Welcome to Save-A-Lot's Mix and Match Lunchbox!

It's Back-to-School season. In addition to buying school clothes and supplies, organizing afterschool activity schedules, and making sure backpacks are packed and permission slips signed, moms and dads have one more thing to worry about:  what's for lunch for the 180 days of the school year.

The experts at Save-A-Lot know you are looking for creative ideas that are quick to prepare, inexpensive to purchase, yet healthy for their growing children.  (We're looking for the same things, too!)  We've put together a Month of Lunches menu (available by clicking on the file below) to help you answer the question you hear every day: "What's for lunch?"  Best of all, the average cost of the lunches is less than $1.00 per day - that's $1.30 less per day than the cost of the average school lunch (according to the School Nutrition Association).  Over the course of 180 school days, that's a savings of $234!  

We've also packed a few extras here to help make lunchtime a family affair, including:

• A shopping list of the 20 different items to help you make the 20 different lunch combinations
• Our top 10 tips for lunchtime fun
• Instructions for how your kids can make their own Mix and Match Lunchbox calendar

Happy lunching!

Shopping List - 20 items

• Applesauce Hot dog buns
• Baby carrots
• Bread
• Cheese
• Crackers
• Del Pino's Mini Beef Ravioli
• Del Pino's Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Drinks (pre-packaged options include Capri Sun, Wyler's drink mixes, bottled water, and 100% juice boxes; you can also put skim/lowfat milk or 100% fruit juice in a thermos)
• Fruit (fresh seasonal options include apples, bananas, grapes, and watermelon; you can also choose canned fruit salad, pineapples, or peaches in light syrup)
• Hot dog
• Hot dog buns
• Jelly
• Lettuce
• Lunchmeat (turkey, chicken, ham, bologna, etc.)
• Malone's Beans and Franks
• Peanut butter
• Pretzels
• Raisins
• Soup (meat and veggie broth-based soups)
• Tortilla/soft taco shells

Tips

1.  Mix it up.  Never pack the same thing two days in a row.  Even changing the drink or sides can make another bologna sandwich seem a little different.  Check out Save-A-Lot's "Month of Lunches" menu with 20 days of different lunch ideas.

2.  Have your kids make the menu.  Have them create their own custom menu for the month.  (See the Mix and Match School Lunch Calendar Arts and Crafts project below.)  If they pick and choose and create their own special menu, they'll be less likely to complain about what's for lunch!

3.  Get your kids involved.  Encourage them to help pack their lunch.  Little kids can put everything in the lunch box.  Older kids can make the sandwich, bag up the grapes, and get everything ready to go.  For the chef salad, let your kids be the chef - let them choose chicken strips or turkey, the veggies, and cheese they like the best.

4.  Serve up a side of learning.  Ask your kids to bag up the sides for the week - for younger kids, they can count out 10 baby carrots or 20 pretzels to pack and put in a baggie.  For older kids, this is a great opportunity to have them learn hands-on about serving sizes.  Ask them what they think the serving size should be... then have them measure the real serving size.  (This also a great way to save a few pennies... putting applesauce in reusable containers can save you eight cents a serving!)

5.  Get creative!  Use cookie cutters to make an ordinary PB&J sandwich into fun-shaped mini sandwiches.  Try a biscuit or hot dog bun instead of bread for a sandwich.  Throw in a side of salsa for dipping ordinary pretzels or chips.     

6.  Keep your cool.  Pack a frozen juice box or bottle of water to keep everything in the lunch box cold.  By lunch time, it will be mostly thawed and great to drink.

7.  Heat things up!  There's nothing like a warm meal, especially on a chilly day.  Don't get stuck in the cold lunch rut - warm up soup, canned pastas, macaroni and cheese, or chili in the morning, then pack it in a thermos for a nice warm lunch. 

8.  Transform dinner into lunch.  If you plan ahead at dinner time, you can take care of lunch the next day, too!  If you're making chicken nuggets, bake a few extra and pack those for lunch the next day.  (Kids love them cold!)  This works with tacos, pasta salad, tuna/chicken salad, pizza, even meatloaf... and especially around Thanksgiving with lots of great leftovers.

9.  Mark the day with markers!  Have your kids decorate plain old brown paper bags with markers, crayons, or stickers.  They could create days of the week bags, or design lunch bags for special occasions like birthdays, holidays, or spirit week at school.

10.  Special treats can make your kid's day!  Consider sending something a little different on the day of a big test or as a reward for good grades - like a Lunchable or fun dessert.  Include a note too - and you're sure to put a smile on your student's face.

Arts and Crafts Activity - Make Your Own Mix and Match School Lunch Calendar!

Supplies You'll Need:  
-    Scissors
-    Paper or a calendar
-    Copy of the Save-A-Lot Month of Lunches Menu
-    Copy of your school's lunch calendar

Step 1: Make a copy of your school's lunch calendar - one that your child can cut up!

Step 2: Have your child pick out the days he/she wants to buy lunch at school.  Cut those days out and paste them on a blank calendar. Be sure to paste the lunches on the right days!  (Visit www.savealot.com for a fun template.) 

Step 3: Print a copy of the Save-A-Lot Month of Lunches Menu

Step 4: Have your child pick from the Save-A-Lot Menu lunches to fill in the remaining days on the calendar.  Cut those days out and paste them on the calendar.

Step 5: Hang the calendar on the fridge - and now you won't hear the question, "What's for lunch?" all month!

View our Calendar >