Save Money on School Lunches
It’s Back-to-School season, and for many moms of multiples there’s a big expense on the horizon: school lunches. Now that all three of my kids are in school full-day, it’s a big job for me to pack those lunchboxes. I prefer to pack lunch so I have more control over what they eat (I see what comes home uneaten), plus I prefer the nutrition of what I pack over what the school provides. It’s also a lot less expensive, especially with three kids!
Here are some strategies that help me save money on school lunches
Reusable Water Bottles
I switched my kids to stainless steel Thermos Funtainers a few years ago, and I no longer spend any money on disposable juice boxes. They drink water daily, which is healthier and cheaper! These straw cups have lasted us for several years, so at $10-15 at Target/Walmart, they’re a great value.
Buy Larger Packages
Instead of buying individually-packaged Goldfish, pretzels and other lunchbox treats, I buy larger bags or packages and make my own serving sizes. We use reusable containers, either fabric or plastic, and wash them instead of purchasing disposable baggies. This saves me a lot of money and I can make the serving sizes appropriate to the age of my kids–less for preschoolers and more for my son with a huge appetite. You can also do this with yogurt, canned fruit and applesauce and avoid those expensive single cups.
Use up Dinner Leftovers
Under the guise of avoiding the sandwich rut, I make my kids eat our dinner leftovers! They appreciate something new once in a while (and lunch meat gets expensive). I can use up chicken, rice, and veggies from dinner by heating it in the morning and serving it in a Thermos cup. You can also put pieces on toothpicks for a little “party food” type of lunch. My kids see that others have “Lunchables,” so we talk about what’s in it and then make our own. I add fruits and vegetables and healthier versions of crackers and cheese. To see more ways that moms use leftovers, check out this great lunch photo gallery.
On the weekends have the children baggie up some of the snack items *(It is their lunch and they should help)
They can do a basket for a week or two just while watching tv. I would have them make peanut butter crackers, cherrio pkgs. , cookies , pretzels and other items you show them how many per package and then they get the idea really quickly. They can do meat and cheese packs too. If you have them do some cereal and they oversleep some morning then you can just give them a bag of cereal and a banana and they can eat in the car on the way to school or at the bus stop while they wait for the bus. The idea is to make it easier on Mom. I make ahead items every Sunday and the kids do the baggies on Sundays too. I have baskets in the pantry and the fridg for the snack bags that are full. If they do enough snack bags and I have zero time to pack. I can just pick quickly snack bag of meat , snack bag of cheese ,, snack bag of vegggies, fruit cup , snack bag of crackers , snack bag of cookies and add a drink I am done! I do make ahead items like krispy treats, brownies, cookies homebaked and as I say the kids make up the baggies.
When I have lots of time I get creative and make pita faces and multi layered treats!