By Sarah Appleford
Packing a healthy lunchbox every day for your child can become an arduous task.
If you’re like many parents, you start the new school term brimming with enthusiasm and an Instagram-worthy lunchbox that ticks all the nutrition boxes. Then after a couple of weeks of cutting fruit into cute little shapes and coming up with creative alternatives to the standard sandwich, the whole process becomes a real effort.
Before you know it your hopes and dreams of a healthy lunchbox are out, and the calorie-dense pre-packaged snack monsters creep in.
We’ve all been there, so don’t give up hope. Here are some tips to help you get out of your healthy lunchbox rut and keep serving nutritionally balanced meals all year long.
Make use of weekends and holidays
School holidays and weekends are a great time to get in the kitchen and do a big cook up. Spend a couple of afternoons with your kids baking some of their lunchbox favourites that you can freeze for grab-n-go options in the morning.
Items like muesli bars, biscuits, fritters, zucchini slices and veggie muffins are all great recipe choices. You’ll not only have something nutritious to add to their lunchbox in the morning, but also offering your child variety so boredom won’t strike.
School holidays and weekends are a great time to get in the kitchen and do a big cook up. Spend a couple of afternoons with your kids baking some of their lunchbox favourites that you can freeze for grab-n-go options in the morning.
Utilise dinner leftovers
The previous night’s dinner leftovers are ideal for lunchboxes. Double the batch of your evening meal so you have plenty for the next day. Or you can reserve some of the meal such as rice, pasta or noodles for a salad base to add some fresh ingredients to in the morning.
If your child isn’t used to eating leftovers cold, try a thermos to keep it warm. You can also help them adjust by serving up cold leftovers after school or during the weekends.
