Getting Ready For Your Week: Easy Lunch Prep Ideas

I am not going to turn into Martha and tell you how to perfectly prepare your lunches for the week.

Get outta here, Martha!  I just hope to shed a little light on what I do to make the lunch thing easier Monday to Friday.

Cook Big On The Weekend

This is a huge help going into the week.  I will often do a soup, chili, or casserole.  My husband and I are the only two eating so we always have left overs.  Before we put the left overs into the fridge, I will dish out two or three containers that I can bring for lunch later.

 

Mason Jar Salads

For real!  Mason jars, themselves, are so cheap and can be found at most grocery and craft stores.  I had a ton of jars because they were part of our wedding decorations.  I have about every size you could imagine.

For my lunches I use a wide-mouth 32 oz. jar.  I will get a pack of three heads of lettuce and a bunch of spinach.  I will get it all home from the store, wash it, and store it in my large 64 oz. jars.

Here’s “How-To” build your salad:

Pour dressing into the bottom of the jar.  I have used salad dressing from a bottle as well as making my own.  Both work just fine.  I prefer a simple mix of olive oil, lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar, salt, and garlic powder.

Next, put in any chopped toppings (tomato, cucumber, carrot, pine nuts, etc).  It is important to keep any leafy type items away from the dressing.  Doing this will keep your items from wilting.

Finally lettuce/greenery.  I will take my precut, cleaned lettuce and spinach then add them to the top.  I am pretty heavy handed pushing the greenery onto the top.  Just be careful not to squash your bottom layers!

Screw on the lid and, BAM!  You have salad in a jar.

South of the border lunch

We are crazy for nachos, tacos, etc.

So for the week, I will prepare some ground beef, with taco seasoning.

You can wrap a scoop of the prepared meat into crescent rolls and bake them.

Or sometimes I will bring some tortilla chips, salsa, and sour cream to school, for  a quick nacho.  Is anyone else getting hungry?

 

What do you do for lunches?

Have you seen any good tricks lately?