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General News

10 May, 2024

Creative lunch boxes

AS the school weeks roll on, many parents struggle to come up with new, creative and fun ways to fill lunch boxes and satisfy hungry stomachs.

By Staff Writer

While a healthy breakfast is essential to get your child off to a good start in the morning, just as important is a healthy lunch box for school.

When packing your child’s lunch box, consider how long they will be away from home.

Morning tea and lunch will be needed for a school day, along with plenty of fresh drinking water.

When it comes to lunch boxes, the common white-bread sandwich isn’t the only option.

Why not try some of these:

  • A wholegrain-bread sandwich with cheese and grated carrot.

  • Pita bread pockets or roll-ups with lean meat and salad.

  • Dips such as hummus, along with crackers or vegetable sticks (such as carrot and celery) for dunking.

  • Potato salad, leftover pizza or rice/noodle dishes that can be eaten cold.

Sandwich fillings can be quite adventurous – so feel free to venture from cheese and vegemite or jam.

You may like to try adding grated carrot, sliced cabbage, sultanas, sliced apples or herbs to increase interest.

Here are a few tasty combinations your child may be keen to try:

  • Tasty cheese, pineapple (drain and pat dry with paper towel) and lettuce.

  • Tasty cheese and chutney.

  • Cottage cheese or ricotta and chives.

  • Curried or mashed egg with lettuce.

  • Chicken, pesto and red capsicum.

  • Avocado (squeeze a little lemon juice on top to avoid going brown) and chicken.

  • Tinned tuna with lettuce and tomato (remove seeds to prevent going soggy).

Luncheon meats, such as salami, strasburg and pastrami, are highly processed, salty and can be fatty.

Try to use these occasionally rather than packing them every day.

Children usually want to eat quickly so they can get out and play.

To make sandwiches and other food easy to eat, keep servings small and cut bread into thin slices – and sandwiches into quarters (making them easier to manage for young students).

Don’t overdo the amount of sandwich filling and avoid soggy, drippy sandwiches by keeping spreads such as mayonnaise to a minimum.

Anything that is messy to eat will be off-putting for your child.

Go for small fruits such as berries and apricots and cut larger fruits into bite-sized pieces.

Ensure that containers seal well and can be easily opened by your child – it may be your child isn’t eating lunch because it’s too hard to get at.

To avoid any possible growth of harmful bacteria (which could make your child sick) ensure the following foods are kept cold in your child’s lunchbox:

Meat, fish, chicken, eggs, noodles, rice, pasta, custard, yogurt, cheese or milk.

If you make your child’s lunch the night before, keep it in the fridge overnight and in the morning place a frozen drink (preferably water) in the lunch box to help keep food fresh until lunchtime.

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