Making lunch easier for a busy life

Ok, so how many of you have a hectic schedule?  Most people work, have children, go to school and have many activities to handle during their busy day.  For myself I have to be at work at 7:00 in the morning and work till 4:00 then go to school two nights a week after work and then bootcamp the other two nights.  My schedule is so packed that I have to plan the night before for my meals the next day or I'll end up eating something unhealthy, pricey, or possibly eat something that is cross contaminated because I didn't take the time to plan it out.  

All of my usual fast food places are out of the question because it is very limited or you have the possibility of cross contamination due to them not having the knowledge behind food allergies.  It's not their fault because they are serving a larger public that has no food allergies but I see this changing in the future with food allergies becoming more and more common.  Until that happens though, I resort to making my own lunch every night before I go to bed.  Making a lunch at 5:30 in the morning after pulling an all nighter from studying, working out, or managing our household is not an option for me so I do it all the night before.  

Now everyone can change up your meals, ideas, add more foods if you need to.  It's how you make it personal to your liking but at least this can give you some ideas on what you may want or even where to start.  

First and most important of all I think finding a cute lunch bag will help you want to carry it to work and make something yummy to go inside of it.  Just my opinion but you can not only accessorize with your clothes but also with a cute lunch kit.  My mom got me the cutest one and it even has my initials on it so that everyone knows not to touch my lunch.  

Secondly, think of what you want for breakfast, snacks, and lunch for the week.  Buy a weeks worth of food on Sunday so that you do not have to continually go back to the store because you ran out.  I go to the deli and get my sandwich meat for the week and I've learned how many slices I need so that I'm not wasting any or short any.  I buy my veggies and fruits in bulk and get them all washed for the week as well.  It's all about prepping for a week.

Now here's what I have been eating for breakfast and lunch for the past few weeks broken out for you.

Breakfast:
Omelet Muffins (see recipe in earlier blog post)
Jamba Juice Smoothie that I can blend up really easily in the mornings
1 banana

Snacks:
Cucumber slices
Cherry Tomatoes
Baby Carrots
Strawberries

Lunch:
Lettuce wrapped turkey sandwich with tomatoes, swiss, cheese and honey mustard 
BBQ flavored Pop Chips
Yoplait Yogurt

The key to making all of this in advance is to put everything into sandwich bags separately so that you do not end up eating a soggy lunch the next day.  I put all my stuff for my lettuce wrap in individual bags because if not you will have soggy lettuce.  Then for lunch I put it all together and I have a freshly made lunch that is yummy and healthy.