Thursday, June 7, 2012

Lunch is Cool

Here on the Washington Coast, I don't usually have any trouble keeping the sproutlets' school lunches cool; it doesn't usually get anything close to hot until well after school is out... but they do take part in day camps over the summer, and I pack lunches for those. For some lunches, an ice pack in the lunch tote is enough, but Bella and Beanstalk like their string cheese cold. They don't like their sandwiches & crackers cold though...


No worries,  I've found a way to keep some portions of their lunch as cold as they like without making the entire lunch icy or soggy - I add frozen water-filled reusable ice cubes - miniature ice packs!

In today's lunch Bella has grapes, string cheese, ham, carrot chips, Kashi crackers, and spiced almonds:


A few reusable ice cube cold boosters (these ones are shaped like little apples) help keep her meat & cheese chilled until lunchtime. With ice in her water bottle and the whole lot packed in an insulated lunch tote, her lunch stays just as cold as she likes it.

Yesterday's lunch was one very easy lunch box - I didn't even bother arranging the crackers neatly! Those Kashi Fire Roasted Vegetable crackers have a bit of a kick - my girl likes things hot :) 


I cooled things down in the large section with fresh juicy grapes, crunchy carrot sticks, and a mozzarella string cheese - kept refreshingly chilled with the reusable ice cubes.

These bright blue, orange, and green cube shaped ones were a dollar store find that matches my EasyLunchboxes perfectly! Vibrant colours make me happy, even happier when they all coordinate :


They're a perfect fit in Beanstalk's PlanetBox too:


He has a very plain lunch as usual, but I guess it's fairly well-rounded... he has whole grain goldfish crackers (grain), ham on swords (protein), NatureBox dried cherries & an apple cut in quarters (fruit/veg) and a mozzarella string cheese (dairy), kept extra cool by the colourful ice cubes.

      

[update 7.3.13]  Kelly of EasyLunchboxes made this cool Pinterest-friendly graphic and shared it on the EasyLunchboxes Facebook page, should you want to pin this idea :) Thanks Kelly!


Some cool lunch stuff:

8 comments:

  1. I LOVE the reusable ice cubes! I might need to get some! :) As always, your lunches look beautiful :)

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  2. Great idea Candy Girl! And I love that you found fruit shaped reusable ice cubes. CUTE! This might be a dumb question, but does the ELB cooler bag and an ice pack not work for them at camp? Or are you using both to make it extra cold?

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    1. I'm pretty sure the ELB and an ice pack would keep things cold enough - food often comes home from school still cool - though we haven't had a really hot day yet to put it to the test :) But Bella likes her cheese to be icy cold, so the ice cubes let me make just the section the cheese is in just that much colder. Picky sproutlets aren't they :)

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    2. Not at all.....who doesn't love cold cheese :) I am sure this would be a great trick to use for those super hot days to give the lunch some extra over all chill as well. I will be on the hunt for some to add to my bento collection as well :)

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  3. I love those little re-usable fruit ice cubes! I use just plain square ones and they are definitely not photogenic. I have to keep my eyes out for those! Plus, great lunches as always :)

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  4. I love the reusable ice cubes! I never would have thought to use them in lunches! I'm going to have to get me some for summer.

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  5. That's brilliant!! I need to get some ice cubes stat :D

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  6. Just saw this on Pinterest today Cristi. Seriously AMAZING idea! You are a genius!

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