I am excited to invite you into my kitchen with our first ever professionally made video, or "vlog" as some call it! There was just no better way to show you how we set up for school lunch around here to ensure school mornings go as smoothly as possible. So enjoy (and be sure to check out the video notes just below).
P.S. In the video you'll also get a sneak peak of our new logo coming soon!
How I Set Up for School Lunches
Planning ahead is key!
The Night Before...
- Pack lunches: For loads of ideas check out our most recent "School Lunch Roundup" post.
- Set out lunch bags: We love our "soft-sided" lunch bags from Lands End...they fit our divided containers perfectly. We also go ahead and put in a cloth napkin, any necessary silverware, and a Lunchbox Love card (use coupon code "100Days" for 20% off).
- Fill drink bottles: Our girls get water every day.
- Get out breakfast items: We keep it simple at our house - whole grain cereal!
- Set out snack supplies: Another daily repeat...oatmeal kept warm in a thermos container, by request.
The Morning Of...
- Serve breakfast: We just add fresh milk and berries to the cereal we set out the night before.
- Make & pack snack: We add the finished oatmeal to little drawstring bags with a reusable napkin and spoon.
- Add lunches to bags (with ice packs): With 3 to 4 ice packs everything stays plenty cold until lunch time!
How do you set up for school lunches?
Grandma Honey says
Excellent! I hope you do more of these blogs!
Janet Vaglia says
What are some of your favorite whole grain cereals?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Janet. The Leake's stick pretty closely to one ingredient cereals like shredded wheat or puffed whole grains. Arrowhead Mills is a popular brand for puffed organic grains. Oatmeal and granola round out the list. :) ~Amy
Janet Vaglia says
Thank you! My four year old son 'gags' on granola, which is a bit of a dilemma. I think he wants to like it but cannot seem to overcome the texture issue. I am excited to have him try a cereal of the types you mention. His little brother could enjoy it too! In the meantime, I shall try to be patient with the lack of progress in the granola arena.
Fran says
PS I just now saw the link for the great containers you use. Glad is supposed to be phthalate-free, a real plus. *Nontoxic plastics have numbers 1, 2, 4, or 5 inside the "recycle" arrow logo. *I cook an egg dish every other day, reheating leftovers the next day in a toaster oven. Cereal is premade (soaked & boiled) oat groats with salt and coconut oil or butter, or else (rinsed frequently) soaked/sprouted buckwheat, cooked or not. It's very cheap! Of course when I was teaching I couldn't always do all this...
Marg says
I like your tips, but where is your food? Your fridge is empty compared to ours (3 kids), which is filled with lots of real food. Do you shop daily or do you have a 2nd fridge?
Lisa says
Marg - I was just due for a run to the grocery store when we made this video...we had been out of town and were a little low on food as a result :)
Fran says
I freeze some grassfed milk in ice cube or egg trays while it's very fresh. I use it to "feed" my ongoing yogurt in quart jars so it doesn't sour, but also to put into lunch with berries, coffee, or cereal (if we are out of milk). I freeze homemade yogurt too, since most live cultures survive if it's short-term. Cubes in bags or containers fit nicely into the freezer. I use "Lunch Cubes" from Target for my husband's lunches, or any container plus a bowl to heat it in and a spoon. I hope your blog helps a lot of people; our nutrition really needs help.
Kate says
Thanks for the video. We have really been focusing on "ground to mouth" eating for the past year and your web-site was a great recent find for us! I never thought about sending oatmeal for snack. Great idea! As a teacher, watching the fruit gushers come into our building makes me cringe! Your kitchen was very pretty and your video was simple and easy. Thanks for the difference you are making in people's lives!!
PS My son's 4th grade class has been reading and discussing the food dye article all week and reading labels. They are writing companies to find out Why its in certain products!!
Lisa says
I am glad you like the video and the ideas...and that's great about your son's class! Love it!
Mythri says
Hi Lisa,
What a beautiful kitchen and such a lovely video! You are an inspiration!
I need help with one thing. Any idea where I could get containers like that in the UK ? I have bent backwards trying to find them, to no avail.
Than you for all your help!
Katie says
Mythri, have you tried Amazon? I don't know if they'd be available to ship to the UK, but it's worth a look. I ordered the Ziploc containers and thermoses from Amazon because the stores in my area (Minnesota) couldn't keep them in stock. HTH!
Mairi says
p.s. Loved the video!
Mairi says
Hi Lisa! I'm loving your blog, I follow you on fb. It takes me about 10 minutes to get my son's lunch together in the morning. I always know ahead of time what he might be having. I'm very organised by nature, the hardest part for me is finding food that I know he will DEFINITELY eat! He's so picky, but we're getting there, little by little. I made whole wheat cherry muffins last week, and he didn't like them, so now I have about 20 in my freezer! haha. Should have used a half and half combination with the flours until he gets used to the taste. Trying to make all of our meals healthier, one day at a time. Thank you for your inspiration!!!!
Deb says
Love your blog and posts ... for some of us, though, this is just not realistic. Maybe it's the third kid that puts you over. :) For example, I've got one in high school and with her club sports, sometimes we don't get home from practice and carpool until 9:30pm. I've been driving, shuttling, making dinner and cleaning up for 7 hours by that point - no kidding! There's just no way I have the energy to do all that at night -- I am so done by that hour. I get up extra early to pack fresh *real* food .... but it's the morning when I have the renewed energy to do it all. Whatever works!
Jennifer says
I pack everything the night before--- I have switched from plastic to glass containers- inside those I put veggies- usually carrots and snap peas- and fruit. In addition to that I pack yogurt, lunchmeat, and water. I write a little note on the napkin and ready to go!!! All I have to do the next morning is throw in the ice packs. I must be doing something right because today some of the kids at her table asked her what was up with all the healthy food- and told her she ate like a teacher. Haha! She's in 7th grade. They wanted to know "what was up with the green beans that weren't even boiled." lol!
gail says
The divided containers are they ziplock? I saw you had apple saude in one of the compartments. Do you have to keep that container flat to avoid it getting into the other foods? Or can you put it in their lunch bags then hold the bag upright by it's handle?
thanks
gail
Jami says
Gail- Each compartment is leak proof ( :
Magen says
Great Video...
I have to find those Large glass containers. We have the extra large ball jars but I can't seem to find them with the lock tight lid!!
Where did you find those?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Magen. Those containers are from Sur La Table and can be found in this post: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/11/16/moths-invaded-our-pantrybugs-like-real-food-too/. ~Amy
BeckyC says
Hi Lisa! I just want to say thanks for sharing your blog and all the great ideas that go along with it. I read your blog at least once a day, and it has been so helpful with school lunch ideas and wonderful recipes. I just finished making my 3rd batch of homemade granola in 3 weeks(my husband can't get enough), and have a freezer full of muffins and smoothies, thanks to you:) I am so very grateful for the time, effort and research you put into all of this! Thank you so much...the video was great!:)
Melissa R says
Thank you Lisa! I love this! My girls are only 1 and 4, and the older one only needs a snack for half-day pre-k. But the breakfast planning definitely helps, and the lunch tips will help me out in the future. Thank you for being so down to earth too!
Christine says
Hi Lisa,
Great video! This pretty much looks like me the night before school. :) You said whole grain cereal for breakfast? What kind do your girls like? Also, where did you buy the cereal canisters?
Love all your great food ideas. Your hard work and dedication has changed the way we eat in our home...
Thanks!
Christine
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hello Christine. Lisa buys one ingredient shredded wheat and whole grain puffed cereals. Arrowhead Mills is a popular brand. The containers are from Sur La Table and can be found in this post: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/11/16/moths-invaded-our-pantrybugs-like-real-food-too/. ~Amy
Jennie says
Thanks so much for sharing this! Just wanted to say I love the idea of oatmeal for a snack. My children are only allowed to have dry snacks, and I'm constantly looking for ideas that will keep them full and not zap all of their energy. Might try shredded wheat - I know at least one of them will like it! ;)
Jessie says
That was great! I am a very visual person and would love if you could post more videos in regards to products. I have read things on your blog before about "ingredients" in both foods and other products such as soaps and shampoos, that are the "bad ones" but I can never remember what to really look for when shopping, if there were more videos along these lines, it might make it easier to remember the things to avoid:)Thanks
lauren says
Sorry, maybe a silly question. I try to pack my kids lunches the night before as well but always worry about it being mushy, so I tend to pack half or wrap everything in plastic wrap - like in the video you had carrots in with the bread- does it not mix flavor or the bread get "mushy" because of the moisture?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Lauren. Lisa mentioned to another reader above that these were frozen homemade "uncrustables" and that her girls have never complained about their sandwiches being soggy. Also, the containers have divided sections and the lid seal tightly around each. :) ~Amy
Kristin says
Love your blog & helpful posts! We use the ziploc three compartment containers also & I have similiar lunch boxes from LLBean but they have no drink holder so I am hard pressed to fit a waterbottle inside them. Do your ones that you link to hold the water bottles inside or will those thermos bottles fit in the mesh holder on the outside? Thanks so much!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Kristin. Yes, the small thermos bottles will fit in the mesh holder of the Lands End lunchbag. ~Amy
Karen says
I love your blog and wish I could be half as vigilant as you! Just curious, what kind of oatmeal do you buy? Do you just buy organic to avoid GMO's?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Karen. Lisa buys her oats from Earth Fare. And yes, besides avoiding chemicals the organic oats are non-GMO. ~Amy
Ad Lib says
I prefer to wake 1/2 earlier so the food is fresh. I ask myself, "Do I like food that by the time I open it, it's been sitting for 15 hours instead of 3 hours"? The acid in the fruit, the moisture in the breads, all blends even in the best containers. So it's a 1/2 hour earlier to bed and a 1/2 earlier to rise for us.
Marianne says
Loved the video! Even though I "know" some of this stuff, there is something that makes it even easier to duplicate in my own home after getting to watch it being done. I look forward to future videos of yours!
Lucy says
Loved the video. A few quick questions: What little pot do you use for making the oatmeal? Also, where did you get all of those large glass containers for holding cereal? Thank you!!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Lucy. The glass containers are from Sur La Table and can be found in this post:https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/11/16/moths-invaded-our-pantrybugs-like-real-food-too/. Lisa's All Clad cookware can be found here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/my-kitchen-essentials/. ~Amy
Sam Terry says
Lisa, I made a big change in eating habits a few years ago after quite a major health issue. The problem is that up until then my kids (aged 8 and 11) ate a lot of sugar and processed food. I'm still finding a lot of difficulty in getting them to follow me on a healthier eating regimen, any ideas?
Ginger says
I had a similar situation with my husband when we married. I grew up in a somewhat health-conscious family and he grew up on fast food. To add insult to injury, I have a nutrition degree. How difficult it was to move him from a familiar diet to one that eliminates the most appealing flavor - sugar. The changes needed to be slow and subtle. We had pizza night or special food on special occasions/accomplishments so it was/is actually a treat. My children never knew the difference, but after years of cooking from scratch and no sodas or junk food (well, minimal), my husband claims I ruined him because he no longer has a desire for most things that were a staple in his diet;-) Honor the body you have and keep up the good fight.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Sam. I think it helps to talk with them about why food choices matter (without talking at them, of course). My boys both really responding to Jamie Oliver's Ted Talk as well as Robyn O'Brien's: http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWXrRftyOMY. That might be a good strategy for you, as well. You can also be sure that your cabinets and pantry are full of things that are better choices while allowing for some treats. It is harder to control what happens outside of your home...but just keep leading by example. Best of luck. ~Amy
Sam Terry says
Hi Amy,
Thank-you so much for the inspiring Ted Talks. They made e feel quite good about myself because my children are not obese and because they do do know what the various fruits and vegetables are and can even cook some simple meals on their own.. however I know I can do better.. this evening they are seeing the Jamie Oliver video with me! Have a great day :-)
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
You are welcome! We are all in this together, after all. :)
maria @ me in the kitchen says
Great Job, love the video. Short, sweet and to the point. It obvious you are well organized which helps makes for a smooth running kitchen.
Emily says
I love your blog. I think this is my favorite post ever. I am such a visual person, and you gave me some great ideas for making the morning smoother. 2 questions-- what are your 2 cereals? I am assuming one is your homemade granola? Also, the snack bag! I have been trying to figure that out for our lunches. Did you get it on Etsy? Would love some assistance. Thanks so much!
Lisa says
I am so glad you liked it! :) Yes, one cereal is homemade granola. The other is a 1-ingredient "shredded wheat" type cereal that is Barbara's brand. For the girls we usually mix the two together. For the little drawstring snack bags I actually sewed those with some scrap fabric and ribbon. If you have a machine it is a pretty easy/quick project or I am sure you could order something similar off etsy!
Kiera @EasyTravelMom says
Great video and helpful, thank you!
Lisa says
I am glad you enjoyed it!
Emma says
Thankyou for sharing, I follow you from Australia. I look forward to watching more of your vlogs.
Lisa says
:)
Julia says
To avoid soggy sandwiches I put the dry ingredients next to the bread and the wetter stuff in the middle. For PBJ I coat both pieces of bread with peanut butter and put the jelly between so it doesn't touch the bread. This way I can make lunch the night before and not run into soggy bread. Lettuce/raw spinach also makes a nice barrier. I really enjoyed the vlog. Thanks for posing it!
Lisa says
Good tip - thanks for sharing!
Prashanthi says
Hi Lisa,
I folow your blog regulary. Thanks for the great tips on school lunches. My kids are in Preschool so I dont have to send them any lunches. But I send them one time a week when thier preschool offers beef. As we dont eat beef or pork, I give them home lunch. But these tips are great t prepare myself when my older one starts to go to kindergarten next year. Thanks again!
Off the subject can you please provide tips or make a video on organizing the kitchen with real food. Just a thought, as I have been juggling how to organize it as I started to move to real foods.
Lisa says
That's a great video idea...will add it to my list!
angie says
how do you keep the bread from getting soggy overnight in the fridge?
Lisa says
Angie the sandwiches in the video were actually frozen - like a homemade uncrustable. I've never had the kids complain about the bread being soggy, and they usually eat it all so I don't worry about it I guess :)
Angie says
That is great to hear. I'd never considered freezing sandwiches. we'll have to give that a try. Thanks!
Nikki says
Fabulous video! Keep them coming, they are very inspirational.
Lisa says
Thank you!
Robin says
Awesome video, neat new logo, and more inspiration/motivation for me to keep switching over to earth-friendly items in my kitchen, house, and life - thank you, Lisa and team!
Lisa says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Kari @ KeepingupwithKarielle says
Your kitchen setup is so CUTE! Very classy/organized. Love your blog! Thanks for inspiring :)
Lisa says
Why thank you Kari! :)
Kim says
Thank you Lisa for your inspiration.
I am following you from the Netherlands (europe) and love your blog!
Keep up the good work. :-)
Lisa says
Thank you for following along!
Meredith says
Quick question for you
I just picked up the divided container for my son to bring to kindergarten, but he can't get them open by himself. Did you run into this problem when you first bought them? not sure if I should keep them or return...
Lisa says
Meredith - We didn't have that problem last year when my younger daughter was in kindergarten, but check out the divided containers by Easy Lunchboxes - they aren't leak-proof, but easier to open for that reason.
Meredith says
I will thanks!
Gemma says
They can be a bit tricky to open. I recommend practicing with your kiddo at home. Fill it first with something that won't make a mess if they get a little over-zealous with opening. Demonstrate for your kiddo the best way to open and let them try. I promise you, if my son can do it, yours can. They just need a little guiding.
Laura says
Thanks Lisa! I love your workstation and kitchen setup (especially the spacious cooktop and extra prep sink)! And of course the massive, clutter free island. Kitchen. Envy.
And of course the subject of the video is great too :) I love the oatmeal as a snack, hopefully by the time my daughter is in 1st grade she won't snub it like she does (almost everything) now. For now I'll be trying to emulate your routine while packing my (and my coworker's) lunch! :)
Lisa says
Thank you Laura - I am super anal about not having a lot of clutter on the kitchen counters...that wasn't just for the video! :) Good luck with your daughter.
Cindy says
Love it! Even as homeschoolers,organization with meals makes life easier.
AnnieG says
Great job!
Lisa says
Thank you Annie! :)