The Lunchbox Dilemma... SOLVED!

Today is Labor Day and the last official day of summer for my little munchkins.

Our summer has been made complete with many adventure-filled days including a trip to California for their uncles wedding, a trip to Oregon for a fun vacation with Grandpa and Grandma Wood, and a big move from North Carolina to Virginia. What better way to spend our last day of summer together than out by the pool!

Tomorrow morning begins the start of a brand new routine. Packed lunch boxes, school bus rides, morning devotions with the kids, school work and early bedtime await us. I’m really looking forward to it - I think our family thrives more on routine and schedule. I know my four month old will enjoy having some predictability in his day as well! All of this is exciting but one task that’s been a bit daunting to me is what to pack for my kids lunch boxes now that we are plant strong. Since cold cut sandwiches are out and peanut butter is on the “do not bring” list; I’m having to get creative with different ways to provide them their protein. (I think they’d happily go 365 days in a row eating nothing but PB&J!!). Thankfully it hasn’t been as hard as I thought it’d be!

This past week I’ve been busy in my kitchen making dinners and saving up plenty of leftovers. We have everything from Lentil Soup, Black Bean Soup, Hummus Dip, Rice & Black Bean Tacos and Quinoa Salad (do you think they’ll be lacking in protein?! =). One thing I know is if the food looks like fun.. they don’t care what they get!!

In addition to left overs, I like to plan ahead to simplify the lunch making process and ultimately save me time in the kitchen. Since our family is trying to avoid as much processed foods as possible, I make many of our dips and dressings from scratch which can be time consuming. The best advice I received from my mom in this area is to pre-make all my items on sunday afternoon so I can just dig into them as needed throughout the week. These are the items I prepare on my sundays at home:

• Oil-Free Hummus
• Oil-Free Pesto Sauce
• Not-Cheese-”Cheese” Spread
• Vegan Ranch
• Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
• Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites

I don’t think packing lunches could get much simpler!!! To make lunchtime fun I bought the kids some neat bento style boxes (which I found at Old Navy of all places!). They have multiple compartments for storing various items, even one for storing their dips safely. I also found a great canister that they can take their soups to school in while keeping them hot!

So for the first day of school here’s what Emma & EJ are having:

• Oil-Free Hummus on Sandwich Thins
• Quinoa & Navy Bean Salad
• Carrot Sticks
• Homemade Vegan Ranch
• Honest Kids Juice Box
• Vegan Oatmeal Cookies (baked fresh today!)

If you have any great plant-strong ideas for packed lunches, please feel free to leave a comment and share with us!! There’s also a wealth of ideas here. 

Happy Labor Day & Happy 1st Day of School!!!! 

First Day of School Lunches

Quinoa Salad, Ranch Dip & Carrot Sticks