I started making my own lunches from age of 7 so I hope I've got some good ideas:
- switch up the bread as often as possible from sliced, to rolls, to baguettes to wraps to pittas. Even if the filling is the same it makes it a bit more exciting.
- pitta bread pizza/bagel pizza. Smear some tomato puree/pasta sauce on the bread with a sprinkle of dried herbs/oregano, cover with cheese and grill. Can add other toppings like mushrooms, ham etc. Can make a few at a time and keep in the fridge.
- send water/dilute squash as a drink. I never found the juice cartons enough to drink, they add up to a lot of sugar over the week and are expensive. Pick out a fun water bottle together and it can be reused over and over again.
- do not negate the use of advertising on children. If you know he loves certain cartoon/programme, buy some stickers and put them on new foods you want him to try. It works wonders e.g. this is the same cheese that Ben10 eats.
- cherry tomatoes, carrot batons, cucumber sticks, all with a little pot of dressing/soft cheese to dip into them
- send cheese slices, ham slices and crackers as a homemade dairylea lunchable and a change from sandwiches.
- pasta salad - cook up a massive pan of pasta, and keep it in the fridge plain. In the morning, chuck on a different type of sauce on a little and bung it in a tupperware. Tomato sauce, pesto sauce, cheese and ham and mayo, tuna and sweetcorn. Possibilities are endless.
- plain or slightly salted popcorn (make it at home in a pan, really cheap and quick and lasts a few days), or nuts make a change from crisps. Same with cheesey crackers and breadsticks.
- soup, chilli, spag bol in a thermos flask when it gets a bit colder all make a change. Send some bread to dunk in it.
- quesadillas are mexican cheese toasties - get a wrap, cover half with cheese and any other fillings, fold in half and put in a dry frying pan and toast on both sides then cut into 3 triangles. Also, normal toasties, cooked and cooled make a change.
- try sweet sandwiches sometimes like banana and peanut butter, or jam and cream cheese. Or buttered malt loaf. Keep the rest of the lunchbox savoury so not too sugary.
- hard boiled eggs are a nice change. Send them peeled.
- rice salads and potato salads are a good way to use up leftovers. Boil rice potatoes with some frozen veg and chuck over some salad dressing. Add in some protein like cold sausage or chicken if you wish.
- chicken wings/drumsticks are cheap, easy to cook in bulk and then fridge/freeze cooked and defrost overnight to put in lunchboxes. Kids tend to like meat on the bone as they get to use their fingers. Marinate in all sorts of yummy things like garlic and herbs, or spicy sauce if they like that.
- pancakes/fritters. Make a pancake batter and grate veg into it like courgette or carrot and add other veg like sweetcorn. Make little pancakes, cool and they will store in tupperware for a few days, or freeze really well. Can smear with cheese spread and splodge them together.
- make a large tray of homemade flapjack at the weekend and send little squares of it as a treat. Should last the whole week.
- Limit crisps to a few times a week and to add in that crunch, use some of the replacements above. Banana chips are a good alternative, and cheap plain salted tortilla chips make a nice change. Think about buying big bags of crisps and just putting in a few, rather than giving a whole small bag. They still get a few crisps but not as many.
- send cooked meatballs, and a little portion of ketchup. Other suggestions include homemade chips with potato, or sweet potato. Cut potatoes into chip shape, spray with a little veg oil and salt and pepper, cook in oven at 200 degrees c and turn once in 35 minutes. Serve cold.
- send a little fruit salad/veg salad. Choose from all sorts of fruit and veg so not the same every week.
- its cheaper to get lots of tupperware from the pound shop that is airtight (3 little containers for a pound) and fill them with plain yoghurt and a little jam than it is to send small cartons of yoghurt every day. Also allows you to send small amounts of cream cheese, ketchup, cheese etc without paying the premium for lunchbox sizes.
- kids (and adults) eat with their eyes so sending things that look appealing or require some making or dipping on the part of the child can often get them to eat more or eat newer foods. Chopping cheese or veg into sticks for example.
Ah, can't think of much more at the moment. Will have a think. Hope this helps.
sometimes when I'm extra disorganised I'll give him dinner money but he always has to take extras like fruit as the portions are tiny!
