Lunchbox Ideas for Fuzzy Eaters
Beat the Munch Crunch with these lunchbox ideas.
Not a Sarmie in sight
Storytime:
I have two small humans. One is a fussy seven-year-old, who basically lives of biltong and beige food. The other is a 2-year-old gourmand who, I kid you not, ate a dinner of pork belly with wholegrain mustard, sautéed asparagus and quinoa last night. (Her brother had buttered noodles…)
Guess who is in Grade one this year and needs a nutritious lunchbox each day…Yay for me!
So, I went sniffing around for some beige(ish) lunchbox fillers with enough micro and Macro nutrients to keep the kid fed and focussed as he embarks on his big school journey.
These are some of my favourites, that might just hit the mark for your little human as well:
Egg Muffins.
No – I don’t mean Egg McMuffins, I mean straight forward home baked egg “cups”.
These are a mix between scrambled eggs and omelettes and pack a powerful protein punch. The are also infinitely customisable.
Grease a cupcake pan and pre-heat your oven to 180̊ C. Whisk a couple of free-range eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. The number of eggs will depend on how many cups you want to make. About one egg per cup works well.
Don’t add milk, as it can make your egg cup watery. (If you need to hide extra calories you can add a dollop of double thick cream.)
Now, if you have a beige child, simply add about half a cup of grated mild cheese per egg, pour into the cup cake moulds and bake until puffed up and slightly coloured on top.
Top Tip: If your kid is a rainbow eater – the fun starts now. Add whatever your heart desires, from cooked bacon, shredded chicken, snippets of ham to mature cheddar, feta or even veggies.
These can last in a container in the fridge for a couple off days and are great warmed up but also make a yummy lunch box main that can be eaten cold.
DIY cheese board
Another beige option that can be customised based on your kid’s pallet.
Get yourself a bento-box style lunchbox. Pack one compartment with your kid’s favourite dry cracker/biscuit. Slice their favourite cheese thinly and add enough slices for how many crackers you packed to a different compartment.
For beige kids, that’s pretty much it, but for adventurous little eaters, add slices of apple or cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes or even thinly sliced pickles. This allows your kid to experiment with flavour combinations and it almost gamifies the process of eating.
Top Tip: Take a cookie cutter and make ham rounds or slices depending on the shape of your chosen biscuit and add that to yet another compartment. If you’re feeling fancy, you can even cut shapes out of your cheese slices. In a rush? Simply pop in an assortment of pre-portioned cheeses. (Laughing Cow, Baby Bell etc.)
Wrap Pizza (or cheese Fajitas)
This is one of those fridge staples that has saved me many times.
Buy a pack of wholewheat wraps. The can last months in the freezer if you keep them in a zip lock bag.
Buy the best quality ham or Vienna’s you can afford. Simply Chicken does a great chicken Vienna that doesn’t contain any nasties or fillers and has an acceptable sodium level. Get a low sugar tomato ketchup and grate some cheese.
Lay the wrap flat on a baking sheet, spread it with ketchup, cut your meat into cubes or rounds, spread out the meat on the ketchup covered wrap like a pizza and layer on a generous amount of cheese. Bake at 200̊ C until the cheese is bubbly.
Top Tip: You can make this into a calzone, by only putting meat and cheese on one half of the wrap and folding it over, or simply pop another wrap on top and pan fry it like a Fajita. Slice into pizza slices and even the beige-est kid will be enjoying a good meal come break time.
The key to a great lunchbox, that will actually be eaten, is variety. We know that kids need protein, slow-release carbs, fruits or veggies and good fats.
These three suggestions are good on the fats, carbs and protein, which means all you have to do is add some halved grapes, sliced cherry tomatoes, apple quarters or any other fruit …Voila! Luch sorted!
Final Top Tip: Try getting in the habit of packing the lunchbox the previous night, or at least planning and prepping for the next morning. I started doing this and it turns out if I have ten minutes of extra sleep each morning and can focus on getting the small humans to do their basic self-care, I don’t get in the car all shouty and flustered! Who would have known?
Oh – and ditch the juice né? No child needs that amount of sugar blasted into their blood stream just as they have to get back to spelling and math…teachers will thank you!
Even more lunchbox ideas:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-50-easy-lunch-ideas
https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/kids-lunch-box-ideas/
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/school-lunch-recipes
