As we head into back to school season, check out these great tips on how to save money on school lunch when prepared at home!
For many parents, sending their child to school with a lunch prepared at home is a great way to save money. But you can save even more by following a few or all of these great tips!
1) Utilize Everything
When preparing your meal plan for the week, consider what could be sent as leftovers in the kids lunch box. Whether it’s a chicken breast or leftover pizza, the kids would probably welcome something other than another sandwich in their lunch.
Recipes like this Barbecue Chicken Quesadilla would be easy to throw in the lunch box the next day.
2) Skip the Brown Bags
Don’t use brown bags to pack the kids lunch. You can use reusable lunch bags or boxes to get their lunch to school.
You can find lunch bags or boxes for every budget. Whether you want to get your child’s favorite character, like this Disney Frozen Lunchbox, or a basic black lunch bag to carry lunch to school, you can find one that fits your budget and will end up saving you money.
3) Don’t use Ziploc bags.
There are tons of inexpensive reusable container options available to use. These will save you money in the long
4) Save Single Serve Packets
Use condiment packages you get from restaurants for the kids lunch. They are generally free and most people just toss them out. But they are much easier to send to school than small containers of condiments when needed.
5) Package Your Own
Make your own snack sized bags instead of buying the already prepared snack size bags of just about anything. Chips, carrots, cookes and more all cost more when you purchase them pre-packaged as a snack size.
6) DIY Snacks
When you can, make your own. Whether it be pudding cups, granola bars, cookies or other snacks the kids like in their lunch box, it will almost always cost you less to make some your own. And you can find recipes for just about anything online.
These Homemade Granola Bars or Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are a great way to replace store bought food with something you can easily make at home.
If you choose to send your kids to school without lunch instead of money to purchase lunch in the cafeteria, you are already saving money in most cases. Using these great tips will help you save even more!