Lunch (sigh) is the hardest part of home schooling for me...HELP!

[Hoggirl]

I feel like I need to fix our lunches first thing in the morning! It always seems like such a disruption. My ds is NOT keen on sandwiches and he takes an inordinate amount of time to eat enough soup to fill up on it. He likes a "hot" lunch. I am usually such a good planner, but the noon hour always sneaks up on me, and the oven isn't on, and I haven't thought about what to fix, etc. Someone help me get this together! Pretty please? :o

[PinkInTheBlue]

I'll be no help at all. This was a huge pain to us also and my husband also works at home. So, to avoid the "OMG, it's lunch time and nothing is fixed" drama, we made a standing decision about 3 years ago that we go out for virtually all lunches.

That's my answer; go out for lunch. :p Does that help?

[WTMCassandra]

We do eat sandwiches sometimes, but we like leftovers for lunch. Could you make extra at dinner the night before and then reheat it for lunch the next day?

I prefer something "hot" for lunch also and am not that fond of sandwiches, so I can sympathize with your son.

If you're in a pinch for something hot, how about grilled cheese sandwiches? They don't take long, and at least they are hot.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

We do a lot of pasta and fruit for lunches. They don't care for sandwiches much either. Lunches are totally a pain. Can we just skip them and get rid of them?

[Sue G in PA]

grilled cheese w/ beef bologna are favorites here (or plain), tuna melts (like grilled cheese only w/ tuna), mac and cheese (the box kind, but I'm looking to make our own soon!), spaghetti w/ jar sauce (organic Prego!). Oh, and spring is coming and dc might not want HOT when it's hot outside so...fruit salad (make ahead), salad w/ chicken or salmon or whatever leftover meat you have, boring PBJ's (if they're hungry, they'll eat it :)). We're not creative around here for lunch either and most days the dc fend for themselves, neglectful mommy that I am :D

[JudoMom]

I'll be no help at all. This was a huge pain to us also and my husband also works at home. So, to avoid the "OMG, it's lunch time and nothing is fixed" drama, we made a standing decision about 3 years ago that we go out for virtually all lunches.

That's my answer; go out for lunch. :p Does that help?

:p

[Elaine]

We do a lot of pasta and fruit for lunches. They don't care for sandwiches much either. Lunches are totally a pain. Can we just skip them and get rid of them?


:eek:




funny.:D

[mcconnellboys]

We keep reading, etc., while things are cooking in the oven......

Regena

[nestof3]

We eat soups, stews, chowders and chilis a lot for dinner, so we usually have leftovers for lunch. We also eat a lot of sandwiches, raw fruit and veggies.

One thing I feel is worth saying is that around here, I determine what to serve and if my children are not hungry enough to eat it (that is -- it's not their favorite), they go without. I leave it on the table and they can eat it later. Usually, they get hungry enough and devour it cold.

I just finished looking through the book Material World, and though the book was about homes and material possessions, I was amazed at the few cooking pots and utensils most of the average people in the world own and how simply they eat. In America, food is so plentiful and we tend to eat even when we are not hungry. Because of this, there is -- I believe -- far more pickiness.

All I am saying is eating is really something we do to stay alive, and I hate to see so many moms (I've been there -- done that) stressing over what to make to please people.

[nestof3]

Oh, I forgot to add that I also use lunch as clean out the refrigerator time. I buy cartons of organic chicken broth. I'll dump one in the pot and add any leftover veggies, meat, fish, rice, pasta, etc into the pot with an onion and some minced onion from a jar. Add salt, pepper, and sometimes herbs.

[Karen in Eastern WA]

I finally started giving 1 1/2 hours for the lunch break.* It gives me time to catch up on any phone calls etc while I am preparing lunch and plenty of time for the kids to eat and play.* We break at 11:30 and I work on lunch and then give it to them at noon or later.* This gives time to prepare homemade mac n cheese.* Also we do quesadillas, serve with salsa and sour cream* For more grownup tastes we include tomatoes and green chiles.* Chef salad with bread on the side.* Homemade soup (minestrone from the Laurel's Kitchen cookbook is a quick, tasty, healthy fix).* I frequently try to start a loaf of bread in the breadmaker at breakfast, so fresh bread is ready for lunch.I find lunches are where gadgets come in handy.* For example at lunch today I used a snackster sandwich maker ($10 or so at Walmart) to make pizza pockets with leftover pizza sauce, cheese and ham or turkey.* I also have a quesadilla maker (helps to have a mom who loves to give me kitchen gadgets).* For whatever reason it makes the food more interesting to the kids to have it prepared with a special appliance.Fried rice using leftover brown rice, soy sauce, egg, ham and green peas.* Smoothies.* International breakfast burrito (flour tortilla with scrambled egg, hash browns, cheese, salsa, sour cream).* In a pinch I will do nachos, although I still haven't had luck in getting them to eat refried beans which would make the nachos a healthier option.* Pizzagne (easy recipe from Rachel Ray).* Hope this helps. I am looking forward to seeing the other replies to your post to get ideas!

[PariSarah]

I've decided to make the same lunch for the rest of my life. It cuts down on planning, prep, and hassle. It has temporarily increased whining, but I'm about to take steps to remedy that situation. :D

You might consider something like that. Keep lunches drastically simple and routine--save your energy and creativity and people-pleasing for dinner, when you're all together as a family.

[Karen in Eastern WA]

Quote from a post above "I just finished looking through the book Material World, and though the book was about homes and material possessions, I was amazed at the few cooking pots and utensils most of the average people in the world own and how simply they eat. In America, food is so plentiful and we tend to eat even when we are not hungry. Because of this, there is -- I believe -- far more pickiness.

All I am saying is eating is really something we do to stay alive, and I hate to see so many moms (I've been there -- done that) stressing over what to make to please people."[/QUOTE]

I definitely agree with this comment. I finally told my son the other day that he doesn't have to love what he is eating or even be in the mood for it. If it is presented at a meal, and he doesn't absolutely hate it, he may just need to eat it. I was amazed that he actually paid attention to me and demonstrated to me later that he was eating some unpalatable cheese in the same bite as his apple, so that he could finish it off. That was quite a revelation for him. I have definitely been one of those moms that has been overly concerned with making everyone happy at meals.

[WTMindy]

and I stay the heck out of the kitchen. They can make whatever they want as long as they can make it, clean it up (to *my* standards of clean) and have their teeth brushed and are ready to go again in 45 minutes. They love it and I have 45 minutes of what I refer to as my "duty-free lunch." That term is left over from public school teaching days when teachers would always talk about their "duty-free lunch."

[Diane]

I started a lunch menu here, so no last minute planning needed. We keep lunch really simple here.

Fish Sticks w/celery and ranch w/ fruit.
PBJ w/fruit cup
Cheese Quesadilla w/jello
Annie's Mac n Cheese w/fruit
Salads
Homemade Veggie soup w/bread

I also keep veggies like broc., carrots, celery sticks, etc...all washed and ready to go in little snack bags and I allow them to snack while they work sometimes. :)

[Mrs Mungo]

I usually do hot lunches. It gives me a little break during the day. I usually have the kids work on their handwriting or something they can do without help and yet stay within my view. Sometimes (like with pasta salad or such) I fix it ahead. Most of the things I make for lunch (with the exception of wontons) take 30 minutes or less. There was a thread on lunch the other day...yep, here it is:
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10627

I posted a big, long list of things I make for lunch, hope this helps!

[paula j]

Around here, some of our favorites are,
leftover chili or chili dogs
leftover spaghetti
leftover stirfry
pizza
soup and grilled cheese
hot wings

[Hoggirl]

I need to stop being such a whiney-hiney about it. It just takes time to fix lunch no matter what it is! Even fixing a sandwich takes time. My ds is NOT a picky eater AT ALL, and he will eat a sandwich or anything else I give him for lunch. It is more of an issue of streamlining time for me. It just isn't that important to me. I could eat cheese and crackers and dill pickles out of the fridge every day, but that is not sufficient for a growing child. I need to figure out five different things and just have the same thing each day of the week. I like that idea very much! Thanks for the suggestions and empathy! I am glad to know that I am not the only one who struggles with lunch! :D

[fishnoises]

I too, hate it when lunch comes up. My kids do not like sandwiches, or soup or mac 'n cheese. They could eat chicken nuggets everyday if I let them! A favorite is chicken nuggets and veggies to dip in ranch. They also love pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. I really wish we could just skip lunch and have a late snack at about 3pm or so. They'd rather snack anyway. But my oldest is always starving so we stop for a break and I fix lunch while they play. She is the only one who actually eats! The others just pick at their food. They just want to go play....
Maybe I'll just let my oldest fix her own lunch, and the others can have a healthy snack when they're ready to eat!
A friend of mine serves her kids pb an j every single day! They love it! (Actually that sounds really good right now...I'll think I'll make one now!)

This is the menu I had up on the fridge before the holidays came:


“What’s for Lunch?”
If It’s… then it must be….
Sunday chicken soup
Monday bread & spread
Tuesday pasta
Wednesday taquitos or empanadas
Thursday chicken nuggets
Friday bread & spread
Saturday sandwiches
* all subject to change!!!!

[Frontier Mom]

I much prefer the latter. I use the time when they eat here to check math, check email, pop into this board, etc. Gives me a little breather.

My dh is a pastor and, when he is going to be out several nights for meetings and visitation, we go out for lunch. Usually the whole church staff comes too so it is fun and a great break. However, its hard to settle back down to work.