DIY Family Lunch Board

I don’t know about you, but on gorgeous late summer days I just CAN’T with making lunch. Especially when we’ve just returned from the farmers’ market and I’m jazzed about my purchases, all I want to do is toss some food on a plate and head outside pronto.

So do that! A DIY family lunch board somehow ends up making everyone happy and looking sort of pretty, too. Here’s how:

Grab a ginormous board.

My in-laws recently shared this massive Argentinian steak board with us and it’s perfect. A large-scale cheeseboard or cutting board would also be terrific.

Cover your food groups.

And by that I mean 1) fruit, 2) salumi, 3) cheese, and 4) carbs, OBVS. Extra bonus points for little dishes of jam, marcona almonds, olives, and pickled things. (Always having a jar of Thomas Keller’s pickled cauliflower on-hand is my goal in life.)

Kids vs. Grown-ups.

Even when my kids are desperate for fresh strawberries, if said berries get within six inches of some stinky Fourme D’Ambert, they won’t touch them. So just accept that your kids have crap taste in cheese (for now) and segregate their offerings accordingly.

Add some flair.

I know, you’re like, she’s got to be kidding me: mama has no time for this nonsense. But really, truly, it takes so little to make an everyday meal feel special. My kids DO notice, and eating in a beautiful setting brings me WAY more joy than just slinging PB&Js on plastic plates.

So toss some fresh flowers in a pitcher and serve everything atop a colorful tablecloth. (Free yourself from the anxiety of using up your beautifully ironed table linens by having a few that never get ironed so you DGAF about using them whenever.)

And is it just me or does this meal scream for a pitcher of iced tea or some chilled rosé? So do that. Now it feels just like summer should.

//