Lunches...and the meltdown that ensued.

Names have been changed to protect the guilty.
Who am I kidding??  I'm not changing any names!!

Ethan quickly asked, "What can I take in my lunch that fits our new way of eating?"  (Yea!!!  Go me!!!)
Matthew immediately followed because he always wants Mom's approval, "Can I take something different too?"  (Oh yeah, I love raising followers.)
Christian stomped around the kitchen, slammed cabinet doors.  Huffed and puffed as he paced around the house.  Went to his room.  Went to the bathroom.  Came back.  Said, "I'm not doing this."  (Uh huh, like that flies around here...EVER.)
Justin cried.  Justin always cries.  He's my major meltdown kid.  I expected this.  (It had already happened in the cereal aisle at the grocery store.)

I tried to make the crossover as painless as possible.  I told them they could continue eating whatever we had until it was gone.  When it was gone, it was gone.  (There is still a few pudding cups left and it's been weeks!!!)  We were down to the last loaf of bread.  (Shhhh...there's another one in the freezer, I just never bothered to get it out.)  The rice krispie treats were gone.  The fruit snacks were gone.  What on earth was Justin going to put his newly found peanut butter on???

Ok guys.  Chill out.  This is simple.  And I'm going to show you how we pack lunches around here now.  :)

Today I went to the grocery store.  I typically have a day or two off during the week each week depending on my schedule, so this is when I shop and prep.  It takes a few hours, but so worth it to avoid meltdowns during the week.  If you work M-F and only have Saturday and Sunday off, I don't recommend going to the grocery store then.  Find an early morning (the place is empty!) or late evening to shop.  Then prep at another time.  If you can shop early Friday morning and prep Saturday morning that would be great!  Much of what I need to buy on these sorts of trips doesn't "need" refrigeration, so if I didn't have it, I'd be ok.  Fruits, veggies, and my few boxed goods.

*gasp*

Did she just say "boxed goods"????

I have sacrificed in certain areas of processed foods for the sake of my sanity.  I work full time.  We are a busy family of many.  I'm not going to make all this stuff from scratch.  Just ain't happening.  Now when Michael wins the lottery and I no longer have to work, then I still won't.  I make the kids a few treats, muffins, cookies, etc.  That's enough.

Here is how I started:

This stayed on the fridge for awhile until they got the hang of packing their own lunch.  

Protein could be leftover chicken breast, burger, pork chop, chicken leg, etc.  Protein could be a lunch meat wrap.  I started buying Boar's Head meats and cheeses.  Basically they take a piece of leaf lettuce, a slice or two of meat, a slice of cheese (or a cheese stick) and wrap it up.  Done.  

Next, pack a veggie.  That could be baby carrots, celery, cucumbers, leftovers, etc.  My kids are really, really picky.  When I mentioned they could take broccoli or cauliflower, you'd have thought I said take "liver" to school!!  We'll keep working on that!!

All this is cut and ready to go!

Next, pick a fruit.  We are big fruit eaters so this isn't too much of a problem.  Unless you're Christian.  And then food that isn't out of a package is a HUGE problem.  I also will cut up kiwi, package up grapes, or whatever else we have on hand.

Pick a snack.  This is where my processed foods come into play.  Fruit leather (no sugar, no HFCS), raisins, natural applesauce, Lara bars, etc.  The "snack box" has evolved a bit.

Much of this is at their fingertips:

Lunch bags go on the bottom shelf.  Containers on the 2nd shelf.  If they want to pack something warm, they have thermals too.  Top shelf is snacks.  Notice I make those HIGH up there.  The last item they pack can be a 2nd fruit, veggie or snack.  

It's been a few weeks now, and the meltdowns have stopped, for the most part.  Lunch packing is going smoother and I don't have to stand over them as much. I still do periodic checks of lunch bags.  That's a must.  When I walk into school unexpectedly and find my kid has 6 packs of fruit snacks for "lunch"....yeah...I do random lunch bag checks.