We Should Be Folding Laundry

Lunch packing can be a daunting task. Especially when you’re pressed for time or exhausted after a long day of work.

So today I thought I’d share my favorite method for prepping my son’s lunches for the week, as well as some tips and tricks that help me get it done quickly and easily.

Now I must tell you that he’s normally really good about packing his own lunches, but every once in a while, like when he has finals, or a project due, or just seems like he needs a break, I’m more than happy to help him out.

This week he has scholarship applications to fill out, essays to write, and homework assignments to complete.

Since I had the time Sunday afternoon, I prepped all of his lunches for the week.

It was fast and easy and now it’s one less thing he has to think about until next weekend.

One of the ways that I’m able to pack lunches for the whole week is by freezing his sandwiches. I basically just make them, wrap them up tightly, and toss them into the freezer.

It really is as simple as that.

A few tips:

* Have all of your sandwich fixings out, prepped, and ready to go.

* Make your sandwiches assembly line style, rather than one at a time.

* Wrap each sandwich tightly with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil. This way seems to work the best. Resealable baggies just don’t do a good enough job because you can never really get all of the air out.

*Once the sandwiches are all wrapped up, toss them into a large freezer safe container that goes right in the front of your freezer. I like to keep mine in the door of my freezer. That way there’s no wasting time digging around the freezer looking for sandwiches at dark-thirty in the morning.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a container large enough to hold all of your sandwiches. My largest container only holds three sandwiches so the other two go in individual sandwich containers.

Things to keep in mind:

* Condiments like mayo, mustard, ketchup, jelly and things of that nature don’t freeze well and will make the bread soggy once the sandwich is thawed out. So add your condiments to the middle of your sandwiches (between the meat and cheese).

* For a PB&J, spread peanut butter on both slices of bread, then add the jelly. The peanut butter will act as a barrier so the jelly won’t ruin the bread.

* Lettuce and tomato do not freeze well so I suggest slicing them up just like you would if you were going to add them to your sandwich but portion them out into small bags or containers and leave them in your fridge. Toss them into the lunch box each day and they can be added to sandwiches at lunch time.

* Cooked egg whites don’t freeze well so I don’t suggest freezing egg salad, but chicken salad can be frozen as long as it doesn’t contain apples, grapes, or celery. Just add a thin layer of butter or a slice of cheese to both sides of the bread before you add the chicken salad.

My son only eats a sandwich and chips or crackers for lunch – that’s it. So once the sandwiches are in the freezer, I add the chips/crackers to his Easy Lunchboxes along with a snack for the ride home, and stack them all up in my pantry.

In the morning, he just grabs one of the pre-filled Easy Lunchboxes from the pantry and tosses in a sandwich from the freezer. All of it goes into his lunch box and he’s out the door!

Prepping lunches (even multiple lunches) for the week is quick and easy. And when it’s done, you don’t have to worry about making lunch again until the next weekend!