This post is sponsored by PackIt and Dreamfarm. All content and opinions are 100% my own. I never talk about products we don’t use and love in our own home!
The thing about being a mom is that we never know when things are going to get crazy, hectic, and busy! How many times have you wished for more time in your day? This is something I wish for daily.
Packing lunches is just another thing that takes time. With a picky eater it isn’t always easy to find things to put together in a small bag or box in a rush to get out the door.
6 Ideas for Packing Easy Lunches
If you are just starting in packing cold lunch or just need some ideas to speed things along make sure to check out my tips to make packing lunch easy! These are just a few quick tips that certainly make my mornings a bit easier.
- Have a Game Plan If you go into packed lunches with no plan you will be running to the store to pick up what you forgot. Take some time each week before you go shopping to plan out what you are going to pack for lunch each day. Make a list so you have enough supplies to get you through the school week.
- Plan Simple Lunches Keep your lunch plan simple, especially if you are just starting out. Make sure you stick to 2-3 daily lunch options a week. This makes it less complicating when shopping and saves you money too!
- Plan With Your Kids Talk with your kids about what kind of food they want to eat. You don’t want a lunch pail coming home with uneaten food and no alternative plan for the rest of the week.
- Keep Lunch Supplies Ready I like to keep my lunch supplies ready to grab. Every morning I know where the bread, condiments, and snacks are. I like to keep similar things grouped together in the fridge and cupboard so I can just grab them. This comes in handy when we are in a rush.
- Keep A Good Sandwich Knife It’s nice to have a good sandwich knife to cut crusts, spread condiments, and cut sandwiches in half. My kids are picky and it’s easier to get them to eat their sandwiches when they are cut in half for some reason. Dreamfarm has a great knife for cutting with a dull side for spreading condiments.
- Freezable Lunch Boxes are Life Savers! We love our Pack-It Freezable lunch boxes because you can just stick them in the freezer to be ready for the next morning. This is so much more convenient than freezer packs. Not only do they take the headache of leaking freezer packs away, it also leaves more room in your lunch box for food!
Keeping lunch simple is all how you plan it out. Making some simple changes to your grocery list, organization, and planning is enough to make packing lunches quick and easy.
PackIt & Dreamfarm Giveaway!
We are partnered with PackIt & Dreamfarm for an exciting giveaway! One winner will receive a PackIt classic freezable lunch box and Oni knife from Dreamfarm.
This giveaway is open to residents of the US 18+. Entering is easy using the widget below!
Leah Shumack
My biggest frustration is all the restrictions on what I’m allowed to pack. No peanuts or strawberry anything. Only allowed one item that is not considered “healthy” on the schools list. There shouldn’t be lunch police!
Julie Terry
I get frustrated when packing lunches by trying to find the foods that my kid will eat and also by trying to keep the foods I do pack for her safe in the lunchbag.
Sonya Allstun
Trying to pack something that I know will be yummy and nutritious.
Laurie Emerson
What frustrates me most is not being able to come up with new ideas for foods for their lunches.
Jennifer H.
I think that it is time consuming to pack lunches.
Cheryl Chervitz
I get frustrated when I can’t fit everything in the bag, or something is over sized and makes it difficult to bag.
Sammy
Hi Cheryl! That is so frustrating. This happens to me when I make sandwiches for my husband. He likes so many toppings and sometimes it’s hard to fit them into a sandwich bag.
Marty
What frustrated me is that I know the only thing that will be eaten is the fruit!
Edye
Trying to pack something that I know will be yummy and nutritious.
Jeanna Massman
I have trouble finding things my grandson will eat.
Kayla Klontz
I always have problems fitting everything in their boxes.
Darlene Carbajal
I hate when I run out of snacks.
Nancy
What frustrates me about packing lunches is if it isn’t in fresh ready to eat condition later at lunch time.
Jen Dantum
What frustrates me most when packing lunches is making pb&j sandwiches – most desired – lol. They can be pretty messy to make and it always seems like I get pb on my fingers.
Sammy
Yes! PB&J are so messy to make. I’m not a big fan of making sandwiches in the morning either, but my son loves PB&J so I do make them quite often. ;)
Jessica To
I get frustrated that I want to pack leftovers in my son’s lunch but he can’t heat anything up at school and it wouldn’t be good cold.
Sammy
Hi Jessica! I have that same frustration. I wish there was a way to keep warm meals hot and fresh until lunchtime.
Kim K
I get frustrated with trying to figure out something different to pack in the lunch. It seems I always pack the same thing.
Sammy
Hi Kim! I get that way too sometimes. We try to mix it up and have at least 2 meal options for the week. Then think of new things through the year.
Debbie F
What frustrates me is that I have to use a box to put sandwiches in so they don’t get smooshed but the box will eventually soak up all the smells and bleh!.
I guess there’s no getting around it because I can’t send my son to school with a glass box. :(
thanks!
Sammy
Hi Debbie! I’m right there with you. No matter how much you clean Tupperware it always needs to be replaced when the smell just won’t go away. My son doesn’t like them in a baggie either, he won’t eat it if it’s smooshed. ;)
Lindsay A.
Being as space-efficient as possible, plus having to worry about refrigeration.
Sammy
Hi Lindsay! That’s what I love about the PackIt lunch boxes. They are already frozen, so you really save a lot of space with no freezer pack. We pack our son water bottles a lot and those take up a lot of space.
Darcy Koch
What frustrates me the most is keeping the colds cold and the hots hot.
Sammy
That is a huge frustration for me too Darcy! Luckily PackIt lunchbags solve the keeping foods cold problem!
Char
Oh wow, this is so great! You have lovely offers. I love you blog MORE THAN ANYTHING! Thanks :)
Cheryl B
I get frustrated trying to pack lunches, either I run out of room or don’t have anything I want to eat in the house.
Lisa V.
It’s hard to come up with variety with lunches, I find.
Mahdi Martin
I don’t like using baggies. They are wasteful but convenient.
Sammy
Hi Mahdi! It’s great to be able to help where you can, like using these reusable lunch boxes from PackIt. :)