Next week my family will be going thru morning changes. Our daily am outine will become a bit more hectic and i will have to start packing lunches the night before. Any ideas or advice on how to save time and what types of lunches will sit well over night? My lil one is 17 mos and i am so used to making it fresh for her every morning but we are losing 45 minutes now and I need to learn how to save time. She is starting a new daycare and it is now 30 minutes away. Any responses will help..Busy mom just got busier;).
Most food including rice, pasta, yogurt, cheese, soup, and most fruits will sit well overnight.
You only need to cut up some fruits and vegetables in the morning, as they may get brown. The daycare teachers may help with this actually (if you pack a pear or an apple, they may cut it up for your son for lunch or snack).
Bagel and cream cheese will be easy to pack in the morning.
I'm not sure if you're packing lunches just for your 17m old or other family members, but you can do traditional sandwiches (we use spinach leaves instead of lettuce, for some crunch); tortilla roll ups with ham & cream cheese, or hummus & sprouts, cut into disks, along with hardy fruit (ie, doesnt get too bruised too easily) or carrot sticks/celery/julienned red or green pepper (hummus is a no-no if peanut allergies are a concern, since hummus has sesame seed paste in it and sesame seeds are a no-no for peanut allergic people); string cheese, some whole wheat crackers and some fruit/veg. Some graham crackers or animal crackers or Goldfish for a snack. We like the Motts & Musselman's no-sugar added applesauce cups with their wider fruit varieties now out there.
BOOO on losing time. We busy moms already dont have enough time. I am not sure of the new daycare you are bringing her to but it is possible to stock the new daycare with food so they can feed her when you drop her off? She can drink milk on the way. If that is not an option, a mom from the daycare my baby goes to always has a baggie of food for her daughter and she eats from the baggie(ziplock) on the way to daycare. I usually will see cheeriors, fruitloops, doughnuts, waffles(no syrup) and even scrabbled eggs. I saw the mom cleaning the kids hand before getting her out of the carseat.
I will say I am surprised that the new daycare does not offer any kind of food. If they dont provide food or snacks, you should really ask them if you can keep food there. For lunches, I would buy the premade ones from the grocery store, bananas and canned fruit. (nothing that requires keeping on ice or in the fridge.
Here are some ideas for picnic lunches. Most can be used for school lunches too.
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/600
Weird, this just went to the wrong post, sorry.
