Lunchtime Lessons: Cheap Fixin’s and Good Ideas

April 16, 2008 By Tisha Kulak

The final school bell will be ringing soon, ending the convenience of in-school lunches and making family lunch time another important meal of the day at home. Kids may always want the expensive conveniences now found in the grocery isles but there are some great substitutes that will make them happy.Here are some tips that may come in handy to help with lunch time creativity and cost-effectiveness. Please note: these tips are also useful for class field trips and day camp lunch treats.

• Consider the ingredients in a Lunchable and similar items. Buy some of the same ingredients such as pepperoni, cheese, pretzel sticks and create your own. Buy some separated lunch containers with a lid that you can reuse over and over. Make sure they are not so expensive that you can’t afford to lose a few over the summer.

• Instead of plain old PB&J, use cookie cutters to create fun-shaped finger sandwiches. Choose a new flavor of jelly and try crunchy instead of smooth peanut butter as an alternative.

• Use the cookie cutter technique to get kids to eat tuna or egg salad sandwiches for variation.

• Keep a supply of sliced melons, oranges, carrot and celery sticks easily accessible to encourage healthy snacking.

• Keep other snacks like crackers and pretzels in sandwich bags. It makes it easy to grab on the go.

• Save containers from pudding, applesauce, and fruit cups and refill them instead of buying new items.

• Save microwave dinner containers and use them to freeze leftover dinners for lunches in the future.

• Buy kid-friendly frozen items like chicken nuggets and French fries that can be heated up fast and keep your family out of the fast-food joints.

• Have a make your own pizza contest using English muffins, sauce and toppings.

• In hot weather, appetites can get lighter. Keep a rotating supply of lunch meat or salad fixings to make a lunch that’s not too heavy.

• Make homemade popsicles using ice or pop trays with real juice for a refreshing treat

• Have a change of scenery. Take a picnic lunch to the park, lake, or even the backyard.

While it is important that kids eat the right foods, it’s also good to have fun with food. Gather your family and invent other fun ways to make lunch at home. Staying creative during the summer months will not only save you extra money, the whole family will have a blast as well.

Posted in budgeting, children, food, health, lifestyle, personal finance perspectives, saving money