Kids Lunch Boxes

[JoMarie]

Thanks everyone! I am going to try some of these.

[{sarah}]

With school starting back does anyone have any new ideas?

[Rouge]

Paris loves cold honey soy nibbles and pasta salad. Just be sure to use a cooler bag for those hot days. Will add more later!

[christy]

Matilda's a bad eater at the best of times, so we are trying to figure out the best things for her.

Sandwich wise, the only thing she will eat is a vegemite sandwich, so thats about all she will eat.

Snack wise:
carrot sticks & celery sticks
plain rice crackers
hummous
dried noodles - (she loves these!)
Apple
plain pasta
rice wheels - once in a while
vege muffins
vege pikelets
fruit straps- the all fruit ones
sultanas

I try to do 2 snacks and a sandwich. She has afternoon tea at home so I hope it gets her through the day.

[PlonkeeMumma]

This thread is such a massive help - am sat here with my pen and paper wiritng it all down - thanks!

Julie x

[Rouge]

Updating some Lunch box ideas...

If sandwiches bore your children what do you do for variety... I thought we could all help each other give our kids a more healthy and fun lunchbox (be it for school or kinder). I LOVE bento lunch boxes...

Here are some suggestions:

Dried Fruit
Crackers
Baby Cheeses or cubes or sticks (but definitely mix it up... Would you like the same thing day in day out!)
Yoghurt (frozen, or tubes or tubs)
Frozen Fruit
Pureed Fruit (can be home made with added spices for flavour)
Fruit Salad (A way to keep fruit salad fresh is to chop up some fresh fruit and add some frozen fruit (berries) to the mix and by lunchtime it will be defrosted, especially good in summer.
Dips (DD loves celery and blue cheese dip or ranch dressing or french onion dip)
Fruit Kebobs or Ham Cheese & Cherry tom Kebobs
Mini Quiches
Frittata
Soup
Sushi sandwich rolls
Rice Pudding
Pasta Salad
Pizza Wheels
Vegemite Scrolls
Tuna Patties
Home made Cookies
Home Made Muffins
Honey Soy Chicken Nibbles
Vegetable Patties
Banana Muffins
Carrot Muffins
Slices
Homemade Muesli Bars
Gingerbread Men
Home made Pizza Rolls
Home made Cheese & Bacon Rolls
Cheese & Onion Tarts
Cheese & Ham Foldovers (with Puff or Filo Pastry)
Hommus
Sweet & Savoury Pikelets
Spreadable Tuna & Crackers
Toasted Fruit Bread (Banana etc) or Zuchinni Bread With a side of cream cheese
Mini Meatballs with Salsa or Tomato Jam


A lot of this stuff can be made on the weekends and frozen in portions to be lifted out the night before and put into the fridge.

[_JeSs_]

this has been a great help! ive been here with a pen and paper too lol

[Tanya]

I was talking to some mums at kindamusik and we were discussing making lunches the day before etc. One of the mums made ham and cheese sangas and put them in the freezer. Another made up a few dozen muffins and froze them. The DD would get one out each morning and they would last almost a term.

Do you give your kids salad sangas? I am scared to in case they go soggy.

What are your tips and tricks?

[Visitor7]

Well I don't have school aged children, yet, but I know with DH, if I was to give him a salad sandwich for work, the yes, I make it up the night before. I don't put beetroot or tomato on the sandwich as that makes in soggy. If he wants either of those things, I will wrap it up individually and he'll put it on at lunch time. Freezing muffins is a great idea.

[Tinks]

I give my kids some bread and a container of salad so they can make them up when it's lunch time. My ssiter freezes a weeks worth of sandwiches at a time. I also buy doughnuts and wrap them individually then freeze them for lunches. I cut up cakes and do the same thing. It actually deters teh kids from eating all the cake before they make it to their lunch boxes lol.

[Tanya]

That's it Tink..... As soon as I buy a pack of bickies or make cakes, they are gone. I have put some banana muffins in the freezer and they have been there for a week so far. They are also good when going to the park... I love that idea and I think I will be doing it for a while!

[Laranna]

Those who freeze, what do you wrap it up in? Do you just use glad wrap or put it in an airtight container?

[Tanya]

The muffins that I cooked are in an ATC....

[Tinks]

Those who freeze, what do you wrap it up in? Do you just use glad wrap or put it in an airtight container?

I either wrap in Glad Wrap or put them in snap lock bags depending on my mood.

[Rouge]

Hey Tanya there's a few threads on this... I'll try and find them!

[Tinks]

I forgot, my kids LOVE frozen oranges in summer. I cut them into quaters, put them back together then wrap them in foil and freeze them overnight. I put them in their lunchboxes frozen, by recess they're not quite frozen and not quite defrosted and htey help keep their lunchbox cool.

[Tanya]

Thanx C....

Oh, I like that one Tinks....

xx

[danniellabella]

My 21 month old DD goes to family day care so I have to provide everything. She usually has 2 serves of fruit (either an apple or banana, plus some grapes, or strawberries, or a small tub of fruit salad). A jam or vegemite/vegemite & cheese sandwich. Some sweet or savoury biscuits, and sometimes a small bowl of left over dinner if we've had pasta or casserole.

If I've baked, then she'll have a savoury muffin and/or some banana bread. Sounds like a lot, but she eats it everything, although sometimes leaves the biscuits, but I don't mind if they are left.