20 Lunchbox Ideas Your Kids Will Love!
Lunchbox Ideas for kids:
My Bean recently changed schools and I now need to pack a lunch box for him. This task has been more daunting than I anticipated as Bean is not the biggest bread fan (#facepalm), I do not want to spend a fortune on ready made lunches and, most importantly, the food needs to be healthy, nutritious and tasty...
There is nothing like a good challenge to get the creative lunchbox juices flowing though so here is my first lunchbox:
Cut grapes
Yoghurt
Mini cucumber slices
Sweet potato and cheese muffin (this is a Jamie Oliver Superfood recipe...I baked the muffins over the weekend and froze them. When I want to give one to Bean for his lunchbox, I simply take one out of the freezer the night before and it is defrosted and ready to be eaten by the morning)
Muesli biscuit (refined sugar free and made with whole-wheat flour)
2. Lunchbox idea number 2- bananarama
I had some really ripe bananas last week and decided to bake a banana bread (truth be told, I ‘forgot’ to eat the fresh bananas in time so that I could have an excuse to bake banana bread - this super-moist treat, slathered with thick butter is my absolute favourite)...
I adapted a Nigella Lawson recipe by reducing the amount of sugar (I generally find that most recipes use too much sugar) and upping the raisins. If anyone is interested in the recipe, I can DM it!
For Bean’s lunchbox I froze some slices to be thawed when needed. .
Lunchbox ingredients:
Banana bread
Cheese
Droe Wors
Fruit Salad
Unsweetened apple purée with plain full cream yoghurt .
3. Lunchbox idea number 3- eggcellent eggs
It’s been a busy weekend (this time of year is just crazy, right?) and my gran is really sick which means that I was a little emotional and a little too lazy to bake / make anything late last night, so, today Bean got a quick and easy snack box: .
• a happy, smiley boiled egg (we eat a lot of eggs in our household as they are healthy and easy to prepare and so I always have a couple of boiled eggs in the fridge)
• a mini chicken pie (we had some family over for afternoon tea and this was leftover)
• Kiri cream cheese (because these are simply the best) @kiri_southafrica • Strawberry full cream yoghurt
• Popcorn (another staple snack in our household)
• Apple (I dare not cut apples anymore as Bean insists on eating them whole - who am I to complain about less prep work though :))
4. Lunchbox Idea 3- ideal for Spiderman fans!
In an attempt to persuade Bean to eat some bread for lunch every now and then, I made these little sandwich spiders...and...he ate all the legs and most of the bodies! Success :) .
I used brown bread, spread some cream cheese on both sides (to prevent soggy bread), added thin slices of cucumber and flattened the sandwich slightly using my hand before cutting out round shapes using a cookie cutter. Pretzel sticks, broken into semi-equal lengths, served as the spider legs...
Additionally I packed some fruit salad, droe wors and dried fruit.
5. Lunchbox Idea 5- chickpea
Chickpeas is my new favourite food to feed the kids as it is high in fibre, protein and it contains iron, calcium, magnesium and folate! Besides that, in German these little nuggets of goodness are called ‘Kichererbsen’ which directly translated means ‘giggling peas’..cute right? What’s not to love?
My latest challenge has therefore been to incorporate chickpeas (or chickpea flour) into their meals without the kids realizing! I have made treats like chickpea fudge, chickpea pancakes and this week I made hummus with some orange and lemon juice for added vitamin C! Yum!
In Bean’s #lunchbox I added:
Homemade Hummus
Carrot and cucumber sticks
Droe wors
Cheese
Crackers
Fresh strawberries
Date, coconut and cocoa energy ball (refined sugar free) all perfectly packaged in our brand new CRUNCHBOX lunchbox (p.s. have I mentioned enough how much I love this new lunchbox?!?! It’s on special at the moment for only R299.00).
Bean loves dipping things so it was a winner
6. Lunchbox idea 6 - for St Nicholas Day
Yesterday we celebrated Nikolaustag (St Nicholas Day) and it’s one of my favourite parts of the German Christmas tradition: children leave a plate or a boot out before they go to bed and Nikolaus then brings treats during the night. I therefore simply had to pack a festive treat into Bean‘s lunchbox and I decided on Christmas hat fruit skewers :)
The grape is the head, then comes a thin marshmallow slice (not my usual healthy treat, I know, but what is Christmas without a little naughty treat? Everything in moderation, right :)). Then, I pierced a strawberry onto the skewer to act as the hat and topped it with a round marshmallow ‚toggle‘. .
Additionally I added a deconstructed ham and cheese sandwich for my bread averse pre-schooler, made up of cream crackers, slices of ham, slices of cheese and slices of cucumber and mini corn. .
The lunchbox was made complete with some yoghurt, because, well, every kid loves yoghurt.
7. Lunchbox Idea 7 - a "french" start
The school year officially started for us yesterday and although my Bean now has to be at pre-school a lot earlier than last year, I decided to take the time to make him a special ‚first day‘ lunch box...
On the menu:
• french toast roll ups (cut the crust off a slice of bread, spread on some cream cheese, top with thinly sliced strawberries and roll up the bread. Next, dip the roll into an egg mixture of egg, cinnamon and milk (add in some banana for extra flavour) and fry in butter until cooked through and golden brown. )
• pretzel thins from @woolworths_sa • grapes and pineapple • biltong • dark chocolate drizzled date and oat slice (made extra healthy by adding some chia seeds and pumpkin seeds) .
What do you add to your kids‘ lunchboxes on special days?
8. Lunchbox Ideas - Oat bar
Like many (most) moms, I don’t always have the time to bake healthy treats for my Bean, so I have been buying various off-the -shelf treats. This week, we tried the @happyfamilyorganics Banana & Chocolate Fruit + Oat bar. These snack bars are made with organic fruit, they are preservative and gluten free and they are non-GMO. In short, a guilt-free treat for the kids to complete a healthy lunch!
This week’s #lunchbox also included:
• fresh mango
• yoghurt
• cracker bread
• cheese • mini meatball and baby tomato skewers (note: rather pack the meatballs and sliced tomatoes in loose for small kids)
9. Lunchbox Idea 9 - smooth sailing
My sweet potato loving pre-schooler has suddenly decided he does not like sweet potato (and it’s so good for you!)...BUT dress up the sweet potato wedges as sail boats with sails made out of cheese and all is right with the world 😄
Also in today‘s lunchbox:
• oven-baked apple wedges (makes them so soft and sweet)
• pork sausages • chai-spiced apricot energy ball • date, cacao and coconut energy ball
• dried mango pieces .
10. Lunchbox Idea 10 - "donut" let this one slide
Don’t these little apple donuts look yum (and cute)? And they are so easy (and healthy)! Simply core the centre of the apple, slice it into rounds and soak the rounds in a bit of lemon water (to prevent browning). Then simply spread any topping you like and add some sprinkles! I used Macadamia nut butter and cream cheese mixed with some honey. If you mix some cacao and honey in with the nut butter, you even have your own healthy chocolate spread (@wholefamilysa has a great recipe for this)
Also in today‘s #lunchbox:
• date and puffed rice slice • hot cross bun (with butter) • carrot slices • pretzels
I also packed in some sliced grapes and yoghurt for his morning snack!
11. Lunchbox Idea 11 -Finding Nemo
I recently introduced my 3-year-old Bean to the wonder of Nemo. Add to that my 1-year-old’s habit of making a fish noise whenever he hears a dog barking (or any other animal sound for that matter) and you will understand why I decided to make little sandwich fishes :)
To make the fish shaped sandwiches I simply used an egg shaped cookie cutter to cut out the sandwich, then added various pretzels as the fins and tails and inserted raisins as eyes...my bread-averse pre-schooler ate it all!
Also in the lunchbox, I added a date and an apricot energy ball, some biltong, strawberries and a paw patrol yoghurt. .
12. Lunchbox idea 12 - apple muffin
Kids and pasta are just a winning combination! Bean will even eat it plain, without any sauce, so today I simply used some leftover pasta from last night, added some ham, cheese, cucumber and carrot and mixed it all together with a mayo and yoghurt dressing. Pasta salad for the win :)
Also in today’s lunchbox:
Apple muffin (refined sugar free), dried fruit and pretzels. .
Happy Tuesday all!
13. Lunchbox Idea 13 - Squish
We had a Sunday morning pancake tradition in our house growing up (which we LOVED) and so I decided to start the same with our kids (maybe not every Sunday, it’s a lot of work) and Bean devoured his share. I made extra (as they freeze really well) to put into his lunchbox and this week I spread some peanut butter on the pancake and rolled up a banana in it. .
@rhodes_squish recently launched their jelly range (gelatine, preservative, flavoring and colourants free) and they sent us some to try...lucky us as Bean wants one in his lunchbox now everyday! So tasty (even I like it).
I also added one of their new fruit and yoghurt mix pouches because my almost 4-year-old insists he will never be too old for his Squish!
Salami sticks, cucumber and another pancake with cream cheese completed today‘s lunchbox.
14. Lunchbox Ideas - fake bake
It’s been a while since we have done one of these posts but, to be honest, I have been feeling less than inspired when it comes to food lately...nevertheless I, and by that I mean my large appetite, is back! .
I have been shopping at a new flagship @checkers_sa near our home and they have this yum yum yum range of frozen treats! So, this morning I popped some frozen croissants (formed dough) into the oven and within a few minutes, not only did the house smell like a bakery, we all received freshly baked croissants for our lunchboxes! So much of deliciousness!
Also, in Bean’s lunchbox today:
cheese, gherkins, salami sticks, a banana bandit and home made chickpea fudge (yes, that is a thing and yes, it is simply fabulous and healthy!
15. Lunchbox Idea 15 - hop along
It’s the week before Easter so this week‘s lunchbox is, of course Easter themed :)
Today, I made a rabbit (featuring raisin eyes, licorice whiskers, dried apricot ears and a jelly sweet nose) and egg-shaped sandwiches (with sprinkles), raisin and popcorn filled plastic eggs, yoghurt raisins (which look like eggs), strawberries, a cheese and pretzel thins!
16. Lunchbox idea 16- soup sip and salami
It’s a cold and rainy day here in Jo’burg, so today my Bean is getting some soup for lunch (they have a microwave). It’s a super-charged pea soup (with spinach, carrot, baby marrow and green pepper) which my veggie-averse 4-year-old actually likes! .
Also in today’s lunchbox:
Buttered toast fingers, popcorn, grapes, salami sticks, dried apricots and almonds
17. Lunchbox Idea 17 - quick quiche
I was going to make some tuna fishcakes last night but ended up deciding on mini quiches instead (less oil and mess), which are made using some chickpea flour (hooray for added protein and fiber), grated baby marrow, cheese, eggs, milk and tuna. Beanie Bean liked them so much, I packed one into his lunchbox (they freeze really well so I made extra).
Also in the lunchbox:
• star-shaped cream cheese sandwich • cheese wheel
• mini salami sticks • strawberries • broccoli (for some reason, my generally vegetable-averse pre-schooler LOVES eating ‚trees‘ I am just going with it and cashing in on those extra nutrients while I don’t have to somehow hide them)
18. Lunchbox idea 18- facinating flapjacks
Home made flapjacks are definitely amongst my favorite comfort foods and these fluffy pieces of heaven were made with blueberries, banana, pear and dark chocolate. .
Simply add your batter to the pan and add your topping of choice to the wet side of the flapjack. Flip over once the bottom part is browned and ready. .
.
These are great fresh and as part of a lunchbox the next day!
19. Lunchbox Idea 19 - banana, chocolate chip muffins
Yesterday I saw a recipe developed by @cupcakes_and_couscous for @montagusnacks for these awesome banana, chocolate chip muffins. They are sweetened only by the dark chocolate chips and banana, have absolutely zero added sugar and are therefore the perfect addition for Bean’s lunchbox. I quickly whipped up a batch and was surprised at how good they actually tasted! Hopefully Bean liked them too :)
I also added some dry wors, Kiri cheese, pretzel snacks, rice crackers made with ancient grains (from @woolworths_sa) and some fresh strawberries. .
Additionally I packed in a yoghurt and some orange wedges (have to up that vitamin C during winter!)
20. Lunchbox Idea 20 - Birthday treats for the whole class
This week’s lunchbox idea was inspired by @foodiesofsa. Even though it does not technically fall into the "balanced lunchbox" category it is what Alexa prepared for little Bean’s birthday celebration at school. (Happy birthday, B!) ⠀
⠀
I often find when you send cupcakes to school the icing gets eaten and the cake is tossed. With the Tinkies Cake, each child could have their own portion as finger food. ⠀
Alexa used Tinkies, stuck them together with butter icing and topped them with chocolate and vermicelli sprinkles.⠀
Everyone loved it! What do you send to school on your childs birthday?⠀
