How to “build” a lunch box!

Do you feel overwhelmed by packing lunch boxes?

What makes a balanced and nutritious lunch box?

Can you send a humble vegemite sandwich these days?

What will they eat?

We know so many parents feel totally stressed about lunch boxes. So we have created this "lunchbox" formula for you, to reduce the mental load. We will also talk about "fussy eater" and how to manage this!

The formula- simply pick 1-2 items for each category below....

Main + Fruit + Veggies + Snacks = a GREAT  lunch box!

The Main

This is where we typically think sandwich. Its the big thing our kids eat for lunch. A sandwich is fine (and bread does contain some protein too)- but we do want to try to make it a protein packed main or serve with a side of protein.

Ideas:

• Sandwich or a wrap - if you can add a protein rich filling like meat, tuna, cheese, hummus or nut butters
• Meatballs
• Falafels
• Zucchini slice
• hard boiled eggs
• Frittata
• Left overs
• Pasta
• Savoury muffins
• Mini pizza made on English muffins
• Noodles
• Pitta bread with hummus

Fruit

Most kids love fruit but we need to remember that a serve of fruit for little people is smaller than for adults. The daily serve for 1-2 year olds in Australia is 1/2 a banana! For 2-3 year olds it is 1 medium piece of fruit, so one banana.  We know most kids have more than this, and it isn't big a problem unless it is getting in the way of other foods being eaten. So pack 1-2 different fruit but don't go overboard with the amount.

Ideas:

• Can serve it fresh-pear, apple, banana, berries, kiwi, grapes, melon, oranges and mandarin
• Soaking pre cut fruit like apple or pear in salt water and patting dry or squeezing lemon juice on them can stop it from going brown
• Can also include fruit puree if they don't like fresh or dried fruit. Sometimes it is about starting with what they love and will accept and building on this!
• Dried fruit
• Fruit cups (pick those in juice over syrup)

Veggies

We often get parents asking "what is the point of packing vegetables when they never eat them?"...well we can't expect them to eat something that is never offered. Veggies are usually the "least" exciting thing in a lunch box so serving them in a way that is easy to eat, a way that is fun or alongside a dip, or with a spread can be helpful.

Ideas:

• Mini cucumbers or cucumbers cut into spears
• Grape tomatoes (quartered for younger kids)
• Carrot sticks
• Capsicum strips
• Snow peas
• Corn on the cob
• Edamame beans
• Frozen peas

Good dips you can add to make veggies more exciting: cream cheese, mascarpone, hummus, guacamole, salsa, peanut or almond butter.

Serving them on skewers can also help make them more interesting for some kids. 

Snacks

The snack section! For many kids, their favourite item in the lunch box is the snacks. Lots of parents feel the pressure to ensure snacks be homemade, but this doesn't have to be the case! There are plenty of good store bought options to add to lunch boxes too. When looking at store-bought options aim for lower sodium (under 400mg per 100g) and lower sugar (less than 15g per 100g) as a good starting point. 

Ideas:

• Muffins- we have a tonne of easy ones in our library that freeze well.
• Mini quiche (can make or buy something like the Sunny Queen Mini Fritters)
• Yoghurt (check out our list of the best pouches here)
• Muesli bar
• Sweet biscuit
• Savoury biscuit with cheese or dip
• Popcorn (if over the age of 5)
• Pretzels
• Bliss balls
• Dried cereal (The Low Sugar Cheerios are great)
• Mini pancakes
• Rice cakes with a topping
• Cheese Stick

Temperature control and texture change:

Using an insulated lunch bag for your lunch box is important to keep things cool! You can also use heated food canisters to heat up left overs in the morning and send them to school or kinder so they are warm and ready to eat at lunch time.

Some kids will struggle with temperature and texture changes to food that sit in a lunch box for a few hours. For example a "soggy" sandwich will not be touched- so using things like lettuce, cheese or butter as a barrier to any wetter ingredients like tuna or hummus. Pre-cut fruit can change in texture and be trickier for some kids. Sending a fruit cup might be the best way for some kids to get fruit into their diet while at school or being limited to fruit that don't need cutting and don't bruise easily. This is okay! 

Making it easy for them:

Time and time again we hear that food comes back uneaten in the lunch box! When we dig a little deeper- many kids tell us that it is because they don't have enough time to eat at school. They often only get a few minutes to eat then are off playing with friends. Making sure food is easy to eat quickly (often means small bites and pre-cutting things) can be a game changer.

What about "fussy eaters":

We know that packing a lunch box for our "fussy" or anxious eaters can be so tricky. Often parents worry about getting judgement for how "beige" it is or how many packaged foods are in there. Remember- you know your kid best! Sending a lot of foods that would be challenging for them to eat may mean they actually eat nothing- which isn't the goal. We suggest filling out 3/4 of the lunch box with foods you know they will usually eat and then keep 1-2 foods as "wild cards". They might not eat them- so you don't need to pack much- but we can't expect them to eat things they aren't offered! You can also mix up the way you offer and prepare their usual foods. For example, sandwiches cut in squares not triangles, a different type of cracker or serving fruit on tooth picks/skewers.

How to deal with comments about your child's lunch box:

Remember- you are in charge of what is offered to your child. A teacher or another parents does not know what is healthy for your child and shouldn't be making any comment about what they eat.

It is important that comments about what your child eats are not directed to them, as this can be damaging. Saying something like:

"I know your concern/comment are coming from a good place, but please don't comment on what my child eats. What they have in their lunch box is only a small part of what they have over the day and it has been packed with thought and care"

or

" I know that you have my child’s best interests at heart, so please avoid commenting on the food they bring in their lunch box or what they eat" can make a big difference and stop these types of comments in their tracks.

 

If you are finding packing lunch boxes particularly stressful or they are always coming back full reach out for some 1:1 support. One of our amazing paediatric dietitians will be able to support you with this!