure how it would go over at first, but after a few weeks she has really embraced it. The kids love it and besides being easy she says that it helps the kids learn manners as far as thinking of others before eating all of something as well as asking politely to pass the tray around the table. Thanks for this creative and helpful idea!!
Doug,
That’s great! We have used our lunch tray every {school} day for many weeks now! I like the no-fuss, no-waste approach! I agree about the manners. I had one double-dipping and digging in with bare fingers. 🙂
Have a great weekend! 🙂 Ami
I think this is brilliant, but I have the pickiest 5 year old in the world. Any suggestions for picky eaters? I could definitely put things in that he would eat (cheese, crackers) and then encourage him to try the other things. He’s not only picky about foods, he’s picky about textures so that’s another hurtle entirely…
Put foods on the tray that you like and encourage him to try them! 🙂 My ultra picky eater like cashews before any other nut. Carrots have a great crunchy texture (my picky guy’s favorite raw veggie . . . the only raw veggie he ate for many, many years). 🙂 You have to keep trying. I had to offer Elijah spaghetti and rice hundreds of times before he’d eat them. We’re still working on beans!
Wow! Thank You! I can’t wait to try this. Lunch is always difficult for me, but I absolutely love this idea.