Freezing Sandwiches: A Time-Saving Lunch Prep Trick

You made it through summer, and now school is back in session. I remember when my mother would spend hours preparing my lunch for school. One hundred and eighty school lunches are packed before the end of the school year. Here are a few creative ideas to make the task easier:

Freeze a whole month of sandwiches
    – Roll up sandwiches: Cut crusts off bread; roll bread with rolling pin; spread with desired filling and roll up. Tip: Meat fillings freeze best. Do not freeze mayonnaise.

    – Canoe sandwich: Scoop out center of French roll or hoagie bun to make canoe. Butter both sides and add a filling such as chicken.
    Cut roll in half for lunches for smaller children.

    – Pear spread: Mix mashed pears, cinnamon and peanut butter; spread on bread.

Freezer Wrapping Tips for Sandwiches

Double bag everything to keep air out. Put each sandwich in a small resealable plastic bag. Fill a one-gallon self-sealing plastic bag with the same kinds of sandwiches and label it.

Thawing Instructions

Place frozen sandwich directly into lunch box. Add a frozen box of juice to keep entire lunch cool. By lunchtime, both the sandwich and the juice will have thawed. For faster thawing, microwave sandwich for 10 seconds.

The Banana Dog

Looking for a fun and creative lunch idea that’s not frozen? Try this quirky banana dog:

Banana Dog Ingredients:

• 1 hot dog bun
• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• 1 banana

Open a hot dog bun and spread one side with peanut butter, the other with jelly. Wrap it and put it in the lunch bag. Pack a whole banana in the bag. At lunchtime, your child peels the banana and puts it in the bun like a hot dog! This may sound a little weird to some of you, but I guarantee your child will love it (if they like all of the ingredients, of course).

I hope these ideas will alleviate some of the stress you go through preparing your child’s school lunches. Spend an afternoon producing a month of school lunches and you have the rest of the month off!