It's Back to School Time - Lunches for Both Husband and Kids

What I am about to share is not revolutionary, but it is one of those good ideas that I wouldn't have thought of unless someone else shared it with me.  I have not been very consistent at making my husband's lunch over the years.  In many homes I'm sure this is a point of contention; who does it?  But my job is to take care of my home and family and this includes his lunch.  He feels loved when I do this for him and I feel better than if he grabs fast food.  Being that he's a teacher, he has the option of using a microwave, so I have often packed leftovers, however, he is busy and the time to heat something up, especially if it's frozen, is not always the best for him.  I hate making sandwiches.  I am just getting in to having a kid in school every day so that is a whole new job to make a school lunch, but so far my son took a peanut butter sandwich every day of kindergarten (by request).  This is not husband lunch food.  I hate getting out all the condiments and what not, especially in the morning.  I know many people do this at night, but I haven't gotten in that routine yet.  Anyway, it was suggested to me to make a batch of subs to put in the freezer.  You can take them out the night before and then in the morning add any fresh toppings or put it in as is in the morning frozen and by lunch it's perfect.  My husband doesn't mind eating the same thing every day so it's been easy for me.  Here are a few steps and pics.

I go to a local bakery I like and get a dozen small sub buns (or large and cut them in half).  I get 2 types of deli meat (usually ham and turkey are his favourites).

Then assembly - pretty straight forward.  Lay out the buns.

Spread margarine on one side and cheese on the other.

Add your deli meat - I do 6 of each type of meat so he gets one of each per lunch for a little variety.

 

Wrap in either a sandwich bag (if the sub is the right size) or Saran wrap.

Put them all in a large bag and put them in the freezer.  

It's grab and go in the mornings.  Or like I said, take them out the night before and then open them up and add toppings like lettuce, pickles, cucumbers, etc.  I have put on mayo and mustard before freezing and it has worked fine.  This has saved me time and gaurantees my husband gets a much needed lunch every day.

On another note, with the oldest going in to Gr. 1 - I wanted to offer a little more variety than the old peanut butter every day.  So I came up with a bit of a chart to keep on my fridge and give me ideas.  Here it is.  I am not in to fancy and complicated, but I want to keep things healthy and tasty.

Hopefully this will give someone else a fresh idea and make this "chore" a little easier.

With a Bushel and a Peck of love from the kitchen,

Stephanie

Linking Up with the Better Mom - a great post about nurturing the friendships between your kids