Save time and money with easy packable lunches. Grab our budget-friendly lunch grocery list and the easy lunch recipes to go with!
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This back to school season hits a little different for me. My youngest starts college! After 24 years of homeschooling and 29 years as a full-time mom, my daze looks different.
But, packed lunches are still de rigeur at our house. Bryan takes freezer burritos to work every week.
In fact, my girls have now joined forces and spend time each weekend planning their menus and cooking together so that they’ve got meal prepped breakfast and lunch to take to work on campus. Once classes resume, they’ll be packing dinners some nights as well.
While not quite so orchestrated, their brothers will also be doing meal prep and packing lunches when they get back from their summer hurrah in Spain. They’ll be leaning toward dude meals.
We know all to well that cooking at home, even if we don’t eat here, will save us money!
Why Pack Lunch?
My kids aren’t strangers to packed lunch, even though they were homeschooled. I prepped lunch in advance for years so that the day would go smoother.
- It’s convenient. Whether you are working at home or away, having a packed lunch allows you to eat, enjoy a break, and get on with your day without a lot of hassle. Who wants to do a lot of prep and clean up in the middle of the day?
- It’s more restful. Not having to stand in a line for your food is worth the price of admission, whether you’re an adult or a kid. Just grab your lunch and a book and head to a quiet corner for some quiet nourishment for body and soul.
- It costs less. Packing lunch saves our family 1000s of dollars every year.
- It can be a healthier option. Home cooking can be a healthy option if you play your cards right.
Ideas for Packed Lunches
There’s no end to the things you can make for a cold lunch. Packing it well can make anything work.
Check out these easy and affordable packed lunch ideas:
We’ve got loads of recipes for lunch to beat fast food.
This menu of 5 packable lunch ideas is easy to make in advance.
Since prepped food is good for up to 4 days, I recommend saving the snack boxes for Friday since they are the least perishable and can be assembled the night before pretty easily.
Pulled chicken with a homemade seasoning blend makes for perfect party food or an easy dinner of Pulled Chicken Sliders. These Chicken and Cheese Sliders are the perfect dinner for busy nights – made in about 30 minutes if you use the pressure cooker!
Enjoy a simple, delicious chicken salad loaded with apples and almonds in this easy recipe for Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps.
Mix up a tasty tuna salad with dill, lemon, scallion, and celery for the best tuna sandwich recipe. Easy to make and super affordable!
Liven up your next pasta dinner with this Southwest Pasta Salad. It’s got all the fun south-of-the-border flavors with the ease of a noodle salad.
The Snacky Lunch is just that – a lunch of snacks. Assemble a variety of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and breads for a DIY meal to please the masses.
We’ve made it easy for you to cook up this packable lunch plan this week!
- Click “print recipes” to send all five recipes to your printer.
- Click “shopping list”, adjust the number of servings, and then “generate shopping list” to see what you’ll need
- Be sure to shop your kitchen before you head to the store so you can maximize your savings!
What do you think?
Let’s chat in the comments!
This post was originally published on September 2, 2013. It has been updated for content and clarity.
