Double Dose your Lunch Break: Lunch Prep for Teachers

Well hello there, blogger friends! It certainly has been a little while since we blogged but we promise we have a good excuse! If you follow us on Instagram, you might’ve seen us at the TPT Flock Conference in Rochester, NY a couple weeks ago. These past couple months, especially the last few weeks, have been filled with last minute Flock business as we were on the planning committee!

This little weekend getaway- even though Rochester is only about an hour away from us, we still consider it a vacation- provided us exactly what we needed to feel recharged for the last 10 weeks of the school year. Something that has been on our minds lately is how to refocus and regain energy during the school day, rather than in the evenings and on the weekends. Don’t get us wrong, we so look forward to our evening relaxing time but we also feel the need to be energetic and not “bogged down with work” for our own families.

 Working with special education students can be challenging at times so it’s important for us to be feeling our best so our students can receive our best. One of the ways to recharge during the school day is to actually use your lunch break…and that starts with lunch, of course! Over the next few weeks we’ll be highlighting some lunch tips in a series called “Double Dose your Lunch Break”.

This week’s topic:

Lunch food 😊

The new trend in “teacher lunches” is to prep your lunches on the weekends and we couldn’t agree more! Taking a couple hours to grocery shop, cook, and pack a week’s worth of lunches is a more effective use of our time than packing a lunch the night before. Some of our favorite, easy lunches to prep on Sundays include:

Spinach Salad

-bagged spinach or leafy greens

-shredded chicken (bake chicken breasts with olive oil & salt/pepper), or skip the oven and purchase a rotisserie chicken

-croutons

-feta or gorgonzola cheese

-berries (if they’re in season)

-vinegar based salad dressing

Mexican Mix

-baked chicken breasts

-sauteed peppers and onions

-brown rice

*we also use these spicy jalapeno chicken sausages for Mexican week!*

Paprika Chicken

-baked chicken breasts (bake with olive oil, salt/pepper, paprika, and garlic powder)

-roasted veggies (peppers, onions, and broccoli- bake with olive oil, salt/pepper, garlic powder, paprika and parmesan cheese)

-brown rice

An ideal lunch combination would include some sort of protein, a grain, and a generous portion of vegetables. Other “favorites” for meal prepping include some combination of the following:

-chicken sausages from Trader Joes

*These are high in protein, low in calories, and come in a variety of flavors! Just slice them and cook them in some olive oil in a frying pan. They’re already cooked so essentially, you’re just reheating them*

-couscous

-brown rice

-roasted sweet potatoes (cubed and baked with olive oil, salt/pepper, and minced garlic)

-roasted veggies (we suggest any combination of veggies and baking them in olive oil with salt/pepper, minced garlic, and onion powder)

-steamed vegetables

Once you’ve cooked your meals just place them in a Tupperware container, store them in the fridge, and you’re set for the week! Gathering your belongings in the morning will be so much easier with a lunch that’s ready to go. And when that tough student is on your last nerve, you’ll have a healthy, hot meal waiting for you mid-day!

In two weeks our lunch series continues…

…and we’ll be featuring some lunch ideas for the not-so-Pinteresty-teacher. You’re not alone if your lunch isn’t picture perfect!