Lunchbox Time Savers

Who wants a time saver?  ME ME ME!!!

Every year, the weekend before school starts, a friend of ours hosts a huge pool party at her house.  Two years ago was my first time to attend.  I expected to chat with friends, meet a few new people, yell at my kids to have good manners, fail miserably at avoiding the dessert table... Little did I know that a conversation with my friend Michele would change my life.  I do not exaggerate.  This little nugget of information has made a HUGE difference in our family's mornings.  Her revelation? 

Pre-made, packaged, and frozen sandwiches for the kids' lunches

That's it!  It's so simple but SUCH a great idea.  And it's not hard.  Just make the sandwiches, place them in individual baggies, and store them in the freezer.  Each morning, your kids pull out a sandwich, place it in the lunchbox, and by the time they get to lunch, the sandwich will be thawed and ready to eat.  

There's no major step-by-step process.  Here are some of MY observations, though, that have worked for our family:

• Get the kids involved.  Create an assembly line and make them help.  It's for them, after all!
• We do this every 2-3 weeks, usually on a Sunday afternoon. 
• I like to use sandwich cutters.  Pampered Chef's circle cutter is my personal favorite, but we use lots of shapes.  You can find them in any grocery store.
• My kids prefer peanut butter combinations (Nutella, jelly, honey, bananas, etc) but this can work with any kind of filling.
• Use TWO sizes of freezer bags - a sandwich size for each individual sandwich, and a large bag to hold them all in the freezer.  The double insulation helps to prevent ice from forming on the sandwiches.  That makes them soggy (ick) for lunchtime.
• If we make several different varieties, I sort them into large bags and label each for easy pickings in the morning.  
• What I love most about this is that it allows my kids to have a say in what they eat each day (within reason, of course).  There's no fighting what Mommy makes, freaking out over something they don't like, and no rush to get it made in the mornings.

AAAAAHHHHHHH!