Getting Ahead {School Lunches}

I will admit, that even with all the systems we now have in place at home, school mornings can be really hectic. So I am always looking for ways to cheat a little more time back.

Making school lunches can be a bit of a chore, so here's a little trick that my mum used when I was in primary school and my brother was a newborn.

MAKE AHEAD SANDWICHES

What you will need

1. Loaf of bread (I have two children and one loaf plus 1 or 2 slices is usually enough)
2. Butter
3. Toppings of choice (see below for suggestions)
4. Sandwich bags

What to Do
(I'm sure I really don't need to give instructions on how to make sandwiches ;) But here is what I do.)

1. Lay out enough"pairs" of pieces of bread for one week's worth of sanwiches
(for us that is 2 kids x 5 days x 2 pieces of bread = 20 slices)

 2. Butter and fill with your choice of toppings. As you can see, polony and sauce is a favourite in our house.

3. Flip the "lids" on and cut into halves or quarters. Pop into sandwich bags and seal. I like to put them in a little storage basket.

4. Put in the freezer. Each morning just take out the number of sandwiches required and pop in the kids lunchboxes. They will be defrosted by the time lunch comes around. Alternatively you could take them out of the freezer the night before.

Suggested Toppings

• Sandwich meats (polony, ham salami, roast beef etc)
• Cheese
• Spreads (Vegemite, honey, jam)
• Condiments (mustard, mayo, relish etc)

Not Recommended

•  Lettuce, tomato, leafy veg etc.

I'm not too concerned with the nutritional  implications of not having veges in the sandwiches as I always include chopped up veg and/or fruit in their lunchboxes (which can be prepared ahead of time also!).

I like to do this on a Saturday or Sunday when I have a few minutes. Imagine how much time could be saved on school mornings if there were three or four or five children in the family???