Have your children already returned to school? Here school starts September 1st and pretty much everyone is on vacation the last two weeks of August. The following lunch box taste testing project is good for those still with kids at home that last weekday and those whose children have already returned to school. Razelle and Dov W’s lunch taste testing is both fun and useful for preparing for the school year.
Lunch Box Taste Testing
Razelle explains:
“4 kids (B”H), 4 different tastes. 4 sandwiches will need to be made every day this coming school year. So today we had a sandwich sampling as lunch. Each possible spread combination cut into quarters, made by our third child. The chart was made by our eldest using Word, so we could tick off who likes what. Practical Summer fun!”
Note that those sandwiches were cut by Dov who has been featured here before regarding Tiny Ninja Theater.
Why I love this idea
One of the things I particularly like about this idea is it really does hit on a pain point for families with more than one child. I love looking at pretty bento boxes and even used to make them. Here are two examples from when I only had one child in school:
But bentos can get complicated
However, trying to get all your kids out of the house at around 7-7:30 each day is not conducive to beautiful creations. In addition, when each kid has their own likes and dislikes, and they often don’t overlap, it can get time consuming and difficult. One can’t really throw up your hands and tell your three year old to prepare their own meals. But it can also be hard to remember (at 6:30 am) who hates grapes, likes cheese but only outside of a sandwich, and who will absolutely positively not eat matbucha. This week. Because last week matbucha was fine.
Taste Testing: A Possible Cure
With a taste test you can get your kids to try something they may not usually agree to, because its fun, and your child might find they actually like the sandwich. As a plus, you can hang up your chart to show them that they like that sandwich, which is already in their box, with a little check next to the food item. At the very least you have an easier time preparing the daily sandwiches since you have a quick reference to majority likes.
Template
I am including a template for a taste testing for four people. I expanded and translated the list used by Razelle. Note that these are sandwiches that would be usual here and they are all meat free. Schools around here encourage dairy meals and parents prefer to send them. In particular, since the larger lunch provided by the after school programs that many kids attend, serve meat meals (as in the Kosher sense, not specifically meat).
One more thing, the template is only for sandwiches. For snacks you are on your own.
Lunch Box Taste Testing Template
If you use the template, share with us in the comments. If you are looking for other ideas for lunch ideas, we have a range of ideas on our kids food pinterest board.
Our current lunch and snack boxes are Rubbermaid’s LunchBlox Sandwich & Salad Food Storage Container Kits (affiliate link). We like the modularity of the boxes, that they can be washed separately and stack and that it is possible to buy them in bulk for multiple kids. We do also use all in ones, but it seems to be out of stock. In general, I like the kind that don’t break easily and come in multiples.
Top two photos courtesy: R.W.
Add a Comment