10 top lunchbox ideas to ease into the school year
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If there's one constant even in the age of pandemic parenting it's lunchbox duty, every school day, for what feels like forevermore.
That means navigating allergies, catering to picky palates and packing in as much nutrition as one small plastic box will allow.
Few have conquered it (we see you bento masters), many struggle with it, some curse the day it ever began. So if it feels like you're lacking in inspiration, you're not alone.
Here are some quick ideas to help slide into the school term, whether your child is back in the classroom or learning from home.
Plan and prep
It might seem obvious but planning and prepping can help take the stress out of any family cooking. Meatballs and mini chicken schnitzels are simple options you can cook ahead and drop into a lunchbox at the last minute, as are savoury slices made with zucchini or carrot, or muffins or brownies with sneaky veg. Small baked lunch items are particularly suited to freezing, such as baby frittatas, pizza rolls, scrolls and sandwiches. Wrap, freeze and throw straight into the lunchbox each morning. They'll thaw just in time for recess and lunch, and act as their own ice brick.
Special days
Children love routines, and one way to cure weekday monotony is by coming up with a daily theme or treat. Our house has fallen into a pattern of muffin Mondays, teddy (biscuit) Tuesdays, sushi Thursdays and tuckshop Fridays (we're still working on Wednesdays, any bright ideas HMU). It helps to break up the week, and children love to contribute ideas.
Leftovers
Leftover roast meat, noodles, teriyaki chicken drumettes, spaghetti bolognese, poached chicken, steamed chat potatoes or grilled vegetables are easy ways to bulk out the lunchbox for a few days with little extra work if you make double-batches of dinner. They don't necessarily need to be served warm in an insulated container with heat pads, either. Pizza slices, meatballs, pasta with pesto and risotto are all brilliant served cold, and are easy ways to sneak in extra vegetables, too.
Think outside the sandwich
Sandwiches are perennially popular due to their simplicity but there are plenty of other options when the sanger fatigue inevitably sets in. Some creative ideas to try include sushi rolls or onigirazu (rice sandwich), soba noodles with vegies and a soy-based sauce or flatbread with mixed fillings. Fritters made from sweet potato and zucchini are another winner, as are croissants, omelettes, banh mi, small arancini served cold, savoury tofu and home-made sausage rolls. Or try making quesadilla-style toasties by frying flat bread and filling with cheese and your choice of beans, ham or mushroom slices.
Clever cuts
Why do apples taste better cut up? Who knows, but they do, and they're also easier for children to eat sans cutlery. Same often goes for anything fresh and crunchy – capsicum, cucumber and carrots. Cut up small sticks at the start of the week and refrigerate, then drop into a small plastic tub or silicone mould when you're packing each day's lunch. For oranges, cut the fruit into thin slices rather than wedges – they slide into a snap-lock silicone bag so much easier that way, and are easier for small mouths to chomp into.
Go the bento
Bento-style lunchboxes are a great way to mix things up and help squeeze more nutrition into your child's day rather than waiting for dinner time to serve up the veg. They don't have to be fancy and intricate either. Quick and easy ideas include: hard-boiled eggs, yoghurt, falafel or tofu cubes, tinned tuna, potato or bean salad, baked beans, hummus and lavosh, cold-cut meats, string cheese or cheddar cubes and pin-wheel sandwiches. Bite-size chicken balls with sneaky veg work well, as do most fruit and vegetables – qukes, cherry tomatoes, grapes, fruit salad, pineapple chunks, broccoli, snow peas, green beans, corn cobs, avo slices and mushrooms.
Mix it up
If you're bored of the food you're preparing, chances are the kids are bored eating it, so use the seasons to mix things up. Fresh berries for summer, warm pasta or fried rice for autumn, noodles or soup for winter. Celebrations such as Easter are always a good excuse to try traditional treats from around the world. And don't be afraid to try new flavours and products from different countries – surprise hits in our house have included seaweed snacks, pickles, edamame and black olive slices.
Close the kitchen
If your child is learning from home, one pro teacher tip is to try making lunch early and closing the kitchen after breakfast just like you would on any normal school day. It helps avoid disruptions throughout the day and means you won't be short-order cooking whenever small mouths start feeling peckish.
Not too bitsy
Time is at a premium during lunch, so if your child is the type who has their eyes on the play equipment, it probably pays not to go overboard with tiny snacks or anything too time-consuming and fiddly to eat. A few small nibbles on the side usually work well but if that big bag of popcorn keeps coming home uneaten, chances are your child would prefer something simpler that can be eaten in a few bites.
Consult the kids
Weekends are a great time to bake a few lunchbox snacks as a family, such as scrolls, biscuits, pikelets and savoury muffins. Or if everything else fails, just ask the kids for ideas they'd like to try or snacks they've spotted in the playground. Poach ideas at will (Instagram and Facebook groups are always good sources) or indulge in the odd supermarket treat if you need to. Special requests in our house have included waffles, corn chips and ramen. If your child isn't very adventurous yet and wants the same thing on repeat all year, there's no shame in keeping things quick and simple either.
