Does packing a lunch make you want to pull your hair out? Keep you up at night the week before school starts? We all know that packing lunch will generally save us money while eating healthier, but the process sometimes feels like torture.

One of my favorite and most memorable Amazon reviews on some lunch containers said something like this: “packing lunches is a task that elicits far more misery than it really should.”

I couldn’t agree more. First it’s deciding what to pack, then it’s figuring out what to pack it in. Seems like it should be a piece of cake, but it’s often one of my more dreaded tasks of the day!

And then this time of year we see a lot of lunch idea posts pop up with beautiful, fancy and creative lunch ideas like this one. These all look delicious and healthy, but by the time I’ve made and cleaned up dinner, kept boys getting along and on task for the homework, piano, the last thing I want to do is make another meal from scratch.  I want to those 4 lunches knocked out with as little planning and preparation as possible.

The Secret to Easy Plant-Based Lunch Packing

If I could pick one thing I’ve done that saves me the MOST time and energy when it comes to packing lunches for my family, it would be to pack tomorrow’s lunches BEFORE dinner.

Whenever I can, I like to plan Sunday-Thursday dinners that make good plant-based lunch leftovers. Being able to cook one big meal and eat it again the next day saves me not just the time to prepare but also the time and energy it takes to plan and shop for a separate meal.

I know of a few leftovers haters out there, and I’ll be the first to admit that some leftovers are really not very good. But some meals actually make great leftovers, and the nights when I can just dish up the same thing we had for dinner into these handy containers, lunch is done in a snap and life is good.

So I’ve put together a list of dinners that make good leftovers, even and especially for my kids who don’t have access to a microwave. My kids eat these at school and even though sometimes they get comments on other things I’ve tried, they have an ever-growing appreciation of the way their food choices can affect them for better or for worse.

Getting Your Kids to Eat It

Over the years I’ve trained my kids to eat a lot of things that other kids won’t. I’ve got some in depth posts (here and here) about how we do this, but in a nutshell my advice is to just keep trying. Do NOT give up! When I have a meal that goes really bad, suddenly my kids think the so-so meal seems alright.

If I tried something and it was a total failure, I’ll usually just try another version again a few months later. It’s a process for taste buds to adjust to whole foods over highly-processed ones, and it’s a process to learn how to prepare those whole foods in a way your family enjoys. But I can promise you that if you keep trying, you will find things you love and be SO glad you did.

The System:

I know a lot of you awesome parents out there have your kids pack their own lunches. I think it’s commendable and I am always looking for ways to increase my kids capacity to take care of themselves. On most nights I feel it works best for me to pack the actual food and let them be responsible for the other details of getting their lunchbox packed and unpacked. This allows me to pack more nutrient-dense and cost-effective foods than they would be able to pack themselves. But just last night they went ahead and packed their own. Do what works for you, and tells us about it in the comments!

This is an ideal day. It certainly doesn’t happen this way every day, but when it does, my heart sings!

1. 1. 1. I have a plan and prep dinner early in the day. You’d think as a food blogger I’d be better at this than I am, but let’s just say I’m still working on it. The after school hours can be crazy, even when we don’t have anywhere we need to go, so having a plan and as much dinner prep out of the way as possible makes a huge difference.
      2. Boys unpack their lunches and bring me their Easy Lunchboxes. Right after school the boys know they need to bring their lunches to the kitchen. They put the containers by the sink, ice packs in the freezer, and lunchboxes in the cabinet. I am an aspiring minimalist and I cannot tell you how much I LOVE having one container to pack all of lunch in. Occasionally I’ll send something extra in a bag or separate container, but for the most part these do the job. We have used this one set for FIVE years, and aside from one that got inadvertently melted on the stove, they are holding up well. I will say that the downside is that they are not 100% leak-proof. If you have something really juicy (think watermelon, soup, etc.) chances are good it will end up in one of the adjacent spaces. Putting a layer of plastic wrap on before the lid, and then securing the lid with a rubber band or two has helped with this, but it’s definitely an extra step I try to avoid.I have been looking for several years for good options that are either glass or stainless steel that I won’t cry myself to sleep over if they get broken or lost. I am seeing more good options for leak proof stainless steel containers, so I plan on investing in some of those eventually.I always send anything my husband may microwave in glass–I am not quite to the point where I can completely give up plastic containers OR the microwave, but you can believe I am terrified of putting those two together.

         The boys were eager to use the containers they got in their new Costco lunchboxes (which I think we’ve bought about 7 of these by now–they work so well!), but I think the novelty of all these little containers and a gazillion lids is wearing off and we’ll be able to rid ourselves of most of this madness soon. Talk about a nightmare to match up all of those lids! Only finding one container and one lid for the whole lunch saves SO much time and takes a lot of pain out of the process.

      3. I set out the lunch boxes and fill them up with whatever we are having for dinner, BEFORE we eat dinner. This way I am guaranteed to have enough for lunches and am not left staring into the fridge after dinner wondering what to do. This also tends to cut down on the 4 helpings of their favorite main dish and only one small bite of salad–if the main dish runs out they can fill up on the fruits and vegetables or if everything gets eaten it’s much easier to find something to round out dinner while we are home than to come up with things that can be packed.
      4. In the mornings, they are responsible for putting it all together. putting their easy lunch boxes in their lunch boxes along with an ice pack (these come with two but one is usually plenty).

      The Recipes

      Here are some of our favorite things to schedule for Sunday-Thursday nights to help the leftovers for lunch prep move quickly.

      Pasta Salad: My boys love basil pesto and pasta salad is quick and easy. A good quality, whole-grain pasta will be satisfying. Oil-free pesto is delicious, far healthier and satisfying that it’s traditional oil-based counterpart. Add olives, tomatoes, and your choice of cooked beans and it will be a source of filling yet super healthy protein, healthy fat and whole grains. To take it a step further, make it a quinoa salad instead of pasta to really harness the power of unprocessed, protein and nutrient packed whole grains.

      Quinoa Salads:

      

      If you are new to plant-based eating you may not have a family totally on board with quinoa just yet. It took us some time, but these two salads really helped my family come around. I love them because they are pretty much one-bowl meals and also taste great for lunch the next day. As long as I set the walnuts aside so they are still crisp, my kids love this Quinoa Kale Superfood Salad. And the lime juice does a great job of keeping the avocados tasty the next day in this Mango Black Bean Quinoa Salad. I know some of you are thinking that salad just won’t fill you up, but as long as you eat a larger portion these salads can be very filling. Add in some cooked edamame and/or the energy bites (below) to make them extra filling.

      Bean Dip: I have two bean dips that I fall back on. These are nice because they can be tied in to my dinner plan easily, but if for some reason dinner leftovers aren’t going to work, I can make these pretty quickly

      Refried Bean Dip – The most basic version of refried beans is to open a can and send some tortilla chips to scoop it up with. If you’re thinking that’s just a little too bland, add some salsa or top with this 5 ingredient cashew-cheese sauce: (blend 1/2 cup cashews, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 TBSP lemon juice or white vinegar and 1/2 tsp smoked paprika until smooth). You can also turn it into a 7-layer dip type recipe – adding olives, tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc.

      Avocado Bean Dip – This is a delicious combo that is easily tweaked–use this dip recipe. My kids love this one!
      .
      Taco Salad: I’ve decided that Taco Salad is pretty much the perfect meal for pleasing a crowd, as it is easy to put together and adapt to most dietary needs, including gluten-free, vegan and more. Our favorite current combo is with speedy taco filling and mango salsa. You can turn the leftovers into a salad jar by putting your beans and heartier ingredients in the bottom and topping with greens to keep them dry. This works well for my husband but I’ll just portion out sections for my kids.

      Pancakes and Waffles – So I have to admit that the perfectionist in me has yet to find a pancake/waffle recipe that I love enough to post, but when I do, you’ll be the first to know! ***Update: we finally found one we LOVE! But it’s one of my kids favorite things to have in their lunch. It works well to make a large batch of pancakes or waffles during the day with my younger kiddos, and then save the extras in the freezer. A drizzle of real maple syrup and a dollop of peanut butter and they are happy. Using whole grains makes them satisfying and a hit with my kids.

      It’s always my goal to send some fruits and vegetables with lunch, but knowing that they are getting a solid breakfast of smoothie and oatmeal every morning, and most of our dinners come in at an A- leaves me feeling just fine about sending an occasional C+ lunch when I need to. And we usually fall back on your basic PB&J at least once a week whenever the above just isn’t happening.

      Having a large batch of these Flax Power Snacks on hand in the freezer is AWESOME. My kids consider it a dessert, but they are satisfying and nutrient-packed and a great way to round out a meal you may otherwise worry isn’t going to fill them up.

      If you need more great dinner ideas that are easy, inexpensive and can please the whole family, check out our monthly Meal Plan Membership. They are super quick, easy, family-friendly and easy to cater to your individual needs.

       

      I hope this helps spark some ideas of ways you can make more plant-based lunches in less time! What are your favorite foods to pack for lunch?