This week, I’ve got to head to New York City for a couple of days for business travel. That means J. and the boys will be in charge of lunch packing one of the days, and since we’ll be pulling something out of the freezer for dinner the night I get back, I can’t necessarily rely on leftovers and weeknight prep in quite the same way that I usually do. So the lunchbox plans for this week have to be super-solid, and easy on me!

We’ll start the week off with leftovers as the basis for a couple of days, to make the lunchboxes practically foolproof. After that, I’ll make sure to have some solid staples on hand from the weekend grocery run, so I can be sure of pulling together lunches the kids will eat no matter what life and schedules throw at us.

Weekend Prep:

  • A smart shopping list is the biggest “prep” item to keep us on track this week. I’ll make sure to buy enough kid-friendly protein choices and filling snacks to fill the lunchboxes quickly and easily.
  • I’ll set aside separate containers of “frog slime meatballs” and chicken cutlets specifically for lunchbox use (to safeguard against hungry family members).

Weeknight Prep:

  • None. When the usual schedule is disrupted, even for a couple of days, I try not to plan too ambitiously!

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The Lunch Menus:

  • Monday: Leftover “frog slime meatballs”
  • Tuesday: Leftover chicken cutlets
  • Wednesday: The kids are off from school, so I’m not packing lunches today.
  • Thursday: Breakfast for lunch, using items from the freezer
  • Friday: Pizza quesadillas on tortillas leftover from Thursday night’s dinner

The Sides:

  • Yogurt
  • Fresh Fruit
  • Crackers
  • Fresh Vegetables
  • Hard boiled eggs