We've all been there... You've made the dinner, cleared up afterwards, put the children to bed and are ready to crash on the sofa with your favourite box set and a cuppa. Then you remember the packed lunches. While it's easy to get stuck in a rut with lunches, a little effort will ensure your child has a balanced, nutritional meal to energise them, keep nasty bugs at bay and help them stay focused in the classroom.
Cutting back on sugar and salt is key - there are plenty of healthy alternatives for chocolate bars and crisps (thankfully banned at my daughter Valentina’s school) and a new school year is the best time to introduce good habits. Don't be conned by cereal or fruit bars which are mostly sugar laden... Fresh fruit and home made granola bars are the way to go (nut free of course for school).
When I was a child I ate at the school canteen, but all my friends who had a packed lunch had the exact same thing for packed lunch every.single.day. Everyone did! I can still remember my chum Judy was considered quite cosmopolitan (before we knew what that word meant) with her salami in half n’ half bread, while most others had ham or cheese sandwiches in floppy white bread with thick, cold butter, a packet of crips and a club biscuit, rammed into a tupperware box that had seen better days and was impossible to open. There might even have been a piece of fruit on a good day!
Valentina is also quite same-y in her daily choices too to be fair, and I try to introduce healthy options gently. For the past three years we’ve stuck loosely to the following formula of some bread (wrap-brioche-rolls-sliced bread etc, her moods and preferences change every so often), plus a yoghurt or two, plus some carrot sticks and/or fresh fruit (which she sometimes mixes with the yoghurt), plus a packet of Snack a Jack rice cakes and an Innocent Smoothie. It’s not perfect, and could do with improvement of course, but it works for us.
In my experience, the best way to encourage children to eat more healthily is to involve them in the entire process. From coming up with healthy lunch ideas to writing a shopping list, going to the greengrocers and (on a good day!) helping to prep the food. Depending on their age, this could mean counting out grapes, putting a cube or two of cheese into the lunch box, buttering bread or filling a water bottle.
When we take this approach, my daughter feels like the healthy food choices are fun and, most importantly - hers - much more effective than the must eat your [overcooked] greens approach of my own childhood!
Preparation is key. You don't need different things 5 days a week; 2-3 alternatives is plenty. Make it in advance, double up the prep and put half in the fridge or freezer. Some mums I know make a batch of sandwiches for the week and freeze them. Whatever works for you, do that.
Top Tips
Keep them full all day - base your lunch recipes on foods like bread, rice, potatoes and pasta (wholegrain where poss).
Mix & Match - try making a sandwich from one slice of white bread and one slice of wholemeal/brown bread.
DIY - get kids to help prep wraps and pots of fillings and dipping foods as a change from sandwiches.
Add veg on the side - cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, cucumber, celery and peppers all count towards their 5 A DAY. A small pot of hummus or cream cheese may encourage eating these.
Cut down on crisps - avoid giving crisps daily... we use rice cakes instead, but you could also try plain popcorn too.
Bite sized fruit - Prepped fruit more appealing to young children than a whole piece of fruit. Fill a box with chopped apple, satsuma segments, strawberries, blueberries, grapes or melon slices, add a squeeze of lemon juice to stop it from going brown and pop some in a snack box for your child each day. Valentina will only take strawberries and mango in her lunchbox, although she will eat apples and oranges at home, so I find fruit a tough one, even though it should be easy and this is why I insist on her smoothie every day as well as water, so she gets some fruit energy and fibre.
We also have yoghurt every day and it works well as Valentina doesn’t take cereal with milk in the morning, so I am conscious of her calcium levels.
RECIPE IDEAS*
*Honest admission here, I don’t know how many of these Valentina will actually eat, but I am going to try my damnedest to encourage it this year! Because isn’t September the new January and therefore shouldn’t we have resolutions for autumn? Any and all tips welcome!
Turkey Sandwich Kebabs
Who says a sandwich has to be on a slice of bread?
Add a selection of veg and protein to wooden skewers. In this case, turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, pickle, cheese cubes and olives. Replace with foods that your child enjoys eg ham/chicken/smoked salmon/tofu.
Lunchbox Pasta Salad
Make a sauce with 1 tbsp mayo, 2tbsp greek yoghurt, 1/2 lemon juiced and a dash of sweet chilli sauce, sun dried tomato paste or salsa. Add mixed veg such as peas, green beans and cherry tomatoes to fillings of your choice - eg cooked chicken, ham, prawns or cheese.
Rainbow Hummus Wraps
Spread wholegrain wraps with hummus and add veggie sticks of your choice - peppers, carrots, shredded purple cabbage, spinach. Add in chicken, prawns or cheese or whatever you fancy - colour is key... eating the rainbow ensures a range of nutrients and looks appetising!
Taco Salad
There's something about eating out of a wide mouthed mason jar that magically makes healthy contents more appealing, probably best for slightly older children, for obvious reasons! Layer ingredients of your choice in the jar - in this case: salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, corn, meat/fish/protein of choice, cheese and tortilla pieces for crunch. Refrigerate and eat straight from the jar with a fork ... avoid filling to the brim to avoid spillage.
**Some schools are better than others at considering other children in class who may have a severe allergy (anaphylaxis) to one or more foods such as nuts, kiwi, eggs etc; so we’d advise informing yourself and respecting the health of the kids around yours by not putting them at risk and by teaching your kids to do the same. It’s impossible to avoid all allergy-linked foods, so a well informed school (and parents) help to avoid risks.