My Favorite On-the-Go Lunch Hack | Pampered Chef Large Square Cool & Serve

If you’re a homeschool mom taking your kids to co-op this week you need this hack!  Or if you’re taking meals on picnics, to the ball field, on road trips…there are so many ways to use this!

Last year I got a Pampered Chef Large Square Cool & Serve tray for Christmas.  I got it intending to use it as a veggie tray for parties, to take food to potlucks, that kind of thing.  But one day I looked at it and thought “I bet this would be great for taking lunch on our community day!”  So I tried it and it has been a GAME CHANGER!

Now instead of having to take multiple lunch boxes full of lots of containers, I just have to take this one.  I fill it with a variety of finger foods using whatever I have in my fridge and pantry (usually things like cheese cubes, crackers or pretzels, fruit, veggies and dip, roll ups, sandwiches, leftover chicken, etc.), pack a few paper plates and napkins, and we’re good to go.

I fill the top of the tray the night before and store it in the fridge.  I’m usually able to prep everything ahead of time except anything that might get soggy (like sandwiches) – I’ll wait and make those in the morning.

What makes this really special is that it has built in cold packs.  You keep the white pieces in the bottom of the tray in the freezer, then get them out to put under the food to keep it cold.  Because of that I don’t have to take a cooler to our community day.  I just put the tray in the bottom of a large bag and add any of our other stuff and carry it all in at once.  The food stays nice and cold until lunch time.

At lunch time I just pass out plates and napkins to my kids and then they can serve themselves.  Easy peasy.

This makes the whole thing So.Much.Easier. for me!  Prep is easier because I’m just making a bunch of things instead of trying to make individual lunches, lunch time is easier because they can serve themselves, and clean up is easier because I only have the one container to clean when we get home.  That’s a huge win in my book!

Check out this tray here.  I’m not a Pampered Chef consultant, just a happy customer, so find a friend who is a consultant or is having a party and purchase through them, I’m sure they’d love the order!  If you don’t know anyone who sells Pampered Chef, here’s a friend of mine who does and you can order through her.