Yes, it’s back. My fascinating daily report of what Princess is packing for lunch is back! For those of you who read in a feed reader (or are just pretty unobservant) the lunchbox report is located in my right sidebar.
But wait, there is more! Not only do you get to see the fascinating contents of her lunch, but also the contents of her breakfast snack and the Frugal Upstate family’s dinner menu plan as well. Is a three-fer one bargain.
All kidding aside, some of you might be wondering why I post the contents of my daughter’s lunchbox. There are 3 main reasons:
#1-To provide suggestions. Admittedly, each child is different (I mean, how many 6 year olds besides mine answer “sushi” when you ask what their favorite food is?) but seeing some of the things that we pack in Princess’s lunch may stimulate a few ideas for those of you stuck in a lunchbox rut.
#2-Speaking of ruts, posting keeps me honest and prevents me from falling into a rut. When you post what you are sending, you get sort of embarrassed if it’s the same thing day in and day out. So it forces me to maintain a good variety in her lunches. I think this (and buying pizza on the weekly pizza day) prevents her from getting tired of lunches-so far she has rarely asked to have a hot lunch like her little friends.*
#3-It encourages people to think about bringing in their own lunches, or sending lunches for their kids. After all, if I can do it, maybe you can do it.
So what does all of this have to do with frugality? Well, you don’t have to read about frugal living for very long before you run into the suggestion that bringing your lunch to work (or school) saves substantially over buying. Although school lunches are pretty cheap ($1.75 each) I’m still pretty sure that my lunches are cheaper.
And although it really isn’t related to frugality, I like the fact that I can control the quality of her lunch. I mean, have you seen what some of the school lunches look like? We actually have deep fried mozzarella cheese sticks as an entre.
Plus I’ve trained Princess to bring back any food that she hasn’t eaten (and of course all the containers and zippered baggies-gotta wash and reuse them!), so I can tell exactly how much she is eating. When you rely on a school lunch you can’t tell if they threw 3/4 of it in the trash or ate it all. And just try quizzing a first grader on that and getting an accurate answer 
Some other school lunch related posts you may enjoy:
Making Princess’s Lunch (a photo tutorial)
A Note on Portion Sizes
Kindergarten is Coming
*note: Most of the kids in Princess’s class last year bought lunch. A few would bring in lunches if they particularly didn’t like what was being served, but I only think their was one other child who brown bagged it frequently.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Great info!! Thanks as always. I have a complaint about school lunches. My child got a tumor in her mouth. She ate school lunch and breakfast every day. There is too much sodium in them from what I was told. She had never had this problem before. A favorite with the kids is Uncrustables at the store. They are a good price and it all gets eaten up. I am looking for presservative free lunches because, they presservatives can cause tumors. Your girl is very beautiful!! Good luck!! Annette
Annette-The secret to making you own uncrustables is to spread a thin layer of pb on both sides of the bread, and then put the jelly in the middle. That keeps the jelly from making the bread soggy. Then you can cut it in a circle with a glass (or a shape with a cookie cutter) wrap in saran wrap and freeze-just like the uncrustables. When you need one pull it out in the morning and throw it in the lunchbox, it should be defrosted by lunch. WAY cheaper than store bought.
Thanks so much!!! Annette
Hi Jenn,
I thought of you when I saw this:
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources has a Lunch Box series, about making lunches for pre-schoolers. Search for lunch, and you can see the series of free .pdf publications in English or Spanish. I know you have it covered, but I figured seeing someone else’s idea is always good for inspiration!
This has always been one of my favorite things on your blog. I will look forward to your reports
You will inspire me for next year when I am bringing my son’s lunch to school with him. Thank you!
Amy #1-Those are great. They deserve their own post. Thank you so much for pointing them out.
Amy #2-Yeah! I’m happy to know that someone is reading them, especially a famous TV star like you