Lunchbox lessons

A really bad thing happened in term four. The kids went to my parents for a school-night sleepover. What I was really looking forward to, more than the party I was going to, more than the minor sleep-in the next morning, was the fact that I'd get a day off the school lunches. My mum rang at 9.15am to report a successful drop-off. Except for one thing. A lunchbox remained on their kitchen bench. "Ah, that's OK, I'll run something down," I said, sinking into a dire mire of carrot sticks and crackers. So much for my break from this particular drudgery.

An Australian child needs about 2500 lunches to get them through 13 years of school. I'd rather not greet each day with dismay. So this year I'll be more organised, keep the lunches fun and healthy, and get my kids more involved in making their own. And it won't matter when they say the dread words ("I hate sandwiches") because they do like chicken lettuce cups, un-sandwiches (bread with the filling on the outside), sushi shapes and other stuff. It's all about making my mornings manageable and keeping their tummies sated and brains concentrated throughout the day.

Snacks include "ants on logs" (celery with cream cheese and currants), peeled carrots, cherry tomatoes and fruit. I'd love to add baby cucumbers because I think they're great but my children are staunchly opposed. I steer clear of packaged, processed snacks but I'm not opposed to treats. The kids might get a granola bar (recipe below), a biscuit or piece of cake, or a few squares of chocolate.

Chicken Lettuce Cups

This picnicky version of sang choy bau is healthy, crunchy and energising not to mention gluten-free. This quantity will last two children for approximately three days. The chicken makes great sandwich filling too.

2 chicken breasts

60g mayonnaise

1 stick celery, chopped into small dice

8 mint leaves, finely chopped

6 chives, finely chopped

1 tsp lemon zest

salt and pepper, to taste

cos lettuce leaves

1. Steam the chicken breasts until cooked through. A whole chicken breast takes about 15 minutes (poke it with a skewer to ensure juices run clear). Set chicken aside to cool. Finely chop once cool and mix gently with other ingredients.

2. Separate the lettuce leaves and send a few pristine scooped leaves to school, along with chicken filling in a container, a spoon and a cold pack.

Sushi Shapes

When I first saw rice shapes like this (but much fancier) it was on an aspirational Pinterest board that should have been called something like "I'm a better parent than you so nerr". "Ridiculous," I spat at my screen. Then I realised it's actually pretty easy to do. Rice molds and nori cutters are available from Japanese grocers but it's not that hard to form shapes by hand, or with cookie cutters, and nori can be snipped with scissors. Stuff the rice balls with a morsel of leftover meats, avocado, cooked or raw vegetables, or use more traditional onigiri fillings such as salted plum.

200g sushi rice

sushi vinegar (optional)

nori sheet

corn kernels, currants, carrot slivers to decorate, as desired

filling, such as avocado or cooked meat

1. Cook rice according to packet instructions, season with sushi vinegar if desired and allow to cool. When cold, shape rice with a small amount of filling. Commence decorating frenzy.

Rolled Omelets

I made these after a succession of rice paper roll lunchbox failures. Rice paper starts off looking great but it's delicate and the cavalry reported that they fell apart, ripped or stuck together by lunchtime. A thin one-egg omelet is a little sturdier and it's more nutritious. Other stuffing ideas include tofu, meat and cabbage. This quantity makes one; scale up to suit.

1 egg

½ tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 carrot stick

1 snow pea

handful rice noodles

1. Whisk the egg with the soy sauce. Heat the oil in a 20-centimetre non-stick pan over high heat until shimmery. Tip in the egg. Cook for five seconds before swirling egg to coat the pan. Cook until puffed and golden on underside before flipping to cook the second side. Again, cook to a deep golden before removing from pan to cool on a plate.

2. Cook rice noodles according to packet instructions. Blanch snow pea for one minute (I chuck it in with the noodles) then plunge into cool water. Cut snow pea lengthwise into two or three pieces. Place noodles, carrot and snow pea into omelet and roll up.

Un-sandwiches

1 sachet dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

300g lukewarm water

500g bread flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

100g grated cheese

100g chopped ham

This is a basic bread recipe so feel free to add seeds or use wholemeal flour, as preferred.

1. Stir yeast and sugar into the warm water and leave for a few minutes until it becomes frothy. Place the flour into a large bowl or mound it on a benchtop and make a well in the middle. Add the frothy yeast mixture, the salt and the oil. Bring ingredients together then knead for five to 10 minutes until glossy and elastic.

2. Leave in a warm place to rise for an hour or so. Punch down and shape as desired. Place on a baking tray covered with a damp tea towel and leave for 15 minutes to rise again.

3. Preheat oven to 200C.

4. Sprinkle shapes with water then cover with grated cheese and chopped ham. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown in appearance and responds with a hollow-sounding "tonk" when tapped.

Alternative toppings include chopped garlic, rosemary and olives.

Granola Bars

This easy wheat-free slice is full of good things and super tasty. Don't send it all to school with the kids.

100g butter, cubed

80g honey

90g brown sugar

80g pitted dates, chopped

200g rolled oats

20g poppyseeds

30gchia seeds (any colour)

½ tsp ground cinnamon

salt

1. Preheat oven to 140C.

2. Place the butter, honey and brown sugar in a small saucepan and melt, stirring often, until it forms a light, sticky caramel. Add the dates, rolled oats, poppyseeds, chia seeds, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and stir through until combined.

3. Line a 20 x 25 centimetre baking tray with baking paper and press in the mixture. It's sticky so I use another sheet of baking paper on top to get it more or less even.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. The slice will be soft when removed from the oven but will set as it cools. Slice into squares and store in an airtight container.

Jar Smoothies

Very cold, icy smoothies last until lunchtime but I tend to make these jar smoothies as an after school treat if we're heading off in the car to an activity. Makes around 600ml.

large handful ice

flesh of 1 mango

300ml milk

½ tsp vanilla paste

1 tbsp honey

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and frothy. Pour into a jar, securing lid to transport.

Advice from the front line

Lucas Townshend, 13, is in year 8 at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney and he's been making his own lunch since year 6. "I like the feeling of being independent," he says. "It's good to rely on myself to make my own food, and I don't have to get angry at mum because she put Vegemite on a sandwich and I don't like Vegemite."

Lucas's tips for a great school lunch

- Don't put tomato in sandwiches because it makes the bread soggy.

- If taking yoghurt in a plastic container, make sure the lids aren't bent and place them on firmly so the yoghurt doesn't spill in your bag.

- Squeeze lemon juice on cut apple to stop it going brown.

- Don't put your lunch under your books because it might get squished.

- If you wake up a bit earlier you can make things like toasties and salads. I make a pizza toastie with pizza sauce, cheese and ham and wrap it in foil so it stays a bit warm. Sometimes I make a quinoa salad with beans, lettuce, boiled egg that I cut into wedges, lemon juice and tuna.

- Other non-sandwich ideas are yoghurt and muesli, and a mix of tuna, celery and mayonnaise.

DON'T!

I polled a posse of primary school children on school lunch fails – things that went soggy and splatty were the biggest gripes.

"Cheese goes gross and slimy when mixed with tomato," says Buster, 11.

"I don't like squished tomatoes because they splat all over my lunch box," says Atticus, 9.

"Sandwiches get a bit boring, alfalfa sprouts are disgusting, ham gets warm and avocado goes gross," says Hazel, 11.

"Corn Thins go soggy if you put something on them so I take them plain and put stuff on at school," says Eva, 9.

"Avocado and lettuce go yukky and brown, and mayonnaise or tomato sauce go everywhere and they're not very nice when they get hot," says Daniel, 10.