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.
I make a lot of bento-style lunches for my daughter, and Iโve been coveting a Planet Box for a long time!
The most inspired lunch idea Iโve had lately involves using a sandwich sealer. I lightly buttered the inside of the bread and put spaghetti inside the sandwich. My daughter thought it was incredibly cool.
Iโm the QUEEN of writing it down on the t0-do list, even if it has been done already.
Love the lunch box! Glad to hear it comes with the thermos pocket because we are big left-over soup eaters.
so true! Love those lunch boxes.
Before my daughter started kindergarten, I researched lunchboxes to death. (For the record, this was the one I wanted!) And I stockpiled loads of ideas for lunches.
By the start of the school year, though, my carefully crafted plans disintegrated. My husband nixed the lunch box ($60? What if she loses it on the bus?), and my daughter decided sheโd only eat peanut butter and jelly. Great.
We do like to switch up what goes with the sandwich, though โ make-your-own trail mixes with nuts and dried fruit are a huge hit. And cucumbers. Not so much carrots, but sliced cucumbers are a big winner around here.
Great lunchboxes! I just bought a copy of Bittmanโs How to Cook Everything and am teaching myself to cook. My kids loved the โMarkNuggets,โ so I put them in a heated thermos for lunch the next day, along with a homemade sauce.
the risk of my 4-year old not eating dinner is highโฆweโre at the peak of picky eating right now. I load up the veggies during lunch (he likes veg, and he likes lunch. Good combo, right!!).
I love those lunchboxes! They are great. For lunch I like to eat leftovers and I always try to hit the food groupsโฆplus a special treat for dessert!
My son is a peanut butter-aholic in a nut-free school. Sigh. Current favorite item is a mini whole wheat pita cut into triangles (thatโs important โ they must look like pizza slices), served with pizza sauce for dipping and mini turkey pepperoni. He wonโt eat cheese unless itโs actually ON REAL PIZZA.I tried. Sigh again. Love the lunchbox!
I pack my sonโs lunch bag for daycare as soon as heโs in bed. Heโs not yet a year old, so crunchy isnโt really in our formula yet, but he can eat pretty much anything we do minced up. A lot of leftovers are involved, but I try to make sure what he gets will taste good at room temperature. Chili with avocado always gets finished. Even sweet potatoes with full fat yogurt are ok at room temperature if they have a little cinnamon.
Great giveaway! And Iโve gotten so many good ideas from the comments.
My daughter is just two and sheโs mostly at home with dad for lunch. It usually consists of a cup of local organic yogurt (because I swear to you she wonโt eat anything but this particular brand and certain particular flavors of it), and some veggie booty. Or leftovers. Leftovers trump anything. Rice casserole, corn pasta, or meatballs.
I love this container, weโre not quite ready for it yet but Iโd love to have one for when we are. ๐
Thank you for a fab post. I have read your blog for quite awhile now and have really enjoyed it. I was utterly amazed that you get your girls out of the house in 45 minutes in the mornings. I also have two girls and I am lucky that I can rouse them from their beds in that amount of time! But I digressโฆ I am glad to read that I am not the only one that uses a formula for lunches. Mine goes like this: (meal- sandwich or chicken nuggets for the four year old) + (vegetable) + (fruit) + (yogurt) + (sweet treat) = LUNCH. Tada! I also organize my grocery list by aisle. Itโs in a spreadsheet of which I print out 10 copies and leave on a clipboard in my kitchen. Controlling the controllable. Love it!
I love these! Especially since weโve been through three lunch boxes since September. My secret lunch weapon is a large stuffed sandwich which I bake on Sunday. Then I slice a hunk off every other day for lunch. It can be filled with pizza toppings, veggies, beans, cheese, etc and makes everyone happy.
Woefully uninspired lunches but like others, preschool rules severely limit our options. Weโve cottoned on to cheese and crackers, a Stonyfield smoothie and fruit. Kindergarten will rock Kid Oneโs world when turkey can make an appearance!
This isnโt so inspired as basicโฆ..plan cold lunches with your kids, so they help select the food; they are more likely to eat it if htey are part of the process
This isnโt so inspired as basicโฆ..plan cold lunches with your kids, so they help select the food; they are more likely to eat it if they are part of the process
I love this. I can relate. I need help with inspiring lunches my 7 year old will actually eat.
I love this! Packing four lunches daily in reusable containers equals a lot of washing each night. One container with little compartments seems much more manageable and fun! We do fruit, cracker of some sort, yogurt, main (usually sandwiches but every now and then leftovers) and a treat every now and then.
I love this lunch box. And if it makes me feel more organized and under control, all the better! Love the design.
This lunch box is way cool โ and so is the lunch inside it!
Love this post! I am guilty of needing to โcontrol the controllableโ on a daily basis. Especially the check list thing!
Cute lunch box, wish they had those when I was a kid, would have made taking my lunch a lot more fun!
I love, love, love that lunchbox and my girly would love one too. I am partial to pack leftover pizza, carrot sticks, apple and a piece of leftover Halloween candy for lunches.
This lunchbox looks awesome!
Iโm afraid Iโm too often stuck in a boring lunchbox routine (sigh). But my favorite tip is to sprinkle apple slices with some cinnamon. It disguises any browning that may occur before lunchtime and my kids love them. They think it tastes more like a treat, even though I havenโt added any sugar.
This post is cracking me upโฆ.is this why I organized leftovers in the fridge, caulked the bathroom sink, and deep-cleaned the carpet yesterday!? Totally productive and sort of out of characterโฆ
My zen lunch tipsโฆmake lunch while making dinner or cleaning up from dinner, so that I remember to use leftovers. Something fruity, some veggie, some crunchy grain with protein and something special. So far, the kid eats the lunch. Score one, mama.
hmm . . . we stick to some kind of sandwich, fruit or veggie, then some crunchy snack and then maybe yogurt or something. I hate lunchtime! But I would love to have it so organized and controllable.;)