Lunch for HOW many?

So, how does one actually feed 6 kids daily?
Very cheaply? Ha ha.....actually, with a carefully laid out plan. NOT.

Seriously, I do usually plan to have sandwiches and some sort of side daily during the summer. During the school year one daughter packs her lunch since her school only offers hot lunch once a week and it must be purchased a month in advance (!) and 3 other kids buy hot lunch at school. Two others are home (4 and just-turned 1) and I feed them pretty much the same as during the summer.

Today, for instance, we had egg salad rolls (sesame sprinkled long rolls instead of the usual bread), leftover pasta salad, leftover sesame noodles and the old stand-by nacho chips (bet you can guess the brand all on your own!).

Yesterday was pb&j and chips.

Somedays the older girls (15 and 13) and I will have a garden salad and the pickier little ones eat sandwiches in varying forms; bologna and cheese, cheese, pb&j, lebanon bologna (if you aren't from PA you probably are clueless as to what that is), tuna salad, etc.

Dinners are far more varied. I have a list of 60 or so dinners that I know everyone will eat and I base my shopping list from that. I pick 7 dinners and go from there. Breakfast is almost always cereal, toast, or toaster pastries with the occasional waffle or pancake thrown in. On weekends I'll make "big" breakfasts with bacon, sausage, eggs etc.

If I'm in OAMC mode, there are muffins, English muffin sandwiches, pancakes and breakfast burritos available.

That is the basic anatomy of feeding a family of 8--at least here :)