How to pack a healthy nutritious lunch for school
It’s time to dust off those lunch boxes and send your little one off to school. Being a working parent can be tough. You’re trying to do everything you can for your children not least packing them a nutritious and appealing lunch to take every day. Well, don’t worry – feeding your children wholesome food doesn’t have to be as difficult as it sounds. Here are three of our very favourite healthy lunch box ideas for you to try at home.
1. Raw nuts
Nuts are very healthy and tasty too. Recommended by dieticians for their blend of protein and healthy fats these are great for stashing in your kids’ lunch boxes. Best of all they take no time at all, literally just pick up a bag from the supermarket and then divide into small containers. Around 8-10 per portion is a good guide. Nuts are also great because there are so many types for your little ones to choose from so they are bound to find at least one type they like. Check with your school first to ensure they are not nut free.
2. Vegetables sticks with dips
Lots of kids aren’t particularly into vegetables, but they really are a superfood so it’s important to get them into your child’s diet somehow. There are lots of different ways to try this – offering them an array of different veg to see which they like, cooking them in interesting ways, adding healthy dips and sauces. Mixing a variety of vegetables will make perfect healthy lunch box ideas. For lunch why not try a pot of cucumber and carrot sticks with a portion of hummus or drizzled with some olive oil and vinegar.
3. Wholegrain desserts
No kid wants to go without something sweet in their lunchbox, but no parents want to fuel their children with masses of sugar. It can be a tricky one; however, there are ways to combine a delicious sweet treat with healthy ingredients too. Why not make your own wholegrain, fruit-based muffins? These are much quicker to do than they sound, simply combine 200g wholegrain flour, 2 ripe bananas, a handful of dried fruit, two eggs and a teaspoon of baking powder in a bowl. Mix thoroughly then divide into individual cases (the recipe should make 12) and bake for 15 minutes on 180 degrees Celsius or until cooked right through. This recipe can be adapted to include whatever fruit you have to hand. You can play around with it too by adding a few dark chocolate chips, a handful of oats or a bit of cinnamon.
Those are our three top lunch box ideas. Remember this is always going to be a process of trial and error so keep a note of things your children eat and don’t eat and adapt your school lunch plans accordingly. In no time you’ll find some tried and tested ideas that will keep your kids full and healthy while they learn.
