Lunchbox Ideas for Substitute Teachers

Unlike most working people who know they'll be reporting to work each weekday, substitute teachers play a guessing game, wondering, will the phone wake them up after 5 a.m., offering them a job. This can cause some anxiety if you're not used to a job that's "up in the air" everyday.

As a substitute teacher for ten years, I eventually got used to knowing whether or not I'd have a job the next day. Instead of throwing together a lunch when I'm still half asleep, I learned to plan ahead. Here are a few pointers, as well as foods that I always had in my subbing bag "just in case" the phone might ring...

Save leftovers from last night's dinner----For example, purposely cook an extra helping. For example, if you serve meatloaf for your family, "doggie bag" a serving in a plastic container that you can slide into your lunch box the next morning. All you have to do is heat it up in the staff dining room. And, if you don't get a subbing job, you can always enjoy it for lunch the next day.

Buy ready-to-eat soups---I always made sure I had at least two cans of Campbell's "Soup-at-Hand" selections in my subbing bag. With more than one third of the Campbell's' soups sales of the ready-to-eat variety, the older version of adding water may soon become a thing of the past. These soups, which can be heated up in a microwave in the teacher's dining room, are not only convenient, but also low in calories. A few of my favorites are "Blended Vegetable Medley" and "Classic Tomato" (which goes great with a grilled cheese sandwich I made the night before I went to my subbing job.)

Stock up on ready-to-eat cans of tuna---Along with ready-to-eat soups, I also stored a couple of cans of "Bumble Bee Ready-to-eat Tuna. You can choose from either the fat free brand or the regular one. All you do is pop open the lid and you have a lunch. What's more, Bumble Bee Ready-to-eat Tuna also comes with crackers.

Use TV Dinners---When grocery shopping, I threw in at least two TV lunches. As most of the schools were I subbed had more than one microwave, I didn't have to wait long in line to heat mine up.

Pack your lunch the night before---Preparing your lunch ahead of time is one less chore you have to do before leaving for an early subbing job. And, if you don't work that day, you can just leave items such as baby carrots, cold drinks, and pickles for when you do get a job later on in the week.

Freeze Blue Ice---If you do get a call to sub in the morning, all you have to do is throw in a cold blue ice pack (kept frozen in your freezer) and you're ready to walk out the door. Most schools let subs use the teachers' lounge refrigerator, but just in case you can't get to the Teacher's Lounge for lunch, you can be sure your lunch doesn't spoil.

Prepare for field trips----There are always those sub jobs where you you're called to pack a sack lunch. I've found that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, along with carrot sticks and a granola bar make an excellent lunch choice when I'm on a field trip with kids. Cheese crackers, as well as peanut butter crackers also are excellent choices.

With just a little preplanning you don't have to panic about lunch when you do get a call for a subbing job. After awhile, packing a lunch for subbing the next day is just part of your weekday routine.