Making the perfect lunchbox
The perfect lunch box! Does such a thing exist? Of course it does!
The perfect lunchbox is the one that any parent puts together to send with their child to school or kinder. It doesn’t have to be packed full of homemade, raw, organic treats that you have spent the whole weekend trying to prepare even though you hate cooking. All the perfect lunchbox needs to be is food that nourishes your child’s body, provides their brain with enough glucose to concentrate, and adequate fuel to get them through the day.
Lunchbox for Mark when he was in kinder/prep
Yes, I love cooking, and I love baking, and we always have several home made options on offer at any given time, but I appreciate that not everyone is lucky enough to have the time to prepare such foods, nor do most people enjoy it as much as I do. Plenty of families have 2 working parents, leaving time for dinner and lunch preparation and not a lot else, so I am not suggesting that you spend every spare second in the kitchen, but if you do have a spare half an hour, start by making a batch of pikelets or muffins. These all freeze exceptionally well and if you make a double batch, you’ll have a good supply that will last a good 1-2 weeks. If you’re choosing to make some of my muffins or pikelets, choose the ones with berries rather than grated apple or carrot as they are less time consuming.
What do kids really need at school?
A morning tea for most kids should consist of some form of fruit or vegetable. Whether that’s a whole piece of fruit, cut up fruit or even a fruit cup (in natural juice, not syrup), it doesn’t matter. If your kids like veggie sticks by themselves, it’s a great way to get some extra veggies into them.
Next, a source of protein to help to keep them going until lunchtime. This can be some hummus, or other, dip, with some wholegrain crackers, some yoghurt, cheese, hard-boiled eggs or some roasted chickpeas or fava beans. You can roast your own, or the supermarkets and whole food shops sell them – my kids LOVE them! If your child is at high school, and nuts are allowed, nuts are also a great option. A home baked pikelet, muffin, muesli bar, bliss ball or slice is a great option here as well.
If baking isn’t you’re thing and you’re looking for store-bought options, things like popcorn, pretzels, oat-based muesli bars, vitaweat or ryvita crackers, bliss/protein balls and rice cakes are all nourishing options.
Lemon and Raspberry Muffins
What should lunch consist of?
Lunch should consist of 3 main things: Carbohydrates, Protein and Vegetables.
A ham, cheese and tomato or cheese and vegemite sandwich on wholegrain bread is a perfectly nutritious option for a quick throw together sandwich. Add in a container of veggie sticks for some extra micronutrients and fibre to help to round out the lunch. If you have a bit more time to prepare and freeze some lunch options, things like fritters, zucchini slice, savoury muffins or sushi are excellent options. If you have some time to prepare lunch fresh, a protein and salad sandwich or wrap is a great option. As long as there is some form of protein (meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese or bean/legume), carbohydrate (bread, rice, pasta, other wholegrain or potato) and some vegetables, your child will be set!
Zucchini Slice
Most (primary) schools don’t like nuts being brought to school, which is quite disappointing as so many awesome snack recipes have nuts. However, if I had a child with an anaphylactic reaction to nuts, I would be pleased that such policies exist. As a result of this, I have been trying to adapt some of my nut filled snacks, such as muesli bars and bliss balls, so that they use seeds in place of the nuts. For the most part, they work quite well without the nuts. I will just have to save these nut filled snacks for afternoon tea.
If you’ve made it through this first week or so of school and have been scrounging the back of the pantry for things to fill lunchboxes, then set aside some time this weekend to do some lunchbox preparation. Make a batch of zucchini slice and fritters and pop them in the freezer and lunches will be sorted for the week! Add to this a batch of muffins or nut free muesli bars and snacks are sorted too. All you’ll need to do of a morning is grab some of each of these and a piece of fruit and/or some veggies and you’re set for next week, or longer.
Hope this provides some inspiration xx