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This Mom Created A Freezer-Friendly Sandwich Invention For Busy Parents

by Gillian Walters

The school year can be one of the busiest times for parents, all the way from car pool to nights spent helping out with homework. And since many families struggle to schedule in meal prep during these hectic times, there's a good chance this mom's freezer-friendly sandwich invention will come as a lifesaver for those who are always on-the-go.

Heather Stouffer, mom-of-two and founder of Mom Made Foods, got the idea to create her genius invention — a little something called the Lunchwich — when she was having difficulty balancing her career and family time, as GoodMorningAmerica.com reported. Stouffer prioritized healthy eating, but she didn't want to lose time with her kids after a long day at work just so she could make those nutritious meals a reality.

"It wasn't until I was working and had my first child and realized, gosh, this is really hard, making mealtime healthy — three meals, 365 days," Stouffer told GMA.com. "I was coming home to a child who wanted dinner immediately, and since I hadn't seen him all day, the last thing I wanted to do was cook in the kitchen and not be with him."

Yep, no parent should have to make a choice between quality bonding and healthy food for their kids.

Stouffer, fed up with this dilemma, decided to solve her problem with Mom Made Foods, a company she founded in 2006. The business' tagline, "we take the meals your kids love and make them healthier," sums up Stouffer's in a nutshell, and the nutrition-focused effort already sells frozen meals and snacks for kids.

Now that Stouffer has made a dent in the market, she wants to take things a bit further with the Lunchwich, an "already-made, frozen sandwich that thaws just in time to eat." The product comes in four different crustless options, according to the company's Kickstarter page:

  • PB Grape
  • Cheddar
  • Cheddar Mozzarella
  • Cheddar Turkey

Furthermore, the sandwiches boasts unbleached flour, whole wheat bread, peanut-free options, and no artificial additives or colors. It's a win-win all around.

Of course, there might be some parents out there who don't buy the idea of already-made frozen sandwiches because they're not that time-consuming to make. Some people might ask, "is this product really necessary?"

Although each person is entitled to their own opinion, Stouffer explained to GMA.com that her Lunchwich isn't about the easiness of putting together a sandwich — it's about freeing up your time.

"It can be in a school lunchbox, [or] mom throws it in her purse when she takes the kids to the pool," she said. "We are not saying making sandwiches is difficult. There are many moments as a parent when you need something really quick and so to have these in the freezer makes life easier, whatever that moment is."

This philosophy reminds me Steve Jobs and the concept of "decision fatigue." Jobs famously wore a black turtleneck and blue jeans every day to free up space in his brain for other decisions. Sure, it doesn't necessarily take too long to pick out an outfit, but do you really want to waste those precious five or 10 minutes doing so when you have 8 billion other things to get done?

This concept applies to busy parents, who tend to look for any spare seconds or minutes they might have to spend with their kids or run errands, to name a few examples.

If you're on board with Stouffer's Lunchwich, it will be available online and in some stores come August 2019, according to GMA.com Happy lunching.