It’s summer and the kids are home more – whether they’re home from public or private school, co-op, or college. Mine still take some classes and participate in various day camps – and for the first time, my middles have overnight camps!

One of my biggest concerns for summer is food.

For whatever reason, the kids seem to eat more – quantity and frequency. They’re probably growing and more active and the sunshine and warmer temps make them hungrier.

Our local libraries provides lunches for kids under 18 and I think that’s great! When my kids go to events and classes at our libraries, they are pressed upon to take the food and some of it they like.

I’m struggling to keep us in Gatorade and Body Armor in the flavors we prefer!

Since our summer schedule is a little more hectic and sporadic, I have to think about meals differently.

My 16 year old has a part time at a local grocery store and often has to take a quick lunch to eat during breaks.

My 12 year old son has elite baseball games and tournaments and we often travel and need to bring snacks and meals with us – because sometimes they’re in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere.

My kids are pretty independent and know their way around the kitchen. They can make their own healthy meals and often do so. I also want to provide easy options for when we’re in a rush or have different schedules. I’m super impressed when they make quesadillas, little pizzas, fried rice, or homemade ramen!

We love bento and other fun containers to keep foods fresh and cold for lunches and snacks on the go.

Breakfast items I’m buying:

• Cereal Cups
• Oatmeal cups
• Grits pouches
• Organic poptarts
• Dinosaur eggs oatmeal
• Bolthouse protein shakes
• Breakfast lunchables
• Croissants
• so many eggs (my husband has a coworker with chickens!)
• Frozen sausage links (we love the Jones brand and I stock up at the commissary.)
• Frozen pancakes, waffles, French toast sticks
• Nature Valley almond butter biscuits

Lunch and snack items I buy:

• Tuna pouches
• Annie’s mac and cheese cups
• Ramen (my kids prefer organic pouches for quick and easy but often make their own homemade ramen with leftovers!)
• Indian meal pouches with lentils or chickpeas
• Rice and beans pouches
• Canned soups and chili (Annie’s is a favorite)
• Spam (we lived in Hawaii for three years)
• Hillshire Farm honey ham and salami
• Lunchables – Oscar Mayer uncured ham, Hillshire Farm, and Kroger Simple Truth are literally the only ones my kids will eat!
• Hormel wraps
• Peanut butter crackers
• Protein granola bars and protein brownies – Clif, Kodiak, Luna, Kroger and Meijer brand
• bananas, apples, grapes, oranges

What we make for dinner:

I try not to stress over having dinner later in the summer. I prefer we eat together as much as possible. I am often thwarted by baseball games and the kids’ other activities.

I’m making many slow cooker meals for when my son has baseball games or my daughter works late or has aerial gymnastics class. We can eat whenever we each get a chance, and often still mostly together.

We also do a lot of grilling (some favorites are burgers, tritip, and salmon) and we love big salads.

How do your meals look in summer?

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