The First Days of School

A Lunchbox, a New Routine & the First Days of School.

I am, for the first time, sad that summer is over.

I used to be that girl who got excited about starting school. New notebooks, new shoes, a fresh start. Well, motherhood changed me, and now I feel like time is really slipping through my hands, like it does for so many mothers.

However, there is one thing I am very excited and energetic about: preparing my little one’s lunchboxes. She started preschool! We got her a big-girl lunchbox and all, very serious.

These things might feel insignificant from the outside, but I do think they are the small things that make a childhood.

This summer we have eaten everywhere and everything, but now that a little routine is starting again, I would like for us all to focus a bit more on choosing better options for ourselves. For these first weeks, I’ve kept things pretty simple. We are all still getting the hang of the new routine, and I don't need another complicated thing to do in the morning.

So, I put together a little PDF with five simple lunchbox recipes that I’ll be making for her. If you’d like it too, you can download it here.

What’s going in the lunchbox?

For the first few weeks, I’m keeping things familiar, simple and easy to prepare. Nothing too elaborate, just a few recipes that can be made ahead, packed easily and hopefully enjoyed.

Egg & Apple Salad Sandwich
A simple egg sandwich with a little sweetness and crunch from apple.

Banana Oat Pancakes
Easy to make, easy to freeze and just as good for breakfast as they are tucked into a lunchbox. A favorite, a classic. 

Little Carrot Breads
Soft, savoury little bites made with carrot and a few simple ingredients. A nice way of getting something green onto the plate without making a big deal about it.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Small pasta shapes with cucumber, tomatoes, mozzarella and a simple lemon and olive oil dressing. Fresh, colourful and very easy to adapt depending on what you have at home.

Date & Coconut Bites
Little naturally sweet bites made with dates, coconut and a few pantry staples. Perfect for “something sweet”.

A few things I’m keeping in mind:

I’m trying not to overthink the lunchbox.

Keep it familiar. Prepare what you can the night before.
Don't pack more than they are likely to eat.
And remember that some days the lunchbox will come home completely empty and other days… well, let's not talk about it.

The goal for these first weeks is simply to find our rhythm.

The Little Lunchbox Guide

I put all five recipes together in a little downloadable guide, with the ingredients, simple instructions and a few ideas for adapting them.

Save it for those mornings when you’re standing in the kitchen wondering what on earth to put in the lunchbox.

I have to admit all this makes me emotional at the same time. I did got teary eyes when we went to the Meet and Greet day for my daughter’s school. 

How can it be that my baby is already starting pre-school? This backpack looks huge in her tiny shoulders. The lunchbox itself looks huge. 3 year old is much easier than before, I am currently getting a breather. It is both hard and a relief that she does not need to be by my side all the time like before, that I can leave and she is ok with it. I am proud of how independent she is become, maybe it is just her personality but it is heartbreaking too. My baby.  

We tend to think of birthdays and holidays when we think about childhood, the big occasions, the days we know we should photograph.

But I think these in-between seasons make their childhood too, the everyday is important too, our lives are beautiful as they are. We always think we need more but we don’t. 

There is joy in the ordinary mornings, the routines, what we as mothers, do without really thinking about them, cause we are just in the thick of it.

I know for sure I will look back at these days with so much joy, thinking and being certain that we had all we needed, in our home. The one that is still missing furniture cause we just moved in, frames are waiting to be hung. But love and warmth is never missing and I am making sure to document it. Get in touch if you want me to document your life as it is now, it is worth remembering.