Staving Off The Hunger Pangs
When I work, I eat on a 6 year old’s schedule. I have breakfast, recess snack, lunch, recess snack and then come home for supper with my family. This year I am determined to pack my food at least 80% as healthy as my kids’ food. (If I ate as healthy as they do 100% of the time, I’d weigh 50 lbs less!) I always eat healthy as long as there’s good food in the house, but if there’s only enough left for the kids then I end up with a box of crackers and a handful of chocolate chips.
So far, I’ve been able to pack the fruits, veggies, hummus, wraps etc no problem, but the kids have been at home with the big guy. I’m not even packing for anyone else and I’m still not ready for bed until 11 pm! By the time the kids are in bed, dinner’s cleaned up, the dogs are walked, lunches are made and I’m showered, there’s no time for anything else. Not even important things like blogging!
Starting tomorrow I have three days of meetings and workshops and the students begin full time on Monday. I’m ready and feeling a little of the usual back-to-school excitement but there are definitely mixed feelings. Not to belabour the issue, but I’d rather be at home. Have I mentioned that? Though it’s really a small fraction of my day, I do spend some time pretending I like people that I’d actually love to kick in the face and more time feeling like people are only pretending that they like me because they have to since I work there but could really care less if I get hit by a bus. The actual work and the students? I love. The only thing that really matters is my family and I will spend all day every day working to take care of them and counting the minutes until I’m with them again. I’d rather be at home.
There, I’m done now.
So, anyway, I have three half-hour long prep periods each week to get about 10 hours of work done because I’m not working any evenings or weekends anymore unless the kids are there with me doing crafts & other fun stuff with the Big Guy, so I have no choice but to work through my lunches too. I need foods that I can eat cold while sitting at my desk or while standing at a photocopier. While I do love my plain old fruits & veggies & hummus & breads, I’m open to suggestions. I want to invest in some well-sealing bento stuff for all of us over the next few months and that will surely open up the possibilities since one of the things I struggle with is fitting all of my fresh food into my ultra-cute & stylish lunch bag. Ideas? Anyone ever made roasted chickpeas for snacks? Is there a trick or should I just jump right into it?
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August 26th, 2009 at 6:15 am
i do that too! If only I ate as healthy as my son and husband…you wouldn’t be able to see me if i turned sideways! Well, I can dream!
P
just jump right in!! roasted chick peas are awesome!!
I live for trying to get new ideas for snacks and lunches. I love muffins. Every 3 weeks I make a bunch of mini and regular muffins and put them in the freezer. They are whole grain, organic and very little amounts of oil and/or butter.
Meanwhile, I have recently purchased lunchbots and I’m looking into TOGO wear.
I love this store;
http://reusablelunchware.com/store/
their service is GREAT!!!
DO NOT GET ECO LUNCHBOXES!!! They are horrible!!! They have sharp edges and not made well.
I too will be going back into the workforce soon!! YIPPEE!!!
Helen´s last blog ..Would you believe that it’s been 9 years!?!
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August 26th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Not sure how healthy it is but its quick…are the packaged(I know bad word but for emergency lunches) tuna salad and crackers which I get from Costco. I safe them for when I am in a real hurry so I don’t feel quite as gulity about using them. An alternative of course is making your own and bringing crackers, but that means being more organized than me, especially Mon. mornings.
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August 27th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I eat healthy until it comes to sweets and then I sometimes go overboard. And yeah, if I ate what my preschool boy ate then I’d be a stick! I’m lucky sometimes if he eats two tablespoons of food a day.
Holly at Tropic of Mom´s last blog ..Lone sailboat
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August 27th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Looks like all moms do this, save the good stuff for the kids. One thing I depend on (my son too) is Lifeway’s Kefir. It’s like a fruit smoothie made from yogurt, but has 11 gr of protien, 3 gr of fiber and is low fat. 160 calories per serving plus 12 different probiotics. I drink it for breakfast and snacks when I’m rushed. They make an organic version too. My regular grocery store carries it. Their website is Lifeway.net
DJ´s last blog ..How to Make an Easy Wind Chime
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September 8th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Hi! One of my favorite healthy, easy snacks is vanilla yogurt with something crunchy. I buy a big yogurt and pre-portion it into smaller containers. Then I take a crunchy cereal – I like pumpkin granola – but cheerios are fine too and pack that in a separate container. If I have them I may throw in some frozen blueberries too.
I’m the mom who started One Small Step (www.OneSmallStep.com) that Helen mentions above. I want to encourage you to try the new eco lunchbox, the manufacturer has a new supplier and there are no more problems with rough edges.
And if you need any advice on what to pack your healthy food in, let me know!
Thanks!
Renata
510-301-1741
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