THANK YOU for posting this because I've been trying to boost my lunch ideas too. Traci, I had seen you mention your "mom"ables lunchables on FB and I am totally stealing that idea!
I've been cruising pinterest and I did find a couple cool ideas. Fruit + yogurt smoothies can be frozen and served later. A sandwich can be frozen, and if you want mayo on it, just put it between the meat & cheese so it doesn't make the bread soggy when it thaws. So basically a kid can pick a sandwich from the freezer and by the time they eat lunch it will be thawed enough. For those whose kids do like PB&J, I found
this nifty gadget to make homemade uncrustables
My kids also like stuff like chicken salad, tuna, anything with cheese, some fruits and veggies. I've done soup, but the thermal containers I bought last year didn't hold up and started leaking.
Since I will be at work before the kids get up though, I thought it was best to do things that we could get ready the night before. This dad guy here is just not good at this stuff and will pack crap in their bags. On Sundays I'm going to get enough meals/options ready for the week, freeze what I need to, and then let the kids pick which things they want. They only have to pick from what I've made and that's it. So they get a choice, but with limitations. They can get their bags ready in the evening and put them in the fridge so they're ready to go in the a.m. I saw somewhere else, FB or pinterest, about having a freezer bin, a fridge bin and a dry bin. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. They'll have those three places to choose their choices from each day. The extra stuff that I've stocked up on is stored up out of reach. I'll also have after school snacks in the fridge and dry bins too.
Anyways, I'm really excited. The whole packing lunches thing went downhill for us last year and it got very unorganized. Part of that was due to me working til late at night and then being up like a zombie early to get them up in the morning....I'm on a totally different schedule this year. So these little domestic niceties I get to partake in make me happy <3
K, sorry for the novel! Did I say I was excited??