I’ve been absent for a while.  First we were packing in all of the end-of-summer adventures, getting ready for school and this week I’ve been helping with the start of school.  Much of my time has been assisting with the lunch shifts.  I’m happy to say that there were no tears this year and a larger cafeteria space and individual seats provides for a more subdued environment (at least I haven’t left with my head spinning like in previous years).

As I get organized and back into the swing of writing, I share with you school lunch idea links, because if you are like me, I am trying to get back into the swing of packing and sending the lunchboxes out the door.

If you want to get ideas of what to send and NOT send in your kids lunch, help out in the cafeteria. For instance, another reason to consider sending a waste-free lunch - your kids can’t open all those packaged items they find waiting for them, go-gurt being the worst of all, in my mind. My test is if they can’t open something at home by themselves then it doesn’t go into the lunch box.

Here are a few links with great ideas to spur lunch ideas:

Back-to-school Lunch Ideas from Epicurious

Vegeterian School Lunch Ideas

Ideas from PBS Kitchen Explorers

ABC List of Lunch Ideas, including links to 8 other bloggers lunch ideas

Tired of Brown Bag Lunches Ideas

Sprouting The Beans School Lunch Links:

http://www.sproutingthebeans.com/node/38

http://www.sproutingthebeans.com/node/41

http://www.sproutingthebeans.com/node/44

http://www.sproutingthebeans.com/node/149

http://www.sproutingthebeans.com/node/205

http://www.sproutingthebeans.com/node/152

http://www.sproutingthebeans.com/node/91