Here we go! It’s nearly back to school time. And that means the dreaded school lunches! As much as we want the ‘school lunch box fairy’ to come and sort out carrot sticks and muesli bars, she’s fairly busy at this time of year, so we’ve come to the rescue with our best lunchbox tips. You can thank us later.
Get your kids to help
Do you have “that” kid that loves his chopped fruit one day and hates it the next? Us too! So, get little Mr or Miss Fickle to choose what they want in their lunchbox (within reason of course!) One of the B2BK mums has a big container full of school snacks and each child chooses 3 items from it to go with their fruit and wrap. This minimises all the uneaten things coming home!
Prep the night before
This might be the ‘golden rule” of school lunch prep. It doesn’t matter how busy we are, school lunches are always packed the night before. There is nothing worse than realising at 8:15 in the morning that lunchboxes are empty.
Have a “bulk cook” day
Have one day a week dedicated to a big cook up. In one B2BK household this is Sunday arvo. Sandwiches are made and frozen. Containers of fruit are chopped up and stacked in the fridge. Ziploc bags are filled with carrot sticks. Biscuits and banana bread are baked. Then it’s just a matter of grab and go each school morning. Get your kids and other half in on the prep act too!
Have a “fun” lunchbox
We know we’re all a bit short on time and don’t always have the energy to cut out cute shapes into sandwiches or thread grapes onto skewers, but packing lunches can be a bit more fun when you have easy little compartments to pop food into! YumBox and Planetbox have the coolest lunchboxes and they last for YEARS.
Keep it healthy
Easier said than done. There will be times when you just have to grab what you can and be done with it. When you can though, we have a nice little formula for a healthy school lunch. Veggie + Fruit + Carb + Protein = Carrot, grapes, cheese and pasta…..done!
Lunchbox ideas; Here is our list of go-to lunchbox ideas! Hopefully this will keep us all going for the first few weeks!
Healthy sausage rolls. https://www.burleightobyronkids.com/burleigh-to-byron-eats/the-easiest-sausage-rolls-ever/
Tuna Rice Balls https://www.burleightobyronkids.com/recipes/tuna-rice-balls/
Cheesy Quesadillas https://www.burleightobyronkids.com/recipes/cheesy-quesadillas/
Green Pancakes https://www.burleightobyronkids.com/recipes/easy-green-pancakes/
Rice and tuna salad
Pita bread and hummus
Fruit salad kebabs
Pasta salad
Hard-boiled eggs (check allergies at your school)
Mini-Quiches
Homemade pizza
Sushi
Oat and Banana Muffins
Fried rice
Ham and Cheese Scrolls
Zucchini Slice
Chopped Fruit or Veg
