I Don't Do Lunch (and Breakfast Might Be Gone Too!)
Thanks to a wise friend I don't participate in the drudgery of preparing lunch for my kids. Instead I made a deal. If they make their own lunch Monday through Thursday then I allow them to buy pizza lunch at school on Friday. Which effectively takes me out of the "making lunch" game entirely.
There was a time when I spent an hour each night preparing food for the boys. Bottles, lunches, snacks, more snacks... it was a freaking NIGHTMARE. So when I overheard my girlfriend describing how her kids all have to make their own lunches I knew I had to get on that train.
To facilitate this I gave the boys a quick reference chart. A "lunch" consists of four things:
And when I talk to other moms they're shocked. Your kids make their own lunch? But if you make it the night before then Johnny's soup won't be hot enough. His sandwich bread might get soggy.
Ladies: toughen up. I survived lunches in the 1970s when you just hoped that your thermos didn't break otherwise you ended up with soup full of glass shards, and an empty belly.
Now I've taken it a step further. This past weekend I taught Colin how to use a microwave "clamshell" to make his own scrambled eggs. I wrote up a recipe card with ingredients and instructions, then had him give it a try. On Monday morning he apparently hopped out of bed, went downstairs, and started making his own breakfast! Hari didn't know about our lesson from the weekend and briefly panicked, then helped Colin through the process.
Now my little guy makes his own eggs every morning - a hot, hearty breakfast without any help from us. WIN!
Ryan can make toast, and is always good at foraging through fruit or yogurt, so really mornings are now nearly self-service.
Now I just need to get them to start cooking dinners...
There was a time when I spent an hour each night preparing food for the boys. Bottles, lunches, snacks, more snacks... it was a freaking NIGHTMARE. So when I overheard my girlfriend describing how her kids all have to make their own lunches I knew I had to get on that train.
To facilitate this I gave the boys a quick reference chart. A "lunch" consists of four things:
- Milk
- An entree - this could be leftovers, or a sandwich, a quesadilla, etc.
- A fruit or vegetable
- A snack
And when I talk to other moms they're shocked. Your kids make their own lunch? But if you make it the night before then Johnny's soup won't be hot enough. His sandwich bread might get soggy.
Ladies: toughen up. I survived lunches in the 1970s when you just hoped that your thermos didn't break otherwise you ended up with soup full of glass shards, and an empty belly.
Now I've taken it a step further. This past weekend I taught Colin how to use a microwave "clamshell" to make his own scrambled eggs. I wrote up a recipe card with ingredients and instructions, then had him give it a try. On Monday morning he apparently hopped out of bed, went downstairs, and started making his own breakfast! Hari didn't know about our lesson from the weekend and briefly panicked, then helped Colin through the process.
Now my little guy makes his own eggs every morning - a hot, hearty breakfast without any help from us. WIN!
Ryan can make toast, and is always good at foraging through fruit or yogurt, so really mornings are now nearly self-service.
Now I just need to get them to start cooking dinners...
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