Packing the Ultimate Lunchbox
I’ll be the first one to admit, that packing lunches for my family can be a major chore at times. As a busy parent, my definition of the ultimate lunchbox is one that saves me time. You all know how nice that extra 15 minutes of snooze sleep feels in the morning….. Am I right?
This is why I LOVE Mommy and Me lunches.
What are Mommy and Me lunches you ask? These are lunches that use similar items to pack your work lunch alongside your child’s school lunch. You can make a fabulous meal for you, and a fun lunch your kid will be excited to eat. And the best part? You will be saving yourself a bunch of time packing both lunches at the same time!
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Lucky for me, we are a family of olive lovers. We’ve never met an olive we didn’t love! I know you have all seen them show up many times in my Family Lunchbox series. For this Mommy and Me Ultimate Lunchbox, I created two delicious recipes using olives! Lindsay was kind enough to send me a few cans to develop these yummy creations!
The two recipes I created are a Creamy Olive Spread and a Black and Green Chickpea Salad. OMG. YUM! I really can’t decide which one is my favorite. For this Mommy and Me Ultimate lunchbox, I packed both of these divine recipes in our work and school lunches. Let’s start with the kid friendly, school lunch.
{ School Lunch Tip } Kids (and adults) eat with their eyes first. Adding a couple food picks or colorful silicone muffin cups is a quick way to add some fun flair to a lunch!
For my daughter’s lunch, I used used the Creamy Olive Spread to make these adorable little sandwich pockets. So FUN! I also packed a side of Black and Green Chickpea Salad, strawberries, granola bar, and some extra Lindsay Olives.
Here is how to make the Creamy Olive Spread pocket sandwiches.
- Simply put about a tablespoon of my Creamy Olive Spread in the middle of 1 slice of bread, lay into a dumpling press, and seal.
- Let me tell you, for the next 2 days, this was requested by BOTH kiddos for lunch.
Next is my work lunch. I am seriously getting hungry remembering this lunch 🙂
{ Work Lunch Tip: } If I am going to reheat certain items in my lunch, I will make sure to pack cold items in a separate compartment, so they can easily be removed for while reheating.
For myself, I packed a larger portion of the Black and Green Chickpea Salad, a side of Creamy Olive Spread (used as a dip) with a bunch of fresh veggies to dip with and strawberries. Filling and satisfying!
So there you have it! A work lunch and a school lunch, made with basically the same items. One is fun, one is functional. Below are the two yummy recipes I used for these Mommy and Me Ultimate Lunchboxes.
{ I have been compensated for my time, not for promoting a particular product. Opinions are my own.}
Creamy Olive Spread
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Ingredients
- 8 oz of cream cheese brought to room temp
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 1/4 cup each of Lindsay green olives & black olives
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 2 tbsp of chopped fire roasted peppers
- 6 slices of salami about 1.5 oz diced
Instructions
- 1.Place ingredients into mixing bowl.
- 2.Using an electric mixer/stand mixer, mix until well combined.
- For best results, chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to blend flavors well.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
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Post Updated September 2020
I am a huge olive fan, though my kids are not – crazy, I know! But I will def make the olive spread and olive chickpea salad for myself. I love your lunch box ideas, they are really so creative.
-Dana
Thank you so much Dana! I hope you love both of the recipes 🙂 I’m actually snacking on some of the spread now! hahaha
olives and chickpeas….two of my favorite things. really excited about trying out the olive spread! Thanks Corey, you are so full of interesting lunch ideas. Much appreciated.
Love this!! I did a Lindsay Lunchbox as well. . our daughters do the same thing with olives on their fingers. so cute!! 🙂
Voted for you! Love your healthy and pretty meal ! Amazing photography and instructions. thanks.
Thank you soooo much Cathy!
Hello – Found you via Pinterest and LOVE your ideas. I am a consultant with Tupperware and always look for ways to share ideas for kids lunches ..>THANK YOU 🙂