best, easiest lunch for busy days.

I know I'm not the only one who finds themselves constantly flabbergasted by just how often kids insist on eating.  We only do three meals a day (no snacks), but it still feels like every time I turn around, it's time to serve another meal.

Normally, I really don't mind.  I have gotten a pretty good system in place to allow me to be proactive in providing meals and not constantly feeling like the kids are starving and I have no idea what to even make.  But weeks like the past few, in which we have a lot going on and our regular routine is kind of out the window, it still feels hard.

Lately, I've been using the kitchen a lot to prep for larger meals, we've had a lot of appointments, and I've been working on house projects, running errands, preparing for Advent, you name it - my mind and schedule are being pulled in a million different directions, and there have been a couple of days where I find myself wondering if the kids would notice if we just... skipped lunch.  (They would notice.  Immediately.  And shortly thereafter, they'd start drawing straws to see which kid would be donating a limb to stave off the hunger of the rest.  And without a doubt, it would be Rocco.)

To avoid cannibalism, might I suggest cheese and crackers.  Ahem, I mean, charcuterie board.  (Fancypants!)  Ten minutes of prep, virtually no clean up, no need to argue with the kids about eating it, no watching reluctant eaters dawdle at the table for hours on end.  (The beauty of cheeseboard-for-lunch is that it is every man for himself: everyone gets to pick out only the things they feel like eating, and if you're too slow, you may miss out on something you want.  It makes for a very quick lunch.)  I also love that it doesn't really have to be any specific grouping of items - I just use whatever I already have on hand; I just try to go for some kind of protein, something fresh, and something starchy.  And to top it all off, I serve it on paper plates to make life just that much breezier.

I especially love this lunch on busy kitchen days - while I'm already in there, chopping and sauteeing and whatnot, all I have to do is grab a few things from the fridge, use the same knife and cutting board that are already out, throw it all on a plate, and never really have to pause my big cooking.

This is likely the lunch I'll be serving today, as I'm doing some cooking and baking for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  Maybe you should do some fridge-scrounging for lunch today too, and pat yourself on the back for looking like a fancy mom.  Or at least the kind of mom who is doing what it takes to ensure that all kids end the day with as many limbs as they started it with.