Tuesday's Time Saving {Lunch} Tips

I'm an efficiency freak, so I love time-saving tips to shave extra minutes off tasks throughout the day. Anyone else like doing things in LESS time so you can have more FREE time!?!?!?

With a little prep work, making sack lunches can be quick and simple. They're healthier than eating out and much less expensive. Now that Mike's working far away from home again, I'm back to packing him lunches every day. I used to have this thing down to a science, and all of my short-cuts are slowly coming back to me.

Time (and money) Saving Tips for LUNCHES:

* Prep once, serve twice (tip 1) - If I'm going to make one sandwich, I may as well make two. I make sandwiches twice a week (and Mike eats them for 4 days) and he gets leftovers on the 5th day. I realized that Mike doesn't mind a day-old sandwich after several last minute staff lunches popped up and he had to save his sack lunch for the next day. PB&J works really well for this, but so does turkey, egg salad, tuna, whatever kind of sandwiches you make.

* Prep once, serve twice (tip 2) - If your family (kids, husband or yourself) is weird about a non-fresh sandwich, use the prep once, serve twice theory for the rest of you who stay home. I make lunches in the morning, so I will make Mike's 2 sandwiches (for the next 2 days) plus a sandwich for Kaylin and one for Ryan, then stick those in the fridge for later in the day. I already have all of the "stuff" out in the morning and it saves me time at noon when the kids are starving.

* Prep once, serve twice (tip 3) - I usually eat salads for lunch and make the same salad 90% of the time. Green leaf lettuce, 1/2 a tomato, 1/2 can of tuna or leftover chicken, feta, dried cranberries, sometimes chopped apple or grapes. Oh, and homemade oil and vinegar dressing. (I make the dressing in a larger bottle and use it for a week or two - 1/3 part balsalmic vinegar, 2/3 parts olive oil, a few shakes of Italian seasoning and a pinch of salt, maybe some chopped onion if I have it handy) When I get my lettuce from the produce co-op or the store, I wash, spin and cut it up right away. I stick it in a large Ziplock with a dry paper towel (to absorb the moisture) and it's ready to go. The only time I buy the salad-in-a-bag is when it's on sale for $1 and I get it free with a $1 coupon. Because seriously...I can make my own! I also use the prep once, serve twice theory with my tomatoes and anything else that I need to chop. If I'm dicing 1/2 of the tomato, I may as well continue dicing the whole thing and save the other 1/2 for tomorrow. Why dirty the cutting board and knife twice?

* Save money on portioned snack food - There's no need to buy those 100 calorie packs or mini bags of crackers and cookies. Do you have any idea how much money they make off those things? Buy a box of crackers and some "snack size" Ziplock bags and portion them out yourself. I watched my aunt in KC do this on Sunday afternoons for years and it was genius. She had a husband and 2 kids, so every Sunday she made 15 bags of crackers or chips plus 15 bags with cookies or another dessert. So as she was throwing the lunches together, she could toss in one of each...so easy.

* Prepare fruit all at once - You can pre-portion fruits and veggies, too. I wash and separate bunches of grapes as soon as I buy them (they also make a healthy and quick car snack) or you can slice apples or pears and stick them in Ziplocks, ready to go. Once cut, they'll last a couple of days - if you don't want them to turn brown or you want them to last a little longer, squeeze a little lemon juice on them and toss them in the bag to coat.

* Make-your-own "Lunchables" - A friend of mine just started doing this. Her son was jealous of his friend's "Lunchables," but she didn't have the money for that particular convenience food. Instead, she got creative: she sliced up some cheese and bagged it up with crackers and pepporoni slices with a small dessert and voila: Lunchables!

* Skip the drive thru - I realize fast food is quick and easy, but it can become quite expensive and is incredibly unhealthy. If you know you'll be out during lunch, whether shopping or on a play date at the park, consider packing a sack lunch to bring with you. Plus, think of how much less clutter you'll have from all of the missing toys from the kids meals!

Okay, that's all that comes to mind now. Do you have any time (or money) saving lunch tips? If so, please leave a comment so everyone can benefit! Next Tuesday, I'll post about other kinds of time saving kitchen tips.