Kids’ lunchboxes – they’re hard to think ideas up for, and it can be easy to end up in a bit of a rut, especially when you’re busy and you just don’t have the time to sit down and think up new ideas. So here we are with a few easy, healthy ideas that might get the inspiration going!
Children starting solids
For our youngest ones, lunch isn’t drastically different from any other solid meals they might have, so this is the shortest part of this blog today. Cooked, puréed meat, fruits and vegetables, often mixed with expressed breastmilk, are common choices. We even have four different recipes right here that were created by nutritionists – Red Lentil & White Bean Stew, ABC Oatmeal, Purple Pudding, and Green Kiwifruit Purée. Each of these has nutritional information at the bottom of the recipe, including recommended ages for them to be introduced, to help you decide whether that recipe is right for your child.
Older children
Mini Veggie Wraps
This one is fairly easy, both to make and to eat! Rather than the traditional sandwich made out of bread and spread, grab yourself a small tortilla. Spread some hummus (or similar), then add your fillings. Thinly sliced cucumber, grated carrot, capsicum slices, avocado, baby spinach, sprouts, beetroot – all of these are popular choices, and can be mixed up in different combinations. Other vegetable ideas can include edamame, tomato, corn, or radish – you’ll know best what your child is able to cope with, especially for things like edamame, which may be a choking hazard for younger children. If your child prefers a bit of a bite, a sprinkling of pepper (or whichever flavour you like) can cap things off wonderfully!
Fruit Skewers
More of a dessert, and definitely aimed at older children as certain fruits can (again) be a potential choking hazard for little ones, fruit skewers are nevertheless a hugely popular choice. Wooden skewers can often be picked up inexpensively, and almost any fruit can be suitable for popping on. Halve some grapes, chop up strawberries or oranges, or try some pineapple chunks. Mandarins are another easy fruit to have in these, as the segments are just the right size and easy to prepare! Kiwifruit helps add a splash of colour as well, and best of all, fruit skewers can be adapted to use only seasonal fruit, keeping things (relatively) cheap. To make things even more fun, include a container of yoghurt to dip the fruit into. The perfect Haakaa item that will let you do this is the Stainless Steel Lunchbox with its included snack containers. Not only does it give you the option to have things like a yoghurt dip with your skewers, but it is incredibly sturdy and will keep whatever you choose to pack in there nice and safe. There’s one larger 150ml snack container and two smaller 40ml sauce containers to go with it. How handy is that?
Cheese & Cracker Snacks
It’s really easy to grab prepackaged cheese & cracker snacks off the supermarket shelf – but often, they are more than just plain cheese and crackers, with a possible range of extra ingredients and preservatives on top of being pricey. There’s no reason you can’t make your own version, though! Grab your favourite crackers, the cheese you like best and that will work for this type of morning tea snack, and maybe even a sliced vegetable or two to include, and you’ve got your own version ready to go. Even better, it means you have much more control over what ingredients are in your child’s lunchbox.
Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is amazing, and as with everything else we’ve listed here, is something that is able to be very easily customised to be just the way you like it. Cook up however much pasta you need, add in your preferred diced salad vegetables (cucumber, tomato, peas, corn, and olives are common ingredients), and maybe even a little ham or salami. Mix through the sauce of your choice (and here, the possibilities are almost endless), and you’ve got a good-to-go pasta salad! The Haakaa Silicone Leakproof 2 Compartment Food Container is an excellent choice to put your child’s pasta salad into before you head out – being two compartments, it means you only need to use half the container for the salad and can use the other half for whatever other snacks you want to take!
Homemade Scroggin
Another one that’s more for the older kids, scroggin (depending on how you make it) is nutritious and packed full of energy – great for if it’s going to be an active kind of day. And it’s incredibly easy to make your own version of! Combine whichever nuts, seeds, and dried fruit you choose, and, for a treat, add a few dark chocolate or carob chips! Easy to make, easy to eat, and super tasty – this one is a great option.
This is just a very small list of lunchbox ideas, and different choices will be more appropriate for different kids, depending on their ages. Choking hazards do need to be considered when deciding what to make your little ones, but by using these ideas as a starting point, you might be able to pack food each day that your children will just love.