Packing a healthy lunchbox is the ultimate dilemma, how do you pack a lunch that is healthy and nutritious but interesting enough for the kids to actually eat it and not end up with 75% of their lunch coming home again? We’ve assembled the ultimate Back to School blog post to inspire healthy (and more importantly quick) lunches for the whole year.
The key to packing healthy and fun lunchboxes is following the same basic ‘formula’ and switching up each component to keep lunches varied and interesting. Give your child options and let them choose or even help with preparing lunch to keep them engaged.
Healthy lunchbox = Main Meal + Fruits/Veggies + Snack + Drink
(See below for inspiration for each category)
Image courtesy of: https://www.pushdoctor.co.uk/blog/how-to-make-healthy-back-to-school-lunch-boxes-for-your-children
Main Meal: as the name suggests this should be the main component of the meal and should contain protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. Here are some examples:
Fruits/Veggies: prepare and cut up the fruit/veg as much as possible to make it easy & appetising to eat. Tip: Aim for 2/3 portions of fruit & veg with lunch.
Snack: the snack component of the lunch should still be healthy but also be a bit more exciting and something they look forward to.
Drink: the liquid component of the lunchbox is important for ensuring kids stay hydrated, we always recommend trying to avoid too many fruit juices or sugary drinks.
Packed lunches are brilliant ways to keep children sustained throughout a long, tiring school day and also a great way to stay on top of what they’re eating. Remember to give children options of what they have in their lunchboxes and let them help out to encourage them to take ownership of healthy food choices. Finally, we hope that this blog post has shown that packed lunches can be healthy AND exciting, helping you to start the new school year with fresh, fun ideas.