Thursday: PlanetBox Lunches, the 30-Minute Reset & Easy-Button Meatloaf

Got up this morning and got everybody fed and out the door for co-op.

Breakfast was bacon, Costco bagels, some of the frozen Costco chicken sausage, and my teen finished some of the leftover oatmeal.

Then we loaded everything up and hit the road.

Still Looking for the Perfect Co-op Cooler

I packed all five PlanetBoxes for lunch today, and I am still looking for a new rolling cooler.

Our current one has made it through about six years of co-op, and it’s getting pretty gross inside. It has served us well, but I think we’ve reached the end.

The problem is that I need something very specific.

I want it soft-sided and rolling, but it also needs to be big enough for five PlanetBoxes, ice packs, extra water bottles and occasionally something extra like a salad for me.

That’s a lot of lunch.

My mom found one at Sam’s Club that we thought might work, but once we looked at the size, it wasn’t quite big enough. I told her to return it.

The search continues.

Cold Pizza Might Be My Favorite Co-op Snack

Yesterday I baked a frozen pizza specifically to bring along today, and I am telling you: this is such a good co-op-day trick.

Bake it.

Cool it.

Slice it.

Bag the slices individually.

Then throw them in the cooler.

By afternoon, when everybody starts getting hungry again, I can just hand out slices of cold pizza.

It’s especially great for our drive home. We have about a 35-minute drive, and there’s no container to open or fork to find or food to assemble.

Just:

“Here. Have some pizza.”

Easy breezy.

The 30-Minute Post-Co-op Reset

When we got home, I did my standard post-co-op routine.

I set a timer for 30 minutes, and everybody gets to disappear.

Some kids choose an iPad. Some watch TV together. Somebody might play Nintendo Switch.

I don’t particularly care.

We’ve all been together all day. We’ve had the drive home. Everybody is tired.

Go find a corner and decompress for 30 minutes.

Including me.

Apparently We All Needed a Snack

I was hungry when we got home, so I pulled out some of the flank steak from Monday night.

I sliced it thin and quickly pan-seared it in a hot pan, then made myself a little plate with crumbled chips, avocado, fresh salsa and a couple of vegetables.

Delicious.

And while I was making my snack, I realized the kids were hungry too.

Yes, dinner was coming.

But if I’m hungry enough to need a substantial snack after co-op, why wouldn’t they be?

So I threw a tray of chicken nuggets in for everybody.

A post-co-op tray of nuggets always hits.

Tonight We Hit the Easy Button

For dinner tonight, I did not want to cook.

Fortunately, I didn’t really have to.

I opened the refrigerator and started pulling out all the sides we’d accumulated over the last few days.

I had:

• Roasted potatoes
• Roasted sweet potatoes
• Roasted carrots
• Cooked pasta

I spread the roasted vegetables back out and re-roasted them so they’d get hot and crisp again.

I also heated some frozen green beans because I have a couple of kids who aren’t interested in my roasted carrots no matter how good I tell them they are.

And then I pulled out the meatloaf.

Yes, We’re Eating Meatloaf Again

I know.

We had meatloaf two nights ago.

But here’s the thing:

My kids like meatloaf.

Why am I inventing a brand-new dinner just because the calendar says two days have passed?

I purposely kept some of my Dinner Insurance Meatloaf in the refrigerator because I knew I wanted an easy dinner after co-op.

Tonight I reheated it using my Dinner Insurance meatloaf method with the tomatoes and onions in the pan. I’ll link that recipe here because this is exactly how I reheat it whether the meatloaf is coming from the refrigerator or freezer.

And this time, having it with the sauce made it feel a little different anyway.

This Is Why I Make Extra Sides

The best part about tonight’s dinner was realizing how little I actually had to do.

The meatloaf was already made.

The potatoes were already cooked.

The sweet potatoes were already cooked.

The carrots were already cooked.

The pasta was already cooked.

I basically had to cut up a tomato and an onion, heat everything and make some green beans.

That was dinner.

This is why I don’t only think about prepping extra protein.

Extra sides are Dinner Insurance too.

If I’m already roasting potatoes, why not make enough to have leftovers?

If I’ve got a giant sheet pan of carrots going into the oven, I’d rather have some waiting for another meal.

Those random containers can look like a bunch of odds and ends in the refrigerator, but tonight they turned a meatloaf I made two days ago into a full dinner with almost no work.

And now they’re gone instead of getting forgotten in the back of the refrigerator.

Going Into Friday

We’re actually in a pretty good spot.

I’ve still got plenty of the grilled chicken I made last night, so that’s definitely going to get worked into tomorrow’s meals.

I’ve got ground beef in the freezer if I need it.

And, of course, there’s plenty of Dinner Insurance tucked away in there if we really need to pull something out before I make it back to Costco this weekend.

But tonight I’m mostly happy that we cleared out all those sides.

Tomorrow I’ll make some fresh things.