Check out these great school lunch box ideas that will fuel kids as they learn, play and grow.
School children have different nutritional needs to those of preschoolers or toddlers. Once children start school, their energy requirements increase as they become more active and grow more quickly. School children usually have a high energy requirement for their size and require foods that are high in energy but also rich in nutrients.
A good supply of protein, calcium, iron and vitamins A and D is necessary during the primary school years. Calcium is needed for healthy tooth development and, together with vitamin D, helps make bones stronger. Of course, most kids would love to live on lollies, chips, convenience food and all the other things parents know have very little or no nutritional value – so how can parents get their children to eat their protein, fruits and veggies?
The first step is to be creative. Children, especially those that are younger, love to eat food that is fun to look at, as well as fun to eat.
Healthy sandwich ideas the kids won’t turn their nose up at
- Try using a variety of breads to keep things interesting. Bread rolls, baguettes, bagels, mountain bread and crispbread crackers can break up the monotony of a Vegemite sandwich on sliced white.
- Try making sandwiches with one slice white and one of wholemeal, or use white bread with added fibre.
- Use spreads like butter or margarine sparingly and try using sticky fillings that pack in some nutrients. A smear of avocado or hummus might do the trick.
Try these bread recipes to create healthy sandwiches:
- Make your own healthy bread rolls
- Soda bread
- Slow cooker bread
- Damper recipe
- Easy tortilla
- Olive focaccia
Sandwich & wrap filling inspiration:
- Curried egg and ham wraps
- Ham tortilla pinwheels
- Mexican chicken sandwich
- Mini croissant sandwiches
- Pulled pork buns
- Skyscraper sandwiches
- Spicy lamb wraps
How to add more fruit and veggies to a lunch box
- Use fruit and vegetables from all colours of the rainbow, as they offer a wide range of vitamins and minerals.
- Seasonal varieties that are easy to peel and eat are good choices.
- Peeling and chopping fruit and vegetables into ready-to-eat bite-sized pieces makes them more appealing.
Lunch box salads
- Boys bean salad
- Lunch box rice noodle salad
- Raisin and walnut brown rice salad
- Pumpkin, feta and chickpea salad
- Cherry tomato and tuna pasta salad
- Pineapple and peanut slaw
Don’t forget to keep kids hydrated
- A drink bottle is important to make sure busy and active kids stay hydrated.
- Water is the best fluid to serve, but if your child won’t drink water, try very diluted fruit juices.
Lunch box meals with a twist
- Rainbow rice paper rolls
- Vietnamese rice paper rolls
- Simple sausage rolls
- Snazzy sausage rolls
- Pasta bolognaise pie
- Little meat pies
- Egg and bacon pies
- Tomato glazed meat loaf
Cheesy lunch box scrolls, rolls and pizza
Adding cheese to a lunch box is a great way to serve children some dairy to boost their calcium intake. Lower fat dairy foods are a good choice and you can try packing a tub of low fat yoghurt or fromage frais, or packing a carton of low-fat milk (flavoured or unflavoured). You could also make these lunch box scrolls and pizza ideas to serve more cheese:
- Marmite cheese scrolls
- Cheese and bacon rolls recipe
- Pizza rolls
- Mini pineapple and cheese scrolls
- Slow cooker cheese and bacon scrolls
- Lulu’s cheese puffs
- Cheesy vegetable scones
- Pizza pockets
- Pizza wheels
Scrumptious scones
- Cheese scones
- Buttermilk scones
- Lemonade scones
- Quick scone recipe
- Pumpkin scones
- Apple and cinnamon scones
- Savoury scones
Healthier alternatives to packaged sweets and treats
- Zucchini bread
- Banana bread
- Gingerbread
- Chocolate beetroot muffins
- Sneaky pumpkin muffins
- Wholemeal raspberry and walnut muffins
- Raspberry and apple bread
- Carrot cake
- Easy five cup loaf
- Easy coconut loaf
- Healthy lunchbox muffins
- Apple cinnamon muffins
- Lemon iced Weet Bix slice
- Healthy almond, honey, oat and yoghurt muffins
Savoury treat ideas
- Cheesy vegetable muffins
- Corn and cheese pikelets
- Corn and cheese savoury muffins
- Veggie sticks with dip
- Hummus dip
- Nan’s zucchini loaf
- Olive and feta muffins
- Sneaky pumpkin muffins
- Bacon and potato muffins
- Plain pikelets recipe
- Gluten free pikelets
- Quick mini quiches
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