Navigating the Lunchbox: Strategies for Keeping Your Student Fueled

Charlie shares tried-and-true strategies for managing school lunches and keeping students well-fed during busy school days. This episode wraps up the back-to-school series with practical advice for parents navigating the daily challenge of packing nutritious meals kids will actually eat.

• Create a lunch strategy before school starts - decide if your child will have school lunch, home lunch, or a hybrid approach
• Use insulated lunch bags with water bottle compartments and containers with locking mechanisms to prevent spills
• Verify your child's lunch time to determine whether to pack hot or cold meals
• Meal prep twice weekly (Sundays and Wednesdays) to ensure variety and freshness
• Avoid heavy meals, stomach-irritating foods, and excessive sugar that can cause energy crashes
• Balance nutrition with proteins, vegetables and moderate carbs for sustained energy
• Consider simple options like chicken wraps, protein-rich hot meals, and healthy snacks for athletes

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Chapters

• 1:09 Welcome and Introduction
• 3:54 Creating a Lunch Strategy
• 5:30 Lunch Containers and Gear
• 9:56 Timing and Meal Prep
• 13:08 Healthy Meal Planning
• 16:37 Meal Examples and Closing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:35

Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Gag as Pod. I am your girl, charlie Shante. Thank you for joining me on another episode and, like I always say, if it's a new episode then it's a Friday, but if you're not listening to this on a Friday, welcome anyway. I thank you for being here and if you have not already, please make sure you are liking and subscribing and turn on that notification button in your favorite podcast and that where you listen to this at, so that every time a new episode is dropped you are one of the first to know. It'll automatically be on your phone. So when you get up on Friday and you're on your way to work or dropping the kids off at school, then it will be there and all you got to do is hit play. Please make sure you're subscribing and turning on that notification bell on YouTube as well. Like I always say, go ahead and grab your drink, grab your food or whatever it is you do when you listen to this so we can jump right in.

Speaker 1: 1:31

We're going to go ahead and end off our back to school series. We're going to talk about school lunches or the lack thereof. You know it's hard to believe that summer's already over. Kids are starting back school next week or they may have started this week, but one of the biggest things outside of clothes supplies, I think it's food, and it's very pivotal because our kids are at school for a good portion of the day, so you want to make sure that they're eating, they're not hungry, they're hydrated. So I've come up with a few tips and tricks and things that I do to ensure that new face has good food. You know school lunch versus a home lunch and things as such. So one thing I just thought of when I opened this was if your kid has food allergies. This may not pertain to you. New Face does have allergy, but we can work around it for the most. I wouldn't say allergy, most of our sensitivity, but not one of the more common sensitivity, so we tend to work around it. You know your child. These are just tips and tricks that I use. So first thing I would say is create a strategy for your child's lunch Now, whether this be your child is going to be what I call a hybrid lunch, or means they're going to get school lunch a few days out the week, or they're going to take their lunch a few days out of the week.

Speaker 1: 2:56

Come up with a strategy so that you know, so that when you're in it's the next morning and you're trying to get your kids ready for school or the night before, you're not trying to figure out okay, what is my kid going to eat? You know if they're going to take a home lunch like what do we have? Or are we just going to have to default to a school lunch? Try to come up with a strategy. I promise you it will prevent a lot, a lot of stress, a lot of unwanted stress and hurrying and then things being forgotten. So make sure you come up with a strategy.

Speaker 1: 3:31

About a week or two before school, I always ask New Face hey, what kind of things are you thinking this year? Are you thinking you know this? Are you thinking this? Are you thinking that? Or what is your meal prepping? Or what is your idea of lunch is going to look like this year? And this year he has chosen more of a I wouldn't call it hybrid so much. It's more of supplemental, because he takes his lunch every day, but if he's a little hungry or some other days, he will get a school lunch, but he only gets certain items because he's a very picky eater. You all know that he is an athlete and he is a swimmer as well, so he burns a lot of calories and the boy is always hungry. And I'm like how, bro, how are you always hungry? You always eating. That's neither here nor there.

Speaker 1: 4:24

I also say determine whether your child is going to have a warm lunch or a cold lunch. This is important because if it's a warm lunch, you know there's a certain way that you have to do things, and if there's a cold lunch, there's another kind of way that you have to do things. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. I'm trying to stick to the script here, but you know, as with the mom brain, it can go from here, there and everywhere. So I'm trying to keep on track.

Speaker 1: 4:51

The next bullet point I want to talk about is a lunch bag or lunch box. Now, with this, there are a millions of options, a millions of varieties out there. I always opt for one that is insulated, because no matter what type of lunch your child has, it will help to keep it either warm or to keep it cooler, like I said, just depending on what it is. And I always make sure that the water bottle hat the water bottle. I always make sure the lunchbox or whatever he takes his lunch and has a water bottle compartment. Most schools have refillable water stations and so I always make sure that he has a slot to put his water bottle in for when he goes to school so he doesn't just have to carry it around in his hand. Another alternate would be I know they do sell like water bottle carriers that you can get at your local store. You can get them online that you can put the water bottle in whatever is best for your child, whatever is convenient. You know, cause I always say you want to reduce the amount of stuff that your child carries so that that's not weight on their back, it's not weight on their shoulder, it's not tiring their arms out from them having to carry stuff, and it also reduces the risk of them losing an item because they don't have a lot of stuff to carry. Number three I think this one is a very important one Use containers that use a locking mechanism so that whatever you put in there it does not spill.

Speaker 1: 6:28

I know that when you go and you do your shopping they have many, many, many of containers on sale, but not all containers have like a locking mechanism. They just have a standard traditional lid, which means that if you put that in a child's backpack and they happen to start swinging it while they walk into the bus, stop. All their food is going to be everywhere, it's going to get on everything and it's just going to create for a mess, and so you want to try to prevent that. I found that most of the containers that have the lock-in mechanism are going to be your glass containers. They fit on there, they have a little rubber ring around them and then they also have a snapping mechanism that snaps them to the container, which helps prevent leaks and spills.

Speaker 1: 7:18

New Face is very rough and tough with his lunch bag. I had to find something because I got tired of coming home with food in the bag everywhere and happened to clean out the bag. So I was like you know what the stuff that I use to take to work? I'm just going to get you some of these containers, because I know these are tried and true, so if it works for me, I know that it's going to work for you as well. There are new containers that offer many hours of warming. I've started to see more kind of self-warming, kind of like bento boxes type of things, and I think these are very good, very well.

Speaker 1: 7:56

I don't personally have any, so I cannot tell you what the lid situation is on them, but I would say, if you're going to get your child one of those, I would err on the side of caution to make sure that it doesn't overheat or it doesn't burn them. Make sure it has a locking mechanism for their lids so that they don't have any spills, you know, because what's warm food if it's spilled everywhere in the bag? You know it kind of becomes uneatable then when it's all over everything. And vice versa, if your child is going to have a cold lunch, ensure that you have the proper amount of ice packs to go with whatever they're eating. Now, I've seen a lot of lunch bags come with an ice pack, but it's a little, very small, thin ones. A lot of lunch bags come with an ice pack, but it's a little, very small thin ones. But if you go to, like, the sporting section of a store, you can buy the thicker ones which are going to be able to keep the food cooler for longer. The thin ones are good, but I've noticed that even if, once you put them in, you take them out of the freezer and you put them in the bag. They're only going to last maybe about an hour, maybe about an hour and a half, and that is truly not long enough to keep your child's food cold. I feel like I missed one, or did I move it down? I moved it down on my list, so I'll go ahead and where to go.

Speaker 1: 9:22

So, piggybacking on the use of containers and whether they need to be warm or cold, verify the time that your child goes to lunch. This is going to help you decide if your child should have a warm lunch or if your child should have a cool lunch. Most elementary, I believe, they go to lunch around 1045, between 1045 and 12, and they start school around 745 or something as such. I feel like with this time period, this can go either way. Your child can either have a hot lunch or a cold lunch. Most ice packs and most heated containers guarantee for warm, I believe up to six to eight hours. In ice packs maybe 12 hours, just depending on the brand. So I don't go with a specific brand, so please do not quote me on this. Make sure that you do your research and you do your due diligence. Don't say, charlie said that this is supposed to have. No, I didn't say that, I said a majority. So make sure that you decide that this is my number one key, my absolute stress reliever, headache reliever of all things lunch for school.

Speaker 1: 10:33

Meal prep is key. I know, I know you're probably like Charlie, I don't even have time right now. So where am I going to find the time to meal prep? Well, I thought that same thing, but I was like you know what? It doesn't really take that long because what I do is I sit down on my tablet and I decide what what are we going to have for the week? And once you determine what you're going to have for the week, then it's a little bit easier to meal prep. My meal prep days are Sunday and Wednesday, and for this I do this, because it allows me to do different food items and then different fresh fruits and vegetables, so that he's not eating the same redundant thing over and over and over and he doesn't get bored and be more likely not to eat it or more than likely to trade it away or whatever you have you. I like to keep him engaged with his food. I pack his food particularly a certain way because he's an athlete, but I like to switch it up, like I said. So he has the fresher food. He doesn't have food that's been refrigerated for four days and then Friday it's like oh, it's the same thing. It doesn't have a good quality from when it was first prepared up until the day that he eats it.

Speaker 1: 11:47

All right, so determine healthy yet simple meals. Remember, your kids are at school all day and they're more than likely going to eat breakfast either at home or when they get to school. I know where I live. They have a grant which allows all kids to eat breakfast for free. Make sure you check wherever you live to see if this is an option. It's very helpful to make sure that kids start their day off with a good meal and they're not starting off hungry. And since most of them have breakfast already, I would say base your lunches off of what they have for breakfast, because one thing you want to avoid is you want to avoid heavy meals, because you don't want your child sleepy and tired at school. Yes, you want them to be full. Sleepy and tired at school, yes, you want them to be full, but you don't want them to be too full Because, remember, breakfast and lunch, typically at a school, is only about four, no more than five hours apart. Unless there's a certain circumstance where there's testing or something like that, it may be a little throw it off. So they can only build up so much hunger within that four to five hour period. So make sure you're not packing meals that are super heavy stuff that once they eat it they want a nap.

Speaker 1: 13:15

Ok, I don't pack things that can send new face to the bathroom. So I try not to pack things that are going to upset his stomach to where he's going to have to go either pee a lot or he's going to have to go number two a lot or something like that that can mess up his stomach in any shape, form or fashion. I try to avoid things that are going to make him gassy any of the nine. So I always say be cautious of what you put in your child's lunchbox, because if they're not feeling well, they get a tummy ache, then you have to come get them. They're spending time at the nurse's office or they're spending time in the bathroom because their stomach does not feel okay.

Speaker 1: 13:55

I also avoid packing junk food such as fruit snacks, candy and soda. I don't let New Face pack these things because for one, they're not good. He gets that sugar or your child gets that sugar and then they're going to have a midday crash. You start falling asleep in class, things like that, and it's just not good for them. Overall, I'm very strict when it comes to sugary drinks. So New Face rarely gets to drink soda. The only time I typically let him drink soda is after a swim meet, and so that's only about two to three times a month. Other than that it is water, but he does or I'm not saying I'm not going to say he does but he is allowed to have chocolate milk after swim practice because it's a great, it helps give them back what is depleted. So he does from time to time drink chocolate milk after swim practices just to help him get that protein and those carbs quickly back into his body.

Speaker 1: 15:02

Like I said, he drinks water with all of his meals. He probably drinks juice in the morning. No, he doesn't, he drinks tea in the morning. But when he gets to school he probably does sneak juice or whatever. I do put money on his little lunch account that way, if he wants to buy him a little snack or something, I do allow that. I'm not one of those parents like you're not gonna have this, I do, but we do things in moderation, okay. So some of the examples let me make sure I'm going through all my stuff I have, okay. So my last bullet point is going to be examples of some meals that I do for New Face for breakfast, lunch and for snacks on the side. I do know that some schools, because of the school day, they do allow kids to have snacks, but this is more so in elementary versus middle school and high school they do allow snacks. So I have some suggestions for that as well.

Speaker 1: 16:02

For breakfast, new Face normally does waffles. Lately he's been on his protein waffle cake and it's chocolate, and I don't have a problem with that because he swims for an hour and a half, two hours each day and on the weekends it can be upwards of three hours. So it's not doing him any harm. It's actually a good way for him to get his protein in. And then we sometimes make it with water, sometimes we make it with milk, just to give him that other extra boost of protein. I don't know why my words are not together today To compliment the waffles some of the things that he has in the morning he drinks black tea and sometimes he'll put a little flavor in it, a little raspberry flavor in there he has apple slices, turkey bacon or turkey sausage. That's pretty much because. So you have your proteins, you have your veggies and it's not a lot of sugar contained within that breakfast. So that makes me really, really happy.

Speaker 1: 17:00

Some days when I'm flexible and I'm working from home and you know, if I have time, I wake up on time, or before he goes to the bus, I do allow him to have donuts, but that is very rare. That is maybe once or twice a month that he does that. I do do it on testing days, just as kind of like, you know, like a little pick me up to let him know that he got it and he's going to do good. I do it. Or like when school starts back, like school has already started. Here for a lot of places school has not started, but here's school has started already, and so he did get donuts on the first day of school and his dragon fruit refresher Lunch ideas.

Speaker 1: 17:40

And keep in mind, all of these ideas that I'm giving you are me in conjunction with New Face. They're not solely my ideas. These are more for New Face's ideas. So for lunch he gets a chicken wrap and so, like, a chicken wrap can consist of a tortilla, chicken, lettuce, tomato. He's not one to do dressings or sauces or anything like that, so he has a very dry chicken wrap and this is good, because he doesn't eat lunch.

Speaker 1: 18:06

He goes to school at 8.30 and he doesn't eat lunch until 12.15. So I could put an ice pack in there and it keeps his wrap cool. This is something that does not have to be warmed up. If he wants a warm meal, we'll do something like Cajun sausage, rice, broccoli, cauliflower, whatever vegetable he picks green beans, cabbage, whatever vegetable that he picks. And for snacks, what he normally does is on his way home from school on the bus, he has a granola bar or he packs extra fruit and veggies with him, because by the time he gets off the bus, he comes home, he changes and it's time to go to swim. He gets out of school at 3.50, swim starts at 4.30. So while he's on the bus, on the way home, he's getting a little bit of something in his body, so that he's not sluggish and he's not tired at practice.

Speaker 1: 19:03

All right. So those are all of my tips and tricks that I have for you guys. All right, so those are all my tips and tricks that I have for you guys when it comes to school lunches. If you feel like I forgot something, let me know. I want to know how you guys do your kids lunch. Do you take your kids lunch every day or do you have them do a hybrid? Tell me what best works best for you and your family, especially especially if you're a family of multiples. I'm only doing this for one, so I really don't know what that multiples is about, because even when New Face and Marco Polo were both in school at the same time, marco Polo either for school lunch or something as such we stayed closer to the school so he would come home for lunch. Whatever worked for him. So this is different for me. So give me some more ideas that you guys have as far as it comes to school lunches For this week. My last but not least, my song lyric of the week is going to be India, irie, a Beautiful Day. I love, love, love this song and it just makes me happy. It gets me going If I'm having a sluggish morning. It gets me going in the morning and I'm in there singing, carrying Oki and things like that in the car.

Speaker 1: 20:15

Now, if you have not already, please make sure you like, share and subscribe. Make sure you're hitting that notification bell so that you are alerted every time a new video drops. So if you have listened to this only, please make sure you go over to YouTube to see it in person and would really like to see you over there. Make sure you are following us on Instagram, at thegagispod, because I'm going to start putting some stuff on there there's clips on there every day so that you can get an insight into what is coming up for the new week leading up to the new episode. And also I'm going to start doing some giveaways over there. So make sure you're following so that you can win, because if you ain't following, you can't win. I am your girl, charlie Shantae. This is the gag is pot. Bye, guys.