Back to School

Hello! Sorry for the hiatus. My son started back to school and we have been getting over the end of summer hump. I’ve also been working on some really fun and excited projects outside of the blog and my shop. I will say, I always look forward to school starting back. I love the routine of school, packing his backpack each evening, making his lunch each morning, seeing the excitement on his face each day when I pick him up, after we have been apart for seven hours. And being a working mom, it means I have a little less to juggle for three months. Sure, I take off more work than usual each summer, so we can have some quality time together, but the Fall is more my speed.

One thing that I’ve already noticed, that is big help in getting us all out the door a little more smoothly, is Tom Otis’ new lunch box. We partnered with Planet Box and I’m so glad we did! They are the best! Making his lunch is now fun. I enjoy thinking about what I’ll put in each compartment and Tom now enjoys helping me with making his lunch. He asks for certain items to go in certain places. He feels more involved and the way the portion compartments are set up, he doesn’t come home with a half eaten lunch and I’m not wasting food.

We went with the Rover, mainly because of the two extra stainless steel containers and the smaller serving sizes that are offered in the box itself. Tom is a dipper. He doesn’t like to have sauce on things, for example, but he will dip his food in the sauce. Before I was buying individual hummus packs, so that he could dip. This just added up to extra waste and more money spent. Now I can just fill his little container and put it in the box with his veggies. His lunch box is now 100% plastic and waste free.

How I stay on top of things and fill Tom’s Planet Box lunch box….

I made a drawing of the lunchbox, (see below), then made a list of healthy options that can go in each section. Now I literally don’t have to think about it. I just look at the list and fill the box with one from each section. This applies to grocery shopping too. Running low on something? I just refer to my list. If I find that something isn’t working and he’s not that into the item, I can just change it out from the list.

Working clockwise, l to r;

1. Veggies/ Misc: cheese, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, edamame, mushrooms, beets, sweet potato, cucumber noodles.

2.  Extra Fruit or Veggies: avocado, pickles, veggie chips, rice cakes, popcorn, apple sauce, homemade fries

3. Protein and Grains: turkey sandwich, sushi, veggie corndog, sausage slices, rice noodles, black beans, pasta with sauce, turkey burger, beef burger, tofu, shrimp, roasted chicken.

4. Fruit: berries, hard boiled egg, oranges, kiwi, watermelon, grapes, apple slices.

5. Snack: fruit bears, bunny cookies, animal crackers, pumpkin seeds, small blueberry muffins, a couple mini pancakes.

On top of feeling a bit more organized, each box comes with a selection of magnets to decorate your lunchbox. Tom picked out the travel sticker set and the modern art set. It’s so unique and unlike other boxes that I have seen on the market. I feel like his Planet Box will last a long time and it’s also easy to wash, another thing that was important to me.

What are some of your go to lunch box items?

 

This post was made possible by Planet Box. We were gifted a Planet Box lunchbox, but the opinions expressed are completely my own.