Do you know this phrase? Controlling the Controllable. Or should I say, have you heard of this condition? Symptoms include:
-Adding tasks to your to-do list even after youโve completed them, just so you can experience the satisfaction of crossing that task off the list.
-Having a sudden irrepressible urge to rearrange your sock drawer or color-code your bookshelf or clean the living room blinds with a toothbrush after reading a terrible story in the newspaper.
-Recording what will be for dinner or what has been for dinner every night for going onย fourteen straight years, even when those dinners consist of a pasta-potato-buttered-biscuit starchfest (picky toddlers) or a microwaved Boca Burger, which was as imaginative as it was going to get after a long day at the office ย (picky bosses).
-Organizing your grocery list by supermarket aisle.
-Mentally spreadsheeting the time your children spend with you versus the time they spend in childcare or with a babysitter or nanny. (And hoping you will come out ahead.)
-Having the fleeting thought If I could make all corners of my life look and feel as orderly as this compartmentalized lunchbox byย PlanetBox, then I can accomplish anything.
A little more about this PlanetBox, which is the first in a series of DALS holiday giveaways. The above photo is the lunch my daughter took with her to school this morning, and when I packed it last night after dinner (it was my turn) I employed the same lunch-packing formula I always employ when itโs the end of the day and thereโs been some Pinot Noir and not one more brain cell is available for functioning. It goes like this:
Something Crunchy (crackers) + Something Fresh (edamame, clementines)ย + Something Leftover From Dinner (crazy delicious Trader Joeโs buttermilk biscuit โ stuffed with ham and cheese)ย + Something Sweet (iced gingerbread cookie) = Lunch!
And yes, in case you are wondering. Employing formulas to complete basic everyday household tasks? Another grave symptom of The Condition.
Your kid can customize the PlanetBox with his or her choice of magnet decals. This one is โModern Artโฆ.โ
โฆAnd this one is โUnder the Sea,โ but they have over a dozen more to choose from. PlanetBoxes are made from non-toxic stainless steel and come with a carrying case (with thermos pocket) and two smaller steel containers. FREE PlanetBox goes to a DALS commenter chosen at random, with special consideration going to those who have inspired lunch ideas. Winner announced on Monday.
Update: The winner of the PlanetBox goes to Ingrid. Thanks to everyone for playing and especially for the fantastic ideas.
PS: The next giveaway will be announced very soon and will be for newsletter subscribers only.
We use a similar formulaโฆ. Crunchy (crackers, pretzels) + fruit + protein (turkey pepperoni w cheese cubes, peanut butter) + a small treat. I like the look of that biscuit, will have to give it a try!
โIf I could make all corners of my life look and feel as orderly as this compartmentalized lunchbox by PlanetBox, then I can accomplish anything.โ
Haha, no kidding, right?! As long as I feel like my lunch is under control, I feel like the rest of my life canโt possibly be too far behind.
I always have three courses: A salad, a โmainโ (today itโs home-baked falafel with roasted beets), and a โdessert,โ which is an apple or a pear 9/10. Lunch is my favorite time of the day!
If I were following the rule today: Something Crunchy + Something Fresh + Something Leftover From Dinner + Something Sweet = Lunch!
Two thoughts (frst from the fridge, the other from fancy):
(1) Annies pretzel bunnies, carrot sticks w/PB, chicken in honey mustard leftovers cold wrapped in lettuce, tapioca pudding
(2) vinegar coleslaw made with long shred red and white cabbage, strawberries, pulled pork BBQ on ciabatta roll, homemade minty marshmellows dipped in chocolate
Inspired lunch idea? Good god, I finally got my kid to eat a cheese stick after 4 years so Iโm no help.
i love using leftovers for lunch, usually whatever veggies we have mixed with quinoa or couscous and a little feta or chรจvre (yum!) โฆmy husband is sadly not so creative, and has pretty much had a proscuitto & brie sandwich every day for the last two years. except when i phone him and remind him about the leftover stew in the fridge, of course ๐
I have been eyeing these this year, but didnโt make the jump. (My husband actually โcaughtโ me watching the video on their website at the start of the school year. He was incredulous that I was โwatcing videos about lunchboxesโ! Ha! If I win, Iโll buy one, too! I have no inspired lunch ideas. My kids like the same thing over and over. The current fav of my youngest is homemade peanut butter crackers (creamy peanut butter spread between two Milton multigrain crackers).
Oh. My.God. I have been coveting those PlanetBox lunchboxes for two years now, but they are way out of my price range. I hope I win! Oh I hope I doโฆ.
Our formula isnโt Beautiful Mind-worthy (Sandwich+crackers+fruit or veggie+a sweet of some sort), but thanks to DALS I learned that I can put LEFTOVERS in the lunchbox. What an eye opener that was โ chicken drumsticks? Check! Chili in a thermos? Check! My sonโs lunches have improved tremendously with this (rather obvious now that I think about it) addition to the traditional mix. Thanks!
We have a formula or more of a routine I guess. Lunch and 2 snacks is 2 fruits, 1 โmainโ- either a sandwhich (no nuts) or pasta, a cereal bar, yogurt, and a crunchy treat like goldfish. This box looks very cool.
Lunch today will be curry raj for my 7 month old. Is that creative?
Love PlanetBox lunchboxes โ but again, out of my price range.
I have no inspired lunch ideas โ my kids go to a preschool at a synagogue, and so we cannot send meat in their lunchboxes. Oy vey, so hard to come up with ideas. And this year, my daughter is in a peanut-free classroom. Iโve got tuna and egg salad on repeat โฆ.
My son is a Kindergartner and only has about 15 minutes to eat lunch, less when you consider the craziness of a Kindergarten lunchroom! So I fill him up with as much protein & fruit as possible and cross my fingers that he eats some of it! He loves peanut butter on celery, hard boiled eggs, cheese & cracker sandwiches โฆ
Iโm new at this and packing a lunch for my toddler isโฆ tricky! He does well with WW tortilla quesadillas with refried beans and cheese. His favorite is the โNacho Tacoโ cheese with the taco seasoning in it. Eww. I know. But I feel good about parts of it and he eats it, so it is a winner!
My kids are big pesto lovers so I often pack them a chicken or turkey and pesto sandwich/wrap! And always fruit.
My first grader, who ate peanut butter and jelly or peanut butter and honey every day for more than a year, recently announced that he wasnโt going to eat that any more. Whatโs more, he no longer likes the smell of bread โ so wonโt eat sandwiches. I managed to get around the later yesterday by giving him a cream cheese and pesto sandwich, but this post is super helpful in giving me lots of non-sandwich ideas.
My dad always arranges his grocery list by aisle.
A skill I have not inherited, sad to say.
I use a similar formula to pack my kidsโ lunches. I try to have something fresh, something sweet and something protein-y.
I actually have a spreadsheet-based grocery list template organized in the order of the aisles at the store we frequent the most. Itโs a sickness. Itโs good to know Iโm not alone.
I have found that mini-quiches baked in a muffin tin make a great leftover/protein component in a lunchbox. And if you core and slice an apple, then put it all back together and wrap it up tight it wonโt turn brown between breakfast and lunch.
Beautiful lunch box! Is the Planetbox hard to clean (ie is it one more onerous lunch related chore for the evening)? Iโm a big fan of sending hot leftovers in a thermosโpasta, soup, turkey hot dog (with bun on the side!)
My formula reminds me a little of the old 4-4-3-2: protein (egg, cheese, peanut butter) + starch + fruit + vegetable + treat. Last week my husband packed the kids โguac kitsโ: whole avocados (with a plastic knife and fork for slicing and mashing) and a lidded bowl with squeezed lime, salt, and minced onion. Then carrot โscoopersโ (cut on diagonal) and matzoh for dipping. Plus a little fruit. They both loved it!
I love the lunch boxes! I donโt think I will get special consideration in the giveaway dept, as lunch here consists of whatever I can rustle up to throw in the bag in the 2 seconds before the bus comes. Hopefully there is something healthy and maybe even something my girl will eat in there:) This lunchbox would be an inspiration!
We talk at family dinners about what kinds of things to pack for school lunches. My girls have good ideas, most of the time. Right now they are into musubi, a Hawaiian/Japanese treat I grew up on that is essentially a big rice ball (made sushi-style), with some kind of protein, wrapped in seaweed. So yummy.
With my three kids, I used to employ the crunchy + fresh + main dish + snack (our school system still schedules them) + drink = lunch.
My 9-year old twins havenโt rebelled yet, so their lunches usually resemble the above mentioned formula. However, my 13-year old daughter now only wants two things for lunchโprosciutto (yes, I knowโฆ) and something crunchy (usually Tings). She takes a cranberry and almond bar from KIND (so tasty!) for snack and thatโs it. Iโm hopeful this new lunchbox would motivate her towards more items in her lunch!
Guilty on all counts! I absolutely organize my grocery lists by aisle. Iโve had my eye on planetbox gear for a little bit, but Iโm still making daycare lunches for a picky toddler. They usually consist of PB&J + fruit + sweet potatoโฆsometimes we have leftover pasta and sometimes I cut the sandwiches into shapes. Not too exciting, but maybe I would be more inspired if I had a fun box to fill?! Keep up the great blog!
I always organize my shopping list by aisle โ a working mom has to shave off time where we can! My kids lunches usually consist of leftovers from dinner or hummus on goldfish bread with some fruit and/or veggies in there so the teachers donโt judge me.
I love love love those lunch boxes. Hoping it woudl inspire me to pack fabulous lunches.
Man, I feel like Iโve found my people! So many good organizational ideas. Sadly, no great lunch inspirations from meโฆ
I love your formula. We havenโt had to pack lunches yet, at least not on a regular basis. My oldest stays a couple times a month for lunch, she is in a half day kindergarten. I love these boxes and had been wanting to try them.