Now that school is well in session, how are you coping with providing healthy eats to your child? For mummies who prepare and pack their children’s snack and lunch boxes for school, it can be daunting trying to think of fresh ideas.
Let’s see if we can help in this area, with some tips and ideas that may lighten the load a little bit. That’s not to say it’s going to be any less work in food preparation, but with some ideas to boot, hopefully it can make life a little easier.
1. Prepare a Fixed Menu
Come up with fixed menus for two weeks or a month in advance and stick to it. This helps you to organise your shopping for groceries and won’t leave you cracking your head for ideas everyday.
If you want to do more variations, you can come up with weekly menus instead and rotate them so that you only repeat the same set of food once in three to four weeks.
Slot in some of your child’s favourite foods in each menu, so that there’s always something they look forward to. Some comfort food in the snack or lunch box can mean a lot to a child manoeuvring through the school day.
In coming up with the menu, incorporate a healthy diet for them by giving them balanced mix of food stuff.
2. Keep The Menu Natural Yet Simple
Keeping the food simple and nutritious would be top of our priority. Unless you have the time and interest to make elaborate bento boxes, it is alright to keep the school snack or lunch boxes simple.
Having said that, some mummies do love to make up beautiful bentos and that’s a big part of their motivation to make school snack boxes. By all means go for it if that’s your game. 🙂 There are lots of creative ideas on Pinterest for you to create your special bento boxes for your child to enjoy.
However, simple doesn’t mean we should pack their food containers with processed foods. The best kinds of food are those that are whole and fresh rather than those that come from factories that are packed with preservatives and other unhealthy additives.
If time permits, swap store-bought biscuits, cakes and packet juices for home made options of cookies, bread, or cakes and do your own juicing.
3. Snack And Lunch Box Ideas
Some of these are fast and easy to make, whilst some may require more preparations and cooking time. You may want to cook them in advance and heat up just before leaving for school.
Here are 25 suggestions for you to mix and match some of these to make up a delicious box for your child.
- Mashed potatoes
- French toasts
- Scrambled eggs
- Pizza slices
- Fried rice
- Sushi bake
- Garlic bread
- Cheese toasties
- Steamed edamame
- Tuna sandwich
- Pasta (macaroni and cheese, bolognese, aglio olio, etc)
- Roti prata
- Boiled chickpeas
- Assorted nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios, etc)
- Sweet potato fries (it helps if you have an air fryer as a healthier method to fry it)
- Ramen soup
- Pancakes
- Fresh cuts of fruits (rub salt on those that oxidise quickly)
- Tortilla chips with salsa/guacamole dips
- Fried noodles
- Banana fritters
- Popiah
- Satay sticks
- Potato salad
- Chicken pie
4. Use Suitable Food Containers
Do give some thoughts to food containers that are suitable for use. If you provide a variety of items, it’s a good idea to use containers that have separated sections so that the food stuff don’t mix up easily.
Use insulated containers for keeping food warm or chilled. I also find stainless steel containers packed into insulated lunch bags to be useful to keep food warm for several hours. This is an alternative to using insulated food containers.
It helps keep the food more appetising to whet our child’s appetite if we spend a bit more effort in ensuring their food is well kept. Avoid using plastic containers, if you can, especially when storing hot food.
5. Have Fun Along The Way
Although it isn’t easy to keep up with food preparation day in and day out, if it’s something we choose to do for our child’s sake, let’s do it while having some fun. Stressing it out daily isn’t worth it. After all, food served in our family should be made with love. It’s the secret ingredient to making it all the more delicious and nutritious!
So if you aren’t enjoying it and find it too hard to cope, start off with something easier to make that you can handle. Over time, once you get the hang of it, especially if you cleverly plan your menu and time to make them, you will settle into an easier time and routine.
If you or your child get bored of the repeated menu after months at it, then it’s definitely time to change to a different set of menu. Fun and creativity comes into play, and it probably gives you a new set of challenge to outdo yourself!