I have the quickest lunch tip ever for you and it goes a little something like this:
COOK A BIT EXTRA AT DINNER TIME.
I have people coming to me stressed that they can’t get motivated to prepare a lunch box or don’t know how to eat healthy working in a business centre outside of the city, with a crappy foodcourt situation…
It may surprise you that I too am highly unmotivated by lunch ‘effort’. I want something ridiculously easy and I am reminded always, that if I haven’t cooked something extra the night before while making my dinner effort, then the following morning will be the morning that the lunch box is highly un-motivating to ‘try and come up with something for’ or when lunch becomes more possibly “oh I’ll just have something out” which quite often leaves me upset that I paid someone far too much for something I could have done myself (unless it’s a special catch up with a friend, in which case I relish those occasions).
So, cook a little something extra takes just a few seconds of thought
- Buy and extra large rump or an extra kilo of mince
- Grab an extra fillet of fish
- Chuck an extra cup of rice on
- Make a double batch of fritters
- Pop a tray of mixed roast veggies in the oven while you’re preparing whatever else for dinner
- Get a whole chook instead of a tray of just enough thighs for your dinner
- Make an extra large salad, but take out a good portion undressed, to have at hand for tomorrow
- Make a batch of salad dressing instead of just enough for that night.
- Steam extra veg
- Make an extra large amount of mash
Whatever the ‘extra’ is, do it. Double the recipe where possible.
With my other half away this week I am operating in single parent mode which always reminds me how amazing single and FIFO parents are. I always feel the need to step up my organisational skills on weeks like this and so tonight as I was making us our dinner plates I quickly chopped extra lamb, some raw zucchini and leftover mash and a little kale into a little sauce pan (my grandmother’s 1972 limited edition Le Creuset cast iron pan to be precise – buy once, buy well!) .
Tomorrow morning while barely yet able to function, I will add a couple of tablespoons of chicken stock to this pan, pop the lid on it and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes until piping hot and go and have a shower (if you have 2-4 kids to make lunch for you can do this in a big pot, no problems). It will get scooped into a hot pot and all I’ll have to do is cut crudités, slop a blob of squished avocado, a couple of the seedy banana snack bites, a little sugar plum and voila. School lunch done.
And for me there’s more leftover lamb which I’ll have with salad. Easy. Inexpensive. Using up what we have… It’s winning all round.
Another awesome thing about this? No additional packaging – plastic or otherwise – was needed to make this extra meal. I get the warm and fuzzies about such things, anyone else?
This kind of minute amount of forward planning leaves you ready to attack the next day. This is easier and a whole lot more nutrient dense than your average sandwich, so whoever’s eating it is going to have a great afternoon, full of energy.
Do you have a strategy for staying on top of lunch? I’d love to hear! I always find if I’ve got good leftovers of some kind, the rest can be built around it relatively easily and things remain easy and doable.
I have a lunch box tips post HERE and also watch out for our THRIVE: Raising kids who love real food e course’s second round coming very soon – if you’re a subscriber, you’ll definitely be notified late next week, there. We have the best lunchbox ninja lessons in there ever!
Real Food. Real Easy.
