Your ABCD Lunch Planner

Katie Bugbee

July 10, 2017

Katie Bugbee, our global parenting expert, shares her plan for making back-to-school lunches less of a chore -- she's even shares her new printable lunch planner for you to use.

At the end of every school year, I always say "okay, this is the summer I'm finally going to get organized". I'm going to buy new school supplies, arrange my kids' closets, shop for new school clothes, schedule after-school activities, plan lunches for the first two months -- all in June and July. I'm going to be ready when the evil back-to-school whirlwind hits!

Then come the lazy days of summer. And I'd rather spend time with my family enjoying the nice weather.

But now September is here. And, okay, maybe my grand schemes of getting organized didn't necessarily happen. I've made peace with that. Rather than crawl under the flurry of homework and paperwork entering my home, I've decided that if I can't organize everything, I'm going to focus on one item and do it really, really well. I'm going to tackle the thing that I (and most parents!) hate the most about back-to-school: lunches!

Rather than printing out the usual back-to-school lists of easy lunch box meals, I decided to do things a little differently this year. I created the ABCD Lunch Planner!

It's easy to use. Pick one ingredient from each "block" to assemble a fast, nutritious lunch. Start with favorite breads or wraps, add a tasty spread, pile on a filling protein and top everything off with a sandwich-friendly veggie or fruit. With these ingredients, you can make endless kid-friendly lunch combinations -- your children can even help pick what they want.

Post this chart on your fridge or cabinet to help you get through the lunch box rush. It's as easy as A, B, C, D…

And watch this video for more fun lunch ideas!