Meaux's 4 lunchtime prep tips for back to school

Back to school always meant new clothes and school supplies. I would jump up and down with excitement until the first day of school when I could show all my friends.

The back-to-school time meant more responsibility too. As I got older, I started helping my mom pack my lunches, and I always felt a sense of pride when I did. It also meant I knew when I had my favourite snack waiting for the next day.

Now that I’m a parent to two school-aged girls, the back-to-school time is filled with excitement and stress.

I have to ensure the girls are up and ready for school at a specific time and prepare and pack healthy and filling lunches.

Over the years, I’ve picked up a few tips to make the lunch packing process easier that I want to share with you.

Here are 4 simple and budget-friendly tips for conquering back-to-school lunchtime prep

1. When you can, pack leftovers.

Packing leftovers from dinners is the easiest way to conquer lunchtime prep. I try to cook dinners my daughters love and are happy to see in their thermoses the next day.

One of the girls’ favourite leftovers is my famous barbeque meatballs. Oasis Juice plays a massive part in creating this delicious dish. I use their orange juice to give the meat that extra juicy, citrusy flavour that makes it a family favourite.

I also recommend adding a few splashes of citrus-flavoured juice to a chicken-based dish. It’ll add mouthwatering flavours you can’t get enough of.

I always know I’m feeding my family great ingredients when I use Oasis juices in our dinner or pack the juice boxes in my girls’ lunches. We especially love the Oasis Hydrafruit clementine fruit juice and filtered water blend.

They are the true back-to-school essentials for busy parents who are always on the go and want to give their family a tasty meal or drink.

2. Prepare the night before.

If you have leftovers, pack them in containers or thermoses for your kids the night before.

No leftovers? No problem.

Meals like the barbeque meatballs I mentioned above are super easy to make. They can even cook overnight in a crockpot, so they’re hot and ready for lunch the next day. As long as you create your game plan the night before, you won’t need to juggle getting the kids ready and organizing their lunches in the morning.

3. Include your kids in the lunch packing process.

I always encourage the girls to help prepare their lunches whenever they can. Sometimes they cut up their veggies and fruits on their own cutting board and kid-friendly knives or place their different snacks in their bento boxes.

Helping out with packing their lunches makes them feel a sense of independence. It also motivates them to eat most of their lunch…for once!

4. Find ways to make lunch prep fun.

There are so many fun DIY projects you can do with Oasis juice boxes, but my favourite one that my girls came up with is race cars. Now, after we eat dinner and pack lunches, we have races full of laughter as our cars fly toward the finish line.

And our favourite prize? An Oasis juice box.

Here’s how you can build your own DIY Oasis juice car with your kids:

Use bottle caps from other Oasis products as wheels.
Attach a balloon to the end of the juice box.
Place a straw into the mouth of the balloon and close it with an elastic band or tape.
Blow into the straw, and off they go!

The back-to-school period can be stressful for parents. Incorporating Oasis Juice products into our daily routine is one of my favourite ways to simplify it and add flavour to our lunch packing routine.

It’s time to turn the stress of back-to-school time into fun with the variety of colourful and delicious flavours that Oasis Juice offers this school season.

Click here if you’re ready to conquer back-to-school lunchtime prep!