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Planning and Packing Practical Lunches: The Ultimate Guide for Busy Parents · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello, and welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
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  When it's time to pack lunches for everyday trips to school,
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  it helps to have a little bit of a planning guide.
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  My guest today, Dr. Courtney Luecking, Extension Specialist for maternal and child
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  health is here to help us figure out how to get that planning guide ready to go.
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  Welcome, Courtney. Hi, Mindy.
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  Share with me what is behind the curtain when it comes to the planning guide.
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  Oh gosh, it's probably not what we want to hear, right?
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  Like that we do have to plan, but there's a couple questions that we can kind
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  of work through that will help us be be more strategic and we can talk about
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  some general supplies that can make the packing experience easier.
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  So where would you like to start? Well, let's just talk about those supplies.
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  What are the supplies that we really should have on hand so that we are at the
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  ready, we're ready to go?
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  Reusable containers could be a great investment. So while they might seem a little pricey up front,
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  spending that money will actually help save money over time and it will allow
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  for more options that can be packed.
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  So for example, what I'm talking about is an insulated lunch bag and an ice
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  pack because that allows us to pack foods that need to stay cool and help keep them safe to eat.
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  On the flip side, those insulated containers can also help us keep things warm.
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  And then reusable bottles can be used for water throughout the day.
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  Right. And if you're like me and your kids are long past the years of needing those things.
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  They're great resources to have if you're going on a picnic or if you're spending
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  the day away from home and you
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  need to have something but don't want to have to stop for fast food. So,
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  They have a very long life. And I still use mine, too.
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  So what we're talking about for adults or for children could also be applicable
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  for adults who pack their lunch. That's right.
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  So don't worry about that expense up front because they are going to have long-lasting use.
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  Okay. So those are some great things that we can have on hand.
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  And it helps us avoid the expense of repeated disposables.
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  Exactly. There's kind of the environmental piece, too. So easy on the environment.
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  What about utensils? Are there utensils that we can purchase that we can use
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  again and again without having to go into our silverware drawer?
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  Yes, there are some more kind of like plastic-y ones that are reusable.
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  So typically some stores will have like lunch aisles or if you are ordering
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  things online and just look for reusable utensils. Typically,
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  you don't want to send a knife to school. Most schools don't really want that.
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  But you can find some forks and spoons that just look for reusable things that
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  can be washed at home and then sent back the next day.
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  Great, great ideas. Okay, so we've got the planning.
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  We've got our supplies to pack our lunches. What else do we need as far as planning?
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  So next, it'd be helpful to consider any lunchtime limits.
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  So what might be things that could be problematic?
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  That's a bit of an over-dramatic way, but something about what time is lunch?
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  So is it early in the day? Is it later? So, you know, will they want a lot of
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  food if it's later or will they have just had breakfast?
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  And so it might be an earlier one. Or if you're wanting to pack frozen foods
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  that thaw, wanting to make sure that they would in fact thaw by the time that they would eat them?
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  Or with a later lunch, do you need to pack like a small snack to help bridge that gap?
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  Sure. Thinking about how long is lunch time, they're usually pretty short, only about 20 minutes.
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  And so sending foods that don't really take a lot of preparation,
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  sometimes like having things in smaller chunks that kids can like grab while
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  they're talking can facilitate their eating.
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  Can children open packages? So we're wanting to, whether we're using reusable
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  containers or something that's prepackaged, we want to make sure that children can open them.
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  Otherwise, that's a barrier for them to be able to eat those foods.
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  Is there an access to a microwave? Depending on the age of children,
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  that could open up a range of options of what you can send.
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  Always being mindful of, is
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  this school nut-free? Because that might influence what you can or cannot.
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  Not okay and you can take some clues from those pre-packaged lunches and do
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  the same thing with your own ingredients so yeah is bound by the pre-packaged
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  idea you know just do your own thing.
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  Yes. And that kind of links into making your plan. You can use that for a sense
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  of inspiration. So are there certain themes?
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  So being kind to yourself, is it a list of five or 10?
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  I'm going to use the word main dish ideas or ways that you can use the same
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  ingredients over and over. So you have a whole grain tortilla,
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  for example, that you might, if
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  it's not, you could use a nut butter and a banana for a roll up one day.
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  You could sprinkle cheese and black beans and do a quesadilla another.
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  So familiar items, but served in different ways is a great way to expose to textures and flavors.
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  That reminds me of a classmate I had that had the very same lunch every single
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  day of every single school year. from the time we were in elementary school
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  until we graduated from high school. And I thought, oh, how boring.
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  And so I love that you're giving options. Yeah. Well, I mean,
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  and sometimes that works, right?
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  And if we're not exposing to new things, then it can also reinforce what sometimes
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  people call picky eating or selective eating.
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  So maybe we're going to send breakfast for lunch. So breakfast could be a waffle.
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  It could be yogurt and fruit.
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  You could do snack lunch, which is like cheese and crackers and fruits and veggies with dips.
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  Or it could be, like I said, repurposing its tortilla day. So how are we going
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  to prepare the tortilla today?
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  So making it easy for your planning self, like, okay, we need at least kind of two to three staples.
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  So maybe that's your grain. Is it your tortillas? Is it crackers?
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  Is it cold pasta? Is it frozen waffles?
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  And then wanting to have some protein with that. It could It could be hard-boiled
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  eggs or yogurt or cottage cheese or canned beans.
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  And then fruits could be fresh or frozen or fruit cups and same with vegetables.
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  So wanting to make sure you have something that's like a protein,
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  something that's a grain, and then some fruit and veggies to mix in with that.
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  All right. So now what's our next step?
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  All right. So once you have a plan, then it's time to pack it.
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  And so that might be you as the adult, depending on how old your kiddos are.
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  Or maybe you can have kids draw a plate or you might have a menu where they
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  can like circle or it's a guide sheet for them to start to learn how to pack a nutritious lunch.
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  So by providing those structured options and or mapping out what it is,
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  figure out what works for you.
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  Some people do really well and it works for them to have a structured plan.
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  Like this is what's for lunch on Monday. This is what's for lunch on Tuesday.
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  And for others, it's that flexibility of like, okay, here's what's available.
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  Global, pick something from each of these and put it together.
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  That's great. That's great.
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  I tell you, you're making me hungry. I know. Is it time to eat yet? Yeah.
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  So anything else? Are we ready to go?
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  I think we're pretty much ready to go. Really the planning process of what is
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  going to be a nourishing option for kiddos during the middle of the day.
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  Do we have the supplies to keep it safe?
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  Is it going to be easy for them to consume in the time period that they have?
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  And then kind of the nuts and bolts of just putting it together and getting it out the door.
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  Do we need to give them some clues about what can be disposed of at school and
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  what they need to bring back home?
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  There might be helpful guidance depending on the age of the child as to what
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  can come home. And again, depending what makes sense.
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  So is it like a special color? Like these colored things need to come back home
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  or going through those instructions. Okay.
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  Courtney, thanks so much for taking the time to share with our listeners today
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  and helping our kids get ready to go back to school.
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  Absolutely. If you're just tuning in, you're listening to Talking FACS,
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