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Our TO-GO Boxes & What we put inside! (That actually gets eaten ?)

Dawn's House, Recipe Box / by / 6 Comments

Earlier this year we declared a war on eating out. We were spending WAY too much on fast food, restaurants and convenience foods and it was a strain on our budget and was not at ALL healthy!

So we started making changes, we got back to meal planning, perfected Instant Pot recipes and went back to the old faithfuls.

You don't need a culinary background or art degree to pack practical bento or to-go boxes as we call them! Let's talk EASY to have on hand foods that keep well and your family will ACTUALLY eat so that we can stop spending so much money on fast food and restaurants!! #bentobox #ideas #easy #practical #lunch

We also got serious about packing lunches and dinners to take with us and that is when our TO-GO boxes were born. We purchased these re-usable trays on amazon ($14 for 20– https://amzn.to/2Ijcqkz) and they have worked REALLY WELL!

Then we found things to put inside them that were easy to keep on hand and tasted good, too!

You don't need a culinary background or art degree to pack practical bento or to-go boxes as we call them! Let's talk EASY to have on hand foods that keep well and your family will ACTUALLY eat so that we can stop spending so much money on fast food and restaurants!! #bentobox #ideas #easy #practical #lunch

WHAT WE PUT INSIDE:

Our general rule of thumb is 1 protein + 1 fruit + 1 choice item. Here are a few ideas for each category:

PROTEIN and/or HIGH FAT

Lunch meat (in a sandwich, on its own or wrapped around a pickle!)
String Cheese
Snack/Jerkey Sticks
Hard Boiled Eggs
Egg Salad (recipe below!)
Chicken Salad (recipes below!)
Yogurt
Nuts/Trail mix
Peanut Butter
Bagel with Cream Cheese
Olives

FRUIT

Cuties/Tangerines
Bananas
Apples (cut up or whole)
Strawberries
Grapes
Fruit salad (when I want to use up fruit that’s over ripe!)
…really any fruit works well!

VEGGIES

For us, mostly just:
Baby Carrots
Cucumbers
Cherry Tomatoes
Sliced Peppers
…if your family has wider tastes there really is no limit!!

OTHER

Apple Sauce Pouches
Crackers
Pretzels
Chips

You don't need a culinary background or art degree to pack practical bento or to-go boxes as we call them! Let's talk EASY to have on hand foods that keep well and your family will ACTUALLY eat so that we can stop spending so much money on fast food and restaurants!! #bentobox #ideas #easy #practical #lunch

CHICKEN SALAD RECIPE

  • 2 cups chopped cooked chicken leftover or rotisserie work great!
  • 2 green onions finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup diced celery
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice2 tablespoons sour cream or plain greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • salt & pepper to taste

optional add-ins:

  • red pepper finely diced
  • chopped water chestnuts
  • chopped almonds
  • bacon bits
  • sliced grapes
  • diced apple
  • diced pickles
DIRECTIONS: Stir together everything but chicken & green onions. Toss with remaining ingredients.
Serve solo, on bread, in a wrap or on a bed of lettuce!

You don't need a culinary background or art degree to pack practical bento or to-go boxes as we call them! Let's talk EASY to have on hand foods that keep well and your family will ACTUALLY eat so that we can stop spending so much money on fast food and restaurants!! #bentobox #ideas #easy #practical #lunch

EGG SALAD RECIPE

  • 6-8 hard boiled eggs, peeled, yolks separated
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon chives thinly sliced
  • salt & pepper to taste

Optional mix-ins:

  • bacon bits
  • diced avocado
  • siracha

DIRECTIONS: Add first five ingredients in bowl and combine until smooth. Chop egg whites. Stir egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

You don't need a culinary background or art degree to pack practical bento or to-go boxes as we call them! Let's talk EASY to have on hand foods that keep well and your family will ACTUALLY eat so that we can stop spending so much money on fast food and restaurants!! #bentobox #ideas #easy #practical #lunch

I certainly hope you find this helpful! I’d love to know what else you would add to the lists???

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You don't need a culinary background or art degree to pack practical bento or to-go boxes as we call them! Let's talk EASY to have on hand foods that keep well and your family will ACTUALLY eat so that we can stop spending so much money on fast food and restaurants!! #bentobox #ideas #easy #practical #lunch