Packing lunch boxes is a daunting, daily task. Fellow moms, I feel your pain.

Like laundry, like weeding, it’s the chore we never truly conquer. Worse, we serve our children’s lunches with a daily side of Mom Guilt: We wrack our brains to create healthy, exciting concoctions but – somehow – we always come up short.

I’ve scrutinized the task and cut it down to its bare bones. I’ve chopped and shredded and julienned; ultimately, I’ve concluded that, by putting in more work up front, you (ironically!) simplify the entire lunch-making process.

Start the school year on the right foot with these tips, straight from my kitchen to yours.

1. Invest in the right gear

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I know, I know: Minimalists scoff at additional, unnecessary purchases. But paper bags won’t withstand the test of time (they last one day MAX); worse, they’re uninsulated. So invest in the good stuff. Pay a bit more for quality items; this way, you won’t spend double in the long run by replacing faulty gear.

Minimalist Moms really, truly need:
An insulated lunch box. I’ve been completely satisfied with L.L. Bean’s kid-friendly lunchbox. It’s well-made, practical, fits well in a backpack and is backed by a lifetime guarantee. Plus, it allows for easy transport of the following items:

A thermos. All thermoses are not created equal. Why? Some don’t retain heat; worse, some leak. I use this one and it has withstood the test of time. Even better, Ani loves it because it’s easy for small hands to unscrew.

Small, Bento Box-ish containers. Little glass containers with clickable on/off lids are lifesavers. Why glass, you ask? That’s easy: Because plastic’s yucky. Although originally designed  for baby food, I use these in my preschooler’s lunch box because they’re the perfect size for sufficient portions. Furthermore, the craftsmanship is on point:  I’ve owned them for three years and haven’t had one break yet. BONUS: They’re dishwasher safe (lids, too!).

2. Remember the Food Pyramid, then Plan Accordingly + Plan Ahead

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I’m a huge fan of making Ani’s lunches for the entire week on Sunday. Indeed, I’m here to tell you that it’s entirely possible to create, separate and pack a week’s worth of lunches in under an hour. Here’s how:

First, let the food pyramid be your guide. I send Ani to school with a veggie or fruit, a protein, a dairy item and a (healthy-ish) snack. That’s just four items, not including a drink. Nothing more (if I send too much, the healthy stuff comes home uneaten); nothing less. Sending only what’s nutritionally necessary dissuades me from overstuffing the lunchbox with junk items.

Then, plan ahead. If I’ve bought cucumbers, I peel and cut them for the whole week, then place them in their individual Wean Green containers. Voila! I’ve saved precious time by doing all the prep work at once and up front.

Fruit receives similar treatment. Grapes and peaches are washed, halved and placed in their containers on Sunday for the whole week. This way I’m breaking out the colander, knife and cutting board once.

3. When in Doubt, Go with your Tried and Trues

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The lunchbox isn’t the place to experiment. Truly, there’s nothing worse than spending hours making a masterpiece in the kitchen only to have it return home with your child, uneaten.

So go with your Tried and Trues. My daughter happily consumes carrots and cucumbers with nary a side-eye; I therefore pack them often with a side of hummus. I happily save the crazier vegetables (Think: bok choy, swiss chard) for dinnertime.

Also, rotate. Ani loves fruit, but she tires quickly. If I send blueberries multiple days in a row, she’ll stop eating them come Wednesday. So I purchase at least two fruits at the market and rotate.

4. Buy in bulk

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Citing ease, snack packs call to us from their front-and-center perches within the supermarket’s aisles. But there’s something sinister about snack packs: When we buy junk food in pre-packaged portions, both our pocketbooks and the environment take a hit.

Do less work and spend less money. When you buy loose and in bulk, you save a ton. And when you mindfully take the extra step to separate food into five equal-sized portions, your effort pays in dividends. You eliminate excess food waste; you cut into unnecessary trash production; you provide preservative-free snacking alternatives for your child.

Consider homemade popcorn. Buy kernels in bulk at a fraction of the cost and pop at home. The result is a snack for the whole family for the entire week. And because you’re the chef, you control the salt and fat content.

Need another example? Yogurt tubes. Both Ani and I love their convenience: Where I live, organic yogurt tubes cost an average of 20 cents per ounce. That’s less than 50 cents per tube. Sounds benign, right?

But I could buy a pint of the same brand for just 12 cents per ounce and – by dedicating sixty seconds to separate it myself – save a quarter per day even though I’ve literally bought the exact. same. product.

The sad truth is this: Snack packs suck. When we buy items that are individually wrapped, we pay extra for the (non-recyclable and ill-conceived) packaging that’s destined to overflow landfills. We’re paying for supposed convenience, but there’s something incredibly inconvenient about ruining the planet at the expense of our children.

5. Think beyond the sandwich

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Bologna and cheese is woefully overplayed. And PB&J?  Thanks to nut allergies, peanut butter is outlawed in most schools.

Lunch boxes of the millennium serve quesadillas, frittatas, and lentil soup.  Work smarter, not harder, by preparing unique main courses in (you guessed it!) bulk.

Take homemade Egg McMuffins as an example. They’re high on health benefits and low on anything fast food-ish; even better, my daughter loves them. I make 24 at a time, wrap and freeze them individually, then thaw only what I need and only when I need them.