Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How to Make Uncrustables

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This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Let’s talk about how to make Uncrustables and all the reasons you should make them at home!

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What is an Uncrustable?

Uncrustables are a lovely convenience item found in the freezer section of the grocery store. They are pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich with crusts removed. Perfect for most of our kids, right?

Yes, but the cost.

I can’t let myself spend $4.18 for just four crustless pb&j sandwiches. Surely it costs much less to throw together a simple sandwich at home, right? Right.

Here’s what you need to make Uncrustables:

100% Whole Wheat Bread: $0.19/sandwich
Natural Peanut Butter: $0.13/sandwich
100% Fruit Jelly: $0.13/sandwich

Uncrustables at the store: $1.05 per sandwich (made with less-nourishing ingredients)
Cost for a Homemaade Uncrustable: $0.45 (made with much better ingredients)

Oh, and you’ll need this handy tool which is a one-time, very worth it purchase.

Don’t waste the crust!!

When I use two loaves of bread to make 20 Uncrustables, I end up with a 10×13 inch pyrex full of crusts. I can’t stand the idea of throwing them out, so I use them to make Easy Bread Pudding. My family loves this and I love that nothing goes to waste!

How to make your own Peanut Butter

Want to make your own peanut butter? It’s truly the most delicious! Here’s the recipe. It’s so very easy to make!

If you don’t make your own peanut butter, look for brands that don’t have hydrogenated oils in them. Those oils are best avoided. :)

The joy of Homemade Uncrustables

If you make Uncrustables, I recommend making many at once so that you get more mass for your mess. :) I make two loaves of bread worth each time I make Uncrustables (which produces 20). Then I freeze them to pull out for quick lunches for my kids (either at home or in lunchboxes at school). Having these ready in the freezer is so handy! And if we’re at home and want to eat them straight from the freezer, we put them into our air fryer for a minute or two to thaw/crisp up. So good!

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Does it Save Money to Pack Lunch for School?

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This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

School lunches are very reasonably priced. So does it actually save money to pack lunch for school?

I’ve found that it does! Here’s how.

Our kids’ school lunch costs $3.20. Not bad, except that our picky first grader would only eat a fourth of what was on her tray, mostly the sweet parts and the bread. ;) Meanwhile, our not-so-picky third grader would eat most of his meal and still be hungry. So we decided this year that for the sake of saving money and feeding our kids the nourishment they need, we’d pack and send their lunches to school.

Even when I buy a few pre-packaged convenience food items to save time, I am still saving money every day on their lunches.

How much am I saving?

I calculated that I’m saving an average of $1.40 per lunch, per kid, for much more nourishing meals that I know they like and will eat. I’ll share examples from our not-picky-big-eater kiddo so you can see how packing a very filling lunch still saves money.

Note: I make a big batch of these spinach cupcakes, individually bag them, and freeze them to throw into almost every lunchbox for a treat with added nutrition! I did the math. They cost $0.14 each and they are beautifully full of spinach. :) :) :)

Does it Save Money to Pack Lunch for School?

Here are nine sample lunches I might pack for my kids and their cost breakdown. The most expensive was $2.58. The least expensive is just $1.34. Lots of savings!

1. Meat and cheese sandwich, fruit cup, cheese stick, spinach cupcake (no frosting) = $2.00

2. Cheese and crackers, summer sausage, grapes, spinach cupcake (no frosting), cottage cheese and pineapple = $2.49

3. Pumpkin muffin, cottage cheese and pineapple, clementine, almonds = $1.43

4. Tuna salad with crackers, fruit cup, cheese stick, spinach cupcake (no frosting) = $1.83

5. Chips with cheesy bean dip, grapes, spinach cupcake (no frosting)  = $1.43

6. Leftover pizza slices (with spinach “hidden” on top), clementine, banana = $1.34

7. Bagel with cream cheese “sandwich”, ham, apple = $1.72

8. Bean and cheese quesadillas, carrots, strawberries $1.78

9. On Friday, we do a “Fun Friday” lunchbox which includes a baggie of chips and a yogurt squeezie, plus whatever else I have on hand that I think the kids will enjoy. Cost for the special lunch you see below: $2.58.

What do you pack in your kids’ lunches?

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Pssst! Heavenly Homemakers Club Members can enjoy this great eBook along with all of our other amazing eBooks, eCourses, printables, packets, and more! Join us here.

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Master List of Simple Lunch Box Ideas

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Here it is! The Master List of Simple Lunch Box Ideas!

I know many of you send lunches with your kids for school and/or pack lunches for yourself or your spouse for work. Here’s hoping this list offers you some fun variety and nourishment that goes far beyond a sandwich! :)

todays lunch

Hopefully you already grabbed the Master Lists of Simple Lunch, Breakfast, and Snack Ideas. I’m covering my fridge with these lists to make our transition from summer break to a school schedule a little bit easier. If you haven’t already, be sure to download all these handy lists here!

Now for today’s list:

The Master List of Simple Lunch Box Ideas

Simple Lunch Box Ideas

Your Real Food Master Simple Lunch Box Ideas List

You can download this entire list here. But I’ll share it all on this post for reference also. I also recommend that you pin it so you can find it quickly as needed!

strawberry

 

Meaty Recipes for your Lunchbox

If at home, we eat many of these hot. But in a packed lunch, we don’t mind eating them cold!

Food You Can Heat and Pack in a Thermos

LgTHermos

NOTE: Here’s a fantastic thermos option that comes in all kinds of fun varieties and patterns. It’s stainless steel inside and out. It keeps cold food cold for 7 hours and hot food hot for 5 hours! Check out your options here. 

Hearty Dips for Chips

wide mouth jars

Pack these dips in small wide-mouth jars with a bag of tortilla chips to go with them!

Hearty Salads

SaladCOntainer

Fun Ideas to Add to Your Lunchbox

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Now let’s look at good fruit and veggie add-ons. I listed apples and carrots first, because those are a given. But wait till you see all the other fun options to give your lunch box some life!

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  • Apples
  • Carrots
  • Bananas
  • Clementines
  • Oranges
  • Applesauce
  • Peach Cups (100% juice)
  • Grapes
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Side Salad
  • Blueberries
  • Sliced Strawberries
  • Raspberries
  • Blackberries
  • Sliced cucumbers
  • Celery
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Pears

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Psssst! I LOVE silicone cups like this to make Fat Bombs  and Muffins. But how about also using them in lunchboxes to separate food items from one another! This 28-pack is deeply discounted right now!

SiliconCups28

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Master List of Simple Lunch Box Ideas

Free Printable Lunchbox Cards for you

Find FREE printable Lunch Box Cards HERE and HERE.

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Awesome Lunchboxes and Containers

Here are some really cool lunchbox options, as well as containers that work great to send food to work and school!

This Rubbermaid Salad Container comes with a blue ice freezer pack that snaps directly onto the food containers to keep your lunch cold. They are BPA free and very versitile!

SaladCOntainer

Here’s another one that can be used for all kinds of foods!

COntainers

If you prefer Stainless Steel, this one is a little pricier but super durable.

MetalContainer

As for lunchboxes, this one is Double Decker so you can keep cold food cold and hot food hot! (P.S. I love this pink one!)

DOubleDeckerLunchbox

This simple insulated lunch bag has all kinds of fun print patterns for kids to pick from. The price is great too!

Pattern lunchbox

Or let your kids choose from these fun varieties of insulated zip up bags!

IceCreamLunchbox

PlanesLunchbox

Would you like to make this Master List of Simple Lunchbox Ideas even simpler?

Sign up here* to receive the entire Master List of Simple Lunchbox Ideas in a free downloadable document! Then you can keep it handy on your computer or print it and put it on your fridge as a super handy reference! You’ll also receive our free Master Lunch, Breakfast, and Snack lists!

*If you’re already on our email list, go ahead and sign up with your email list anyway. This makes it easier for me to get the list to you and you won’t receive double email. You’ll be automatically redirected to a page with the free lists to download!

What are your favorite foods to add to a lunchbox?

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