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Here is the typical situation I face: We are on our way home from basketball practice, gymnastics or church and someone is starving. I groan in frustration because I forgot to grab something from home. We have about 20 minutes until we get home. The thought goes through my head, if we stop for fast food, I won’t have anything to clean up when we get home. So I give in and we pull through the drive-through. Fifteen dollars and a stomach ache later, I vow to never do that again.
Do you find yourselves caught in this situation? Our lives are so busy, we forget to do that little bit of extra planning for our children. It is 7 o’clock, we are on the road and haven’t even thought about dinner. I have found myself in this situation many times and decided I wanted to put my foot down. Fast food isn’t good for myself or my children and I am teaching them negative actions.
Now the real question becomes, how do you plan so this won’t happen?
We all have different evening routines, but this is what works for me. If we are ever out during the day, I make sure to pack healthy snacks for the children. If I know we will be away during lunchtime, I am sure to pack individual lunches for each child.
During the evening, it seems like a lot of our activities are right around dinner time. I fill that lunchbox full of food for dinner. I have found this process to work wonders. Here are a few ideas on what to pack while you are away from home.
-Fruit- apple slices, strawberries, bananas, bags of grapes and Tupperware full of cantaloupe.
-Veggies – carrot sticks, ants on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins), edamame with sea salt, cucumber slices and sugar snap peas.
-Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, turkey and cheese roll-ups, pasta salad, ham and cheese wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla or crackers and cheese.
-Boxes of raisins, granola bars, dried fruit, caramel rice cakes, almonds and pretzels.
Don’t forget a bottle of water and you are SUPER MOM for the day. You will feel better, your kids will be healthier and happier and you will save lots and lots of money!!!
How do you plan lunches, dinners and snacks when you’re busy? Please share int he comments below.
Tags: eating, family meals, Heidi Russell, onslow memorial hospital
You motivate and remind me how important this truely is! When we are headed out the door at a tricky eating time, I will make a big stack of PB and J’s, put them back in the bread bag and we snack on them throughout the errands or road trip.
I also like taking a banana for each passenger. It fills a belly so much better than a burger.
Thank you for a push in the right direction to start the year out right.