Create an Easy Lunch Packing Station for Under $10

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HorizonLunch #CollectiveBias

Packing lunches can be such a hectic and time-consuming ordeal. My children always want to ‘help’ pack their lunches by choosing what goes in the cooler. While I love knowing that they are going to eat their lunch because they like what is packed, I don’t like repeating the lunch options 6 times over, or feeling like a bad guy when I don’t agree with their lunch choices.

To streamline lunch packing, while still giving my children some control, I created this easy, DIY Lunch Station for under 10 dollars!

Supplies:

• 6 shoebox size plastic containers
• Printable Labels
• Markers and colored pencils
• Clear mailing or packing tape

Directions:

Print out the label sheet and add some color. No need to stay in the lines, since you’ll be cutting the labels out!

Cut out the colored labels.  Attach the labels to your plastic containers with a piece of clear tape. If you already have extra containers at home- use them! My white-topped containers were less than a dollar each at Walmart, while the blue container I had at home already.
Load the boxes up with lunch packing supplies and get ready for an easier way to pack lunches! When it’s time to pack lunch, I remove the Dairy and Veggie boxes from the fridge, and the other boxes from the pantry.

The children can pick one item from each box for a complete packed lunch. If we aren’t in a hurry, I will help them substitute a sandwich or tortilla wrap for the protein.

Need some ideas for filling the boxes?

Protein:

• Granola bars
• Peanut Butter Crackers

Dairy:

• String cheese
• yogurt

Fruit:

• Fruit such as apples, bananas, and oranges
• Horizon Squeeze Pouches
• Applesauce packs
• Fruit cups

Veggie:

• Bag washed and cut fruit in snack size sandwich bags- celery and carrots are favorites here.
• Small containers of peanut butter, humus, and ranch to choose from

Snack:

• Chips
• Cookies
• Raisins
• Crackers

 

Drink:

• Horizon Kids Aseptic Milk Boxes – Isn’t the Peanuts movie packaging adorable? My family can’t wait for the upcoming The Peanuts Movie in theaters on Nov. 6th. You can also enter to win The Peanuts Movie Red Carpet Experience here.
• Juice box
• Bottled water

This easy lunch packing station, plus lots of choices means quick and painless lunch packing! Set set out the labeled and filled boxes, then allow your child to choose one item from each box.

We just discovered Horizon’s shelf stable milk and my children cannot get enough! Containing calcium, 8 grams of protein, and no high fructose corn syrup in each box, I feel great buying them for my kids. And the squeeze pouches also contain calcium and 5 grams of protein. Including these items in their lunch choices ensures they have plenty of energy to for whatever outing I have planned! Walmart will have demos for Horizon Squeeze Pouches between 11/5/2015 – 11/8/2015. See if one is scheduled at your local Walmart.Don’t miss the Horizon Milk Boxes, in my Walmart they were on the baking isle with the milk alternatives such as coconut milk and almond milk. I almost missed them looking in my usual drink aisles!

This new lunch packing method cuts my lunch making time in half (at least) and since getting prepared the night before an outing has not been my strong suit lately, that’s important. No flustered mess of a Momma trying to throw lunch together and get out the door 5 minutes ago! My big kids can even independently pack their lunches (and help a younger sibling) without any direction from me at all. Maybe now I’ll actually leave for an outing with dry hair!

I hope this easy and inexpensive idea saves your lunch packing experience as much as it has mine! Check out other great lunch packing ideas here.