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.
Look, I just got yelled at by my kidโs school for sending stuff in pyrex because apparently the children must be smashing food containers with bricks or dropping them from 50 foot heights. Thereby putting 2 and 3 year olds in danger of getting cut to ribbons by shattered pyrex. Who knew? Sooooโฆ I dropped $40 on a bunch of bento boxes whose lids wonโt stay on unless I rubberband them together. I am desperate. I will carve apples into poinsettias and paint โThe Starry Nightโ on bread with peanut butter and jelly and roll sushi to look like Totoro if you will PLEASE just pick me to win this awesome set. Thank you for your time.
I love this idea! My preschooler adores what I call an adaptation of the British โploughmanโs lunchโ: boiled egg or ham, sliced cheese, stone wheat crackers, slices of apple with a squeeze of lime, and pickle. The pickle can be anything pickled, not just cucumbers. I have gotten into making my own pickles, and my latest to try from the โFood in Jarsโ blog is the kohlrabi pickle.
Good to know Iโm not the only one out there with a system! I write out the โlunch menuโ the night before, and pack what I can, but it usually gets made in the AM. Iโm fussy-ate too many soggy sandwiches in my youth. My son eats leftovers, lots of little containers so these boxes look great! My daughter is on a chick pea salad kick which I usually mix with brown rice. I try to throw some chocolate or sweet in there for a treat.
Those lunch boxes are awesome!
These lunch trays are awesome! My little girl likes cottage cheese with nut crackers (she like cheddar cheese and ranch flavor the best), pistachios and applesauce. Still in the really picky era with herโฆ
I use a formula, too, most of the time. A protein, a carb, veggie & fruitโฆall in cute, colorful silicone cupcake cups or fun shaps for fruits & veggies for that extra flair.
These are the coolest lunch boxes out there! Similar formula although dairy is a mandatory addition for everyone in the family.
I found your blog through the planet box facebook pageโI love it!! My lunches always consist of whatever is left over from the night before + vegetables + a fruit + a glass of almond milk + a treat. I donโt have a lot of time for inspired lunches between work and graduate schoolโฆ My husband will leave for Air Force BMT in January, so I suspect that my dinners (and lunches by association) will start to get more creative seeing as how I wonโt have to cater to his tastes for a few months.
A favorite with my kids: pizza lollipops. Basically, roll up the pizza dough and toppings, slice, stick a lollipop stick in it, and bake. Everything is yummier on a stick. Even vegetables. Soy sauce is also magic โ pot stickers and onigiri always get eaten.
I also have my second-grader fill out a menu: I give him at least a dozen options for entrees, veggies, sides, and fruit, and he has to pick three or more. He can suggest new things too โ then I have a good list of foods he might eat. Tucking in something coveted โ like pumpkin bread โ seems to increase the odds more suspicious foods will at least be sampled. I donโt understand why.
I *love* the Planet Lunchbox containers!
Love the Planet Lunchboxes- have always wanted to get one!
Love the lunchboxes. I love ordered systems and small pockets to put things. I love tidiness and rules and good gravy, the world conspires against that. Would love to send the wee one to school with such a tidy lunch.
Is it wrong that I think my kids would love this simply because of the little center box for treats??? Is it wrong that I would eat the treat first? ๐
i have been using laptop lunch boxes for year. this would be a nice switch
wow, thatโs so pretty. this would make my hodge-podge lunches seem so much more chic! and delicious ๐
Wow, that packed lunch looks amazing and I love the boxes/tins!
Itโs like youโre describing me in your post, minus the mental spreadsheet of time with parent v. babysitterโฆ though I do informally track how much time I spend with each of my cats on a daily basis. Itโs just courtesy to give them both attention, right?!
I donโt have children but I do want me one of those compartment lunch containers. Maybe one thatโs sectioned out but with a pop-out section that can in the microwave? Does that exist?!
Oh, and-
Do I win the GetMaineLobster.com feast?