With the start of school, life has gotten even busier than I could ever imagined. No one has time for elaborate lunches and fancy meals, or at least I don’t. What I do have time for is simple and easy lunch box hacks that make my life easier.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Jose Ole. The opinions and text are all mine.
If it was completely up to me, my kids would eat PB&J every day for lunch, but I know they deserve better than that. One of my kid’s favorite dinnertime meals is Taco Night, so I knew when I saw these mini snacks from Jose Ole, I could come add some simple fun to their lunches without adding much time to the prep-work.
5 Simple Lunch Box Hacks That Make Life Easier
#1: Keep a Thermos Hot By Rinsing with Hot Water
Hot food containers are great for items like soup, but the first few times I tried to send José Olé Mexican snacks to school in a Thermos, my daughter commented that they were cold by lunchtime! I found out that in order to keep items warm in the container, I had to fill it with boiling water for at least 30 seconds before pouring it out and adding the hot food.
Ever since I’ve learned this trick, I’ve had no complaints of cold food in the Thermos!
#2: Stop Apples from Browning with an Elastic Band
My daughter loves apple slices for a mid-day snack, but refuses to eat them if they go brown. Slicing the apples with our kid-friendly apple slicer and then holding the apple back together with an elastic band prevents browning and is a fun little magic trick my daughter can do to impress friends at snack time.
#3: Keep Fingers Clean with Picks & Mini-Forks
Sending a separate fork for eating fruit is cumbersome and kids often forget, but the result is putting potentially dirty hands in their mouths in order to eat their fruit, or getting their hands covered in fruit juices. Including picks or mini-forks in with the fruit is an easy reminder and kids are excited to eat their fruit when it’s presented so cute!
Bonus: get cute mini-forks to encourage picky eaters to eat their fruits and veggies.
#4: Freeze Juice Boxes for an Easy Freezer Pack
After losing like 5 freezer packs to the lost and found, I’ve figured out the perfect alternative: I include two juice boxes in my daughter’s lunch, one ready-to-drink and one frozen. (That lost and found is also why I save disposable forks from when we get take-out and send those along for lunches. We will clean them if they come home, but I’m not upset if they never make it back.)
The frozen juice box thaws by lunch time but keeps everything cool for hours!
#5: Send Condiments in Easy-Open Containers
These are actually craft supply containers, but they are perfect for sending just the right amount of dip or condiment with my daughter’s favorite José Olé Mexican snacks. I find a lot of small containers are too hard to open – and these are sturdy enough to prevent leaks while being easy enough for her to open without issues. I pack them in the larger containers to prevent the chance of them opening in his lunch box.
Our new back to school routine is so much smoother these days with our José Olé Mexican snacks and these simple lunch box hacks. I can’t help but wonder, what is your favorite lunch time hack?
You can learn more about José Olé Mexican snacks on their Facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram. Share your favorite lunch time hacks! What’s your favorite way to just say olé to back to school?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Jose Ole. The opinions and text are all mine.
I pack lunches every morning and love new tips. I never thought about sending anything like the Jose Ole Mexican Snacks, that is a new idea I’ll have to try. I love easy reusable containers and reusable containers as I don’t like waste. Thanks for sharing!