Instant Dinner: Lunchables. Yep, homemade.

I’ve always thought store bought lunchables were such a waste of money. They're over-priced, the kids only eat a tiny portion of it, and all they really care about are the candies that come in it.

Sadly, I did give in to them for a while. It was a time that I was trying to edge away from “happy meals”, and fast food. It seemed healthier (and possibly cheaper) to buy food from a grocery store instead of a drive-thru window. It was for sure a step in the right direction. And, I’ve taken a lot more steps since then. I guess buying lunchables became a habit, engrained in their tiny brains. The colorful packages developed tiny voices, and they called out to my kids as we passed by them. It was a painful process to wean them off of the silly things. 

I’m always looking for simple and easy—to go along with cheap and healthy; hence the lunchable fiasco. Depending on the situation, each of these sought after qualities alternately take a front seat on my priority bus. If life were made of chocolate, and we were all butterflies in the sunshine I would put Easy, and then Simple, behind door #1. Followed of course by Healthy, and then last of all would be Cheap. I’m not cheap because I enjoy it. I’m cheap because it’s my nature. It’s my instinct for survival. It’s in my genetic programming even. So, in the end, cheap always wins out. But I find ways to make harmony among this chaos of decision.

At any rate, I just wanted to point out an incredibly Easy, Simple, and less expensive--yet quick and somewhat healthy—last minute meal idea:

The Homemade Lunchable!

There are endless possibilities, but our favorite includes American cheese singles, Ritz crackers, and Turkey lunchmeat slices from Costco. We always have these on hand, it’s always easy to access, and I buy it all in bulk, from Costco.

All you really need is a cracker, a meat, and a cheese. Some kind of sauce is always good, and then you can get creative and add veggies, or whatever else you have in your pantry at the moment. Another of our favorites is Ritz, pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cheese; just like a mini pizza!

Have fun, mix and match…keep life simple, smile a little.

Best of all, my kids love it! AND they can even get it all out and assembled on their own. It’s almost like pressing an EASY BUTTON…

So, we shall rename this delightful discovery...

I hereby declare this meal to be so dubbed:

Easy-Button-Instant-Dinner

So let it be written, so let it be done.

And we all lived happily ever after…the end



(sorry, no recipe...just pictures and ideas)
Recipe Index
Article Index

Or, read my newest tip:
Deciding how to Shop-the importance of Smart Shopping