Mum slammed for preparing school sandwiches five weeks in advance

2023-05-02

Mum causes a stir after admitting she prepares five weeks of school lunches at a time: ‘Kids need fresh food!’

A mum has been criticised for making five weeks’ worth of school lunches
She prepared 27 sandwiches for her child

An organised mum has sparked a heated debate after revealing how she makes five weeks worth of school lunches in just five minutes.

Elise explained she makes a giant batch of 27 sandwiches for her child to take to school – freeing up time in the morning.

She pops the sandwiches in the freezer and lets them defrost overnight before popping them in her child’s lunchbox.

But her time-saving hack left hundreds of parents feeling uneasy, worrying about soggy bread, frozen fillings and ‘a funny taste’.

Her hack went viral after she shared it to a popular Facebook group – but she was soon forced to defend her parenting.

Aussie mum Elise admitted she meal preps 27 school sandwiches for her child (pictured)

‘Just to be clear; I don’t expect my child to eat soggy sandwiches. They defrost well overnight.

‘I also don’t expect my child to eat frozen sandwiches. They are defrosted the night before.’

The image showed the stacked sandwiches in plastic wrap ready to go in the freezer.

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In the comments Elise said the key to preventing the bread from turning soggy is to ‘use foods with a low water content’, meaning lettuce and cucumber should be avoided.

‘We add all those things on the morning of eating. Let the sandwich defrost overnight on bench and then add the salad that morning,’ she wrote.

Elise said she also lets her child choose the filling, and in the past she’s made sandwiches with corned beef, cold roast lamb, poached chicken, and cheese.

Hundreds of parents flocked to the comments, and some expressed concern about freezing deli meats.

‘I didn’t realise ham was safe to freeze and eat defrosted,’ one commented.

‘I’ve never frozen a sandwich, I just don’t think they will taste the same defrosted. Is the bread soggy or still taste fresh?’ another added.

While some were concerned, other parents said the hack ‘works well’ and their mum used to do the same when they were a child (stock image)

What sandwich fillings freeze well?

Common sandwich fillings that DO freeze well include:

Peanut butter and other nut butters
Canned tuna and salmon
Cooked roast beef, chicken and turkey (especially tasty when the meat is finely chopped and mixed with a “salad dressing,” to add flavor and moistness.)
Natural or processed hard and semi-hard cheeses, such as Swiss, Cheddar. NOTE: As frozen cheese may crumble more after thawing, you may be more satisfied with the result if you grate it before freezing it in sandwiches.

Common sandwich fillings that DO NOT freeze well include:

Hard-cooked egg whites (freezing toughens them).
Jelly or jam (soaks into bread and makes it soggy).
Tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, etc. become limp when thawed; they can be added to thawed sandwiches just before eating them.

Source: UNL Food

While some were concerned, other parents said the tip ‘works well’ and their parents used to do the same when they were a child.

‘My dad was a single father raising three children and worked full time – he always did this on a Sunday night for school lunches. We never complained, always tasted just fine,’ one woman wrote.

‘As a kid who ate defrosted sandwiches for school lunch, I always remember them tasting nice and fresh,’ another added.

A third woman said she too uses this time-saving tactic with her family, but ensures she always buys fresh bread.

‘I have about a three-week supply of sandwiches as I have three kids and a hubby as well. It works great … I make sure I go to the bakery and buy my bread fresh and do it on the day! No complaints here from anyone,’ she wrote.

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