Make Ahead School Lunches for Kids

School lunches tend to be unhealthy (corn dog and canned peaches, anyone?), and making lunches every morning at 6:30 can be a drag. The easy solution is to make a weeks' worth of lunches ahead of time to save time and keep your kids healthy.

Soggy-Proof Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

What you need: Loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, sandwich baggies

If your children are like mine, they can eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day and not get bored. Like me, you will be overjoyed to learn that you can make a week's worth of sandwiches at on time and not have to worry about the jelly soaking through the bread, making an icky, soggy sandwich that is destined for the cafeteria trash. The secret to the soggy-proof, make ahead PB&J is to put a loaf of bread in the freezer when you get it home from the store. After a few hours, take the bread out, make a weeks worth of sandwiches, individually package them in baggies, then return them to the freezer. On the morning, take a sandwich out, and by lunch it will be perfectly thawed. (Note: this method works well for other sandwiches as long as you don't add cheese and vegetables until the day of school, since neither freeze very well.)

Do-it-Yourself Lunchables

What you need: Thick-cut lunch meat from the deli counter, cheese slices, crackers, snack size baggies or small storage containers

It's no secret that kids love the interactive nature of Kraft Lunchables. It's also no secret that Lunchables are packed with sodium and low on real nutrition. Let your kids have fun with lunch by making your own. Slice up a thick piece of deli meat and slice of cheese into nine pieces each and put them into a small container or baggies. Count out nine whole grain crackers and put them into another container or baggie and voila, homemade Lunchables! (Note: don't package the crackers with the meat and cheese because they'll get soft and soggy, otherwise, make a week's worth ahead of time)

Last Night's Leftovers

What you need: an insulated container

Cook once and feed your kids twice...or thrice! The insulated containers on the market will keep your kids' lunches warm until noon. Pastas and soups work especially well in containers. Beans of any kind can be mixed with cheese and salsa and paired with corn chips to make a fun dip.

Veggies and Dip

What you need: vegetables, ranch or other dressing, small containers, baggies

Kids love veggies more than they are given credit for, especially when they get to dip them in creamy ranch dressing. Portion out ranch dressing into containers (you can get disposable ones at food supply stores) and fresh veggies, such as mini carrots, cherry tomatoes, and celery, into baggies. A week's worth lasts great in the vegetable tray of your fridge.