Turning Over Lunchbox Responsibilities

This post is sponsored by Stonyfield® Organic YoKids®, but my enormous relief over not packing lunches every day is all mine.

I’ve mentioned before that one of my least favorite things about the school year is packing lunches.

Then a few weeks ago, a reader sent me a message asking, “Why don’t you have your children pack their own lunches?”

This was one of those moments where you think, “I . . . am not the brightest person.”

I added “pack lunch” to the evening section of the three girls’ chore charts and I haven’t looked back.

It’s also made my life easier in a second, unexpected way, because I have the girls work on their lunches while I’m making dinner.

Usually, that time of day is total chaos, where everyone is kind of falling apart and grumpy or wants to help in the kitchen but I just want to blaze through dinner prep without stopping every three seconds to let tiny hands measure spices or stir a hot pot of something or chop vegetables.

Now, when they all want to be in the kitchen with me, they pull out their lunchboxes and start packing.

I turn on some music, they rummage through the pantry and fridge with me on hand to offer suggestions, make sure they haven’t packed nothing but four granola bars, or help with assembling a PB&J, and by the time dinner is served, their three lunchboxes are all neatly lined up in the fridge and ready for the next day.

Seriously, it’s amazing.

Of course, having them pack their lunches has meant that I need to make sure they have plenty of options so they can easily pick from a variety of nutritious things.

I know all too well how frustrating it is to try to pack a lunch when your options are a few sad baby carrots and possibly a handful of raisins.

Ella has also mentioned to me many times that their lunch isn’t very long and so if something takes too long to eat, she doesn’t get a chance to eat it at all.

So . . . easy to pack, quick to eat, and nutritious. Not a tall order at all.

I’m now stocking the pantry with granola bars, crackers, dried fruit, nuts, and peanut butter and jelly sandwich supplies.

In the fridge, I try to keep all the fresh produce washed, cut and ready to pack.

I’ve also started buying Stonyfield® Organic YoKids® yogurt.

My girls are yogurt fiends, but I’ve always been wary of the sugar content in most yogurts for children (I switched to plain yogurt years ago for eating with my granola and the Stonyfield® Organic Whole Milk Plain has been a go-to for years).

Stonyfield recently announced that they were reducing the amount of sugar in all their yogurts, starting with YoKids® and they now have between 25% – 40% less sugar than the leading kids’ yogurt . Hallelujah!

Plus, their YoKids® yogurts are certified organic, that means each cup is always made without the use of toxic persistent pesticides, artificial hormones, antibiotics and GMOs. (Organic Certification matters because just calling something natural isn’t a guarantee. You can read more about the process here).

My girls don’t care about the sugar content like I do, but they do care how easy it is to eat. The Stonyfield® Organic YoKids® yogurt comes in cups, pouches, tubes, and smoothies, so no matter what your package of choice is, they have you covered.

My big girls love the tubes and smoothies, and Star never met a pouch she didn’t like.

Now if only I could get Star to stop begging to eat her lunch the minute she’s finished packing it. 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Stonyfield® Organic YoKids®.

Photos by Christie Knight Photography