Yesterday we talked about how it is that time of year again – Back to School time. We talked about packing lunches and how it seems that some parents just popped right out of Pinterest and have thousands of great ideas about packing home lunch. Their home lunches are not only nutritional they are cute, fun and Instagram worthy. They foods are always pretty and so very fun to look at not to mention eat. Their kids show off their lunchtime creations with pride as they enjoy the oohs and aahs of their classmates. Then there is the rest of us. Our lunches are usually nutritious; we try really hard for that point. We shop and pack and do our best. The lunches are nothing to Instagram but our kids have something good to eat. We are the crowd that burns out. We are the ones that ask, “How do they do that?” There is an answer to that question, actually many answers! And I’ve found a lot of them – there are quite a few good home lunch tips and tricks to make packing home lunch easier and maybe a bit fun. I promise there is no culinary arts degree or Pinterest fan club needed!

One of the hardest parts of making home lunches can be the amount of time it takes. There are some great home lunch tips and tricks that will help you save time when making home lunches.

Make a plan
Just like with everything else, one of the very first home lunch tips and tricks is to make a plan. Make a list of things your kids like in their lunches. Make a list of things you want to make. Sometimes a list of ideas is all it will take to get you out of a lunch making rut.

Get supplies ready ahead of time
This sounds like common sense but it isn’t always easy to remember. Scrambling around and packing a lunch at the last minute isn’t going to help you feel good about packing that lunch. Have all of the packing supplies like baggies and containers ready and in an easy to find place. Keep the lunch boxes ready to go and in the same place. Keep the ice pack in the same place in the freezer.

Prep ahead of time
Put pantry lunch items like crackers or pretzels into single serving baggies ahead of time. Do the same with carrots, grapes or other fridge items. It will make putting lunches together quicker and easier. Do any of the prep that you can when you purchase the items. You’ll thank yourself later.

Create lunch stations
Keep all of the lunch items together in the fridge or the pantry. If the items are easy to find and stored together, grabbing what you need will be easy. I think this is one of the best home lunch tips and tricks. Non refrigerated lunch items can be kept together in the pantry. Refrigerated items can be kept together in the fridge. This makes it easy to grab what you need without wasting time. You can even pair items up and rubber-band or baggie them together.

Have more home lunch tips and tricks to help save time? Let us know! We love to hear from you!