In Australia, school holidays are now finished and we’re now faced with approximately another 50 days of packing school lunchboxes this term. Last week I shared my 5 Steps To Pack A Healthy Lunchbox, with a great template for you to download. This week I share 10 Non-Sandwich Lunchbox Ideas to help make lunchboxes a little bit more fun, nutritious and with more variety so the kids don’t get bored.
Why Is Lunchbox Food So Important?
I write and talk about this a lot, but this is it in a nutshell:
The food we pack for school needs to support our kids social interactions, growth and development and their ability to concentrate. Unfortunately, most processed packaged food that ends up in lunchboxes does not help with any of these.
Why Non Sandwich Ideas?
1) Not All Sandwiches Are Healthy
The good ole sambo is still a very common main lunch in school lunchboxes. Is that a problem? Well to be brutally honest, it really depends on the quality of the sandwich. For instance, a white bread sandwich with Vegemite, jam or Nutella has very little nutritional value at all. It will not be help your child to stay full and ready to focus in class. A true wholegrain bread loaded with shredded chicken and salad items, will on the other hand, support your child’s ability to stay focussed. I recently wrote about post called Is a Sandwiches Healthy and this explores the sandwich lunch option in more detail.
2) Prevent Boredom
For some kids, having the same thing in the lunchbox everyday works, but for many, the same thing every day can be boring. The result is usually a lunch that comes home or gets binned. Spicing up the lunchbox with more variety, can make a big difference.
3) Can Make Lunchboxes Easier
Many Non Sandwich Lunch ideas can be leftovers from dinner, or be prepared on the weekend. Using leftovers makes packing lunchboxes so much easier.
10 Non Sandwich Lunchbox Ideas
1. Rice Paper Rolls
These are always a favourite, particularly with our daughter. They are a little more time consuming to make than the other items on this list but well worth it. Stuff them with salad items, vegetables, chicken, tuna, tofu etc. Ask your kids to come up with some combinations.
2. Sushi
You can save yourself a lot of money and make sushi at home using an Easy Peasy Sushi Maker. I got mine from Little Bento World. They pay for themselves within 1-3 makes of sushi. This gadget is almost magical – there’s no little mat to roll it in, just a simple 2 piece gadget. You should really check them out.
3.Spaghetti Bolognaise Muffins
Use left over spaghetti bolognaise to make these delicious muffins. Parents in The 5 Minute Healthy Lunchbox Community tell us these are a huge win – one mum recently called them her lunchbox saviour:-))
4. Egg and Bacon Cupcakes
These are so awesome. Prepare them ahead on the weekend, then have them Monday or Tuesday. These are also awesome for breakfast. Here’s a great recipe from I Quit Sugar.
5. Mini Quiches
Another fabulous one to prepare ahead on the weekend. This is a quick recipe from Kidspot. Personally, I would add a lot more veg than in this recipe.
6. Homemade baked beans
These are always a winner in our house. I make these baked beans and use them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Check the recipe out here.
8. Good Quality Sausage
Sausages for dinner. Buy and cook up more and have them for lunch. Please be very cautious with sausages because many tend to be loaded with additives and preservatives such as 223, 627, 635 and others. These can affect behaviour.
7. Chicken Drummers
These are a little messy to eat but the kids absolutely love them. Sticky and sweet. Remember to pack a few wet wipes or paper towel for their hands. Grab the recipe here.
8. Mini Meatballs
These are dead simple and you can make them ahead. Here’s an easy recipe – beware the photo is from my early days on this site.
10. Homemade Pizza
Who doesn’t love pizza. I make my passata sauce and include in grated pumpkin, sweet potato and zucchini. No-one has ever noticed. Get the kids to add their own toppings, and these pizza’s will be even more popular. Here’s my simple flat bread recipe which you can turn into pizza’s.
Need More Help?
If sometime throughout the term, packing lunchboxes stress you out or you’re just looking for some extra inspiration, then be sure to check out The 5 Minute Healthy Lunchbox System eCourse. It’s a 5 week self paced eCourse delivered direct to your inbox. Included is my fool proof system that helps you pack lunches in about 5 minutes a day, that your kids will eat. Plus education modules, 140 recipes, 12 weeks of menu plans and shopping lists, a wonderful group of like minded parents in the special Facebook community and loads of expert contributors who share their wisdom too. Oh, and because I am a mum too, and I know that sometimes things we start get derailed by our busy life, you get access to all this information for 12 months. This way, when things do go to poop, you can always pick up where you left off. It’s all accessible from your phone or ipad too. Learn more and enrol here.
Here what this beautiful girl and her mum had to say about the lunchboxes her mum has been packing since she did The 5 Minute Healthy Lunchbox eCourse.