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For Busy Moms – What To Eat For Lunch

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Hey there readers!  Today I am excited to share with you one of my dearest friends and college roommate – Jenna Braddock, from Fresh Food Perspectives.  This girl is AMAZING.  I loved getting to live with her during our FSU days and see what God was doing in her heart as she pursued a calling in nutrition.  She taught me so much about living for Jesus, eating healthy and caring for my body.  I asked if she would write a post for Happy Home Fairy featuring ideas about what busy moms can eat for lunch because, I don’t know about you, but this is the meal that I tend to have NO CLUE what to do with and usually end up eating yogurt and chocolate chips – which isn’t exactly fuel for finishing the laundry and having tickle fights with my boys.  I know you will love her wisdom and fresh ideas about food. 🙂

What can busy moms eat for lunch?? Great, easy ideas!Lunch time.  Oh, lunch time.

In my house it usually happens like this:

We’ve been out all morning (at the gym, playground, grocery store, Costco, etc.) and because we don’t live near ANYTHING – except a Starbucks – we are literally out for the entire morning.

When we walk in the door, hopefully a little before noon, my baby is cranky, I’m starving, and my toddler is saying he is hungry– every. ten. seconds.  I’m trying to put away bags or food, entertain baby until I can feed him, figure out what we are going to eat, and pray for patience to answer my toddler’s non-stop food requests.

It’s not always pretty.

For a while, I just focused on feeding my boys and getting them down for their nap.  I figured that I’d feed myself after all that chaos was over.  But by the time I did end up eating (around 1:30pm), I was either too tired to care (and then just picked at something dumb) or I’d be ravenous and attack chips or chocolate before a thought of a vegetable even crossed my mind.  Neither of these paths left me feeling good in any way.  And it certainly didn’t set me up to have a productive nap time – which is crucial for my work life.  Most of the time, I’d end up needing a nap myself (which I 100% support, but don’t always want to feel like I need one).

After one too many afternoons of this, I realized that in order to be the mom I need to be for my family, my lunch needed to be just as important as my boys’ lunch.

Since then, things have changed a little around here at lunch time.

One, I try to plan ahead.

In fact, I do this for my sitter when she is here during lunch time so that it will be smooth and easy for her.  So why don’t I do that for myself?  Hmm.

Two, I now take a few extra minutes to prepare my lunch as well and then we all sit down together.

Usually I will serve my toddler and I the same thing.  I don’t necessarily eat his lunch, he eats my lunch (it’s semantics but I think it’s an important point).  Sometimes they come in slightly different versions – his is a “deconstructed” version of mine – but this makes it easier and enforces the idea that we all just eat food (as opposed to kids eat ‘kid food’ and adults eat ‘adult food’).

Here are a few ideas of the lunches I eat that make me feel energized and are fairly simple to prepare.  Cooking quinoa or prepping veggies on the weekend makes these meals happen a lot more easily during the week.

  1. Deli meat and cheese roll ups with a slice of avocado inside; broccoli and hummus.

  2. 1 cup Plain Greek yogurt with chopped cucumber, fresh dill, cumin, and raisins mixed in. Whole grain crackers on the side.

  3. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich (natural PB and all-natural jelly) on whole wheat bread, carrot sticks and fresh berries on the side.

  4. Quinoa and black bean bowl with salsa, cheese, avocado.

  5. Salad with grilled chicken (leftover from dinner), fresh strawberries, chips and guacamole.

  6. Frozen veggie burger (lately, it’s this brand) with slice of cheese or sliced avocado, carrots and hummus, and blueberries.

What I look for in a lunch is a source of protein, at least one fruit or veggie, and something “happy” (e.g. a favorite healthy food like avocado, hummus, PB, black beans, whole grain chips, or sparkling water like La Croix).  Anything too high in carbs makes me feel sleepy and I need to have energy to get stuff done during nap time.  Including a “happy” food helps me not go back to the pantry several times during the afternoon to find something for my hankering.  It’s also a good idea to try to include many colors in your meal – especially something green.

So ladies, please take the time to care for yourself at lunch.  You may need a few different strategies to help you pull off lunches, depending on the schedule for your day.  Crazy days may need a short and sweet plan.  Less involved days may allow you to put in a little more time.

Either way, a little planning goes a long way!

What are your favorite go-to lunches?

– Jenna

________________________________________________

Jenna Braddock, MSH, RD, CSSD, LD/N is a registered dietitian and a mom to two boys. When not chasing down her sons or watching her husband coach football, she enjoys helping people have a positive relationship with food and reach their goals. As a nutrition expert she works as a healthy living speaker, nutrition counselor, blogger, recipe developer and media spokesperson. You can follow her fresh perspective and healthy recipes on her blog at www.FreshFoodPerspectives.com or on Twitter and Instagram as @JBraddockRD.

Fairy Tips, Lunch
Healthy, Healthy Living, Lunch, Lunchbox, Quick and Easy Meals, Recipes
5 Comments

About Happy Home Fairy

Julie Brasington is a Preschool Director, wife of a South Florida Worship Pastor and mom of 3 boys. She writes at Happy Home Fairy where you can find easy craft ideas, FREE printables, simple recipes, holiday fun, thoughts on raising kids, and encouragement for moms.

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5 Comments

  1. Kathie

    July 18, 2014 at 8:45 am

    It is so lovely when we have something yummy on the grill and my husband just grills extra.. For instance this week we grilled two extra chicken breasts and therefore I can eat those however I choose during the week.. sometimes just heat and eat while I’m doing other things.. (Laundry, yelling at the cat to get off the couch, you know) Also, it could be thrown on salad, a wrap, nacho chips 🙂 so.. Leftover meat is a good one for us at lunch time!

    to Kathie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Kathie'>reply to this comment
  2. Caitlin

    July 18, 2014 at 10:29 am

    Your outfit in the pic is SO CUTE! Way to be a hot mama!

    My only little one isn’t due until Feb so no food fights with him/her… yet… 🙂 but I always pack my lunch and my husband’s lunch so we feel good at work. I love Greek yogurt, freshly mashed avocado, and leftovers! Sometimes I boil angel hair pasta in the morning (only takes 4 minutes) and throw some spaghetti sauce and veggies in with that. Done 🙂

    to Caitlin" aria-label='reply to this comment to Caitlin'>reply to this comment
  3. motherhenjen2014

    July 18, 2014 at 2:36 pm

    Oh my goodness! Thanks so much. I have in home day care which is suddenly full to overflowing meaning that some days I have my own daughter + 7 more ranging in age from 1- 5 years old. I’ve been trying to think of some lunch ideas because I don’t always want what the kids are having or they are so busy with their food I don’t feed myself. I need some ready to go things in the fridge. Thanks so much…perfect timing!!

    to motherhenjen2014" aria-label='reply to this comment to motherhenjen2014'>reply to this comment
  4. John and Jenn

    July 19, 2014 at 3:24 am

    I definitely related to this post and needed the dose of encouragement to plan ahead and change my dread of lunchtime attitude when it comes to feeding myself. It’s kind of sad that my daughter eats better than me because I put all my time and thought into her meals. I’ve been dragging lately and not getting enough to eat in the day because I’ve been putting myself last which actually hurts everyone else. So, I appreciate the lunch suggestions and look forward to a nap here and there…that would be nice! Thankfully, this is doable now that my daughter had transitioned to more solids. Yay! Thanks, Jenn

    to John and Jenn" aria-label='reply to this comment to John and Jenn'>reply to this comment
  5. Sarah

    January 26, 2017 at 8:50 am

    Did you know you can freeze PB&J sandwiches? It sounds crazy, but if you make a bunch and freeze them right away right in the bread bag then when you pull them out of the freezer they thaw very fast and taste fresh. Really! It makes school lunches incredibly fast.

    I heard about this and didn’t think it could work so I didn’t bother trying it for months. I wish I had done it sooner.

    Thanks for all the other suggestions!

    to Sarah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Sarah'>reply to this comment

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Hey there! My name is Julie, the Happy Home Fairy. I am married to a Worship Pastor, we have 3 boys, and I am a Preschool Director. I love sharing easy, fun ideas to help moms build a happy home! Here you will find simple crafts, FREE Printables, yummy recipes, stories about my journey to trust Jesus with my family, and encouragement for your mama's heart. You can read more about me HERE!

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