School's Back! Lunch Box Ideas

Children need to eat a variety of foods everyday to stay healthy and help them concentrate and learn at school. However, packing a lunch box and trying to keep it delicious, healthy and interesting can be quite a task for many of us - but it doesn’t have to be if you follow a few simple steps:

A lunch box should always include:

• Fruit (fresh is best, but tinned and dried are also suitable)
• Vegetables or salad ingredients
• A meat or protein food such as lean meat, hardboiled egg, fish or nuts
• Dairy foods such as a cheese slice or stick, milk or yoghurt
• Starchy food such as high fibre bread rolls, pita or flat bread, fruit bread or grain crackers
• Water (frozen water can be used as a freezer brick to keep foods cold)

Suggestions for lunch box meals and snacks include:

• Cold pasta spirals mixed with salad vegetables and lean meat e.g. ham, pastrami 
• Rice with vegetables mixed in it with lean meat e.g. ham, pastrami
• Mini pizza with cheese and pineapple
• Avocado and lemon with salad on a wholemeal wrap
• Bagel with vegemite and low fat cheese
• Corn or rice cakes with peanut butter
• Grainy crackers with slices of cheese
• Plain popcorn as a snack
• Yoghurt, low fat milk or low fat custard (freeze overnight to ensure it stays cool)
• Small packets of dried fruit and nuts as snacks
• Include extra celery and carrot sticks
• Fruit

Foods should be simple and easy to prepare, ready to eat and appetising after several hours in the lunch box. Keeping food stored in an insulated lunch box or one with a freezer pack will keep food fresher for longer - particularly important for those hot summer days.

As well as keeping lunch simple, try to encourage children to help choose and prepare their own lunch. Praise children when they choose healthy foods for their lunch box. They may even want to have a Masterchef lunch box competition between siblings for some fun and variety.

Most importantly - don’t forget your own lunch! Set a good example as children learn from their parents more than you may think therefore prepare your lunch and snacks while the children are doing theirs. Make it a healthy family approach for all to benefit from.