WHAT’S IN THE LUNCHBOX

Toddlers Lunches

I always assumed that making packed lunches wouldn’t start until our kids hit school. Anyway, morning kindly shattered that dream, and out came the lunch boxes! Every child obviously has different likes and dislikes, but there can be other constrains too. I have found some foods are too fiddly or time consuming and there are often kindly/crèche/centre rules you have to work with…. My basic rule for lunches is to aim for one sandwich-like item, one item from fruits and vegetables and one or two things from the extras group to keep it interesting. You can buy packs of little zip-lock bags at stationery shops, these are great to pack with anything from raisins, to little crackers and make a nice little extra: Here are some ideas to try: Sandwiches • Sandwiches (try cutting them into shapes with cookie cutters to make them more interesting) • Flat breads filled with ham or luncheon, then grated cheese or carrot, rolled up and cut into slices • Fingers of cold pizza (if you have leftover pizza, cut it into serving sized pieces, wrap these in cling film, then pop them in the freezer until required – it’s worth making a extra pizza every now and then just to do this, they can go a long way in lunch sized portions.) • Plain or sandwiched rice cakes can make an interesting change • Small, filled soft bread rolls (or even sandwiches made with slices of soft French bread) • Cheese on toast or mousetraps (bread spread with vegemite then sprinkled with cheese and baked until crisp • Try a small container of noodle or pasta salad Fruit & vegetables • Small containers of fresh fruit salads • Whole baby carrots or carrot sticks • A few pieces of dried fruit (apples, apricots, prunes dates, nectarines, banana etc or mixtures) • Boxes of raisins • A little bunch of grapes • Mandarins • Orange segments • Cherry tomatoes • Little celery sticks plain or filled with cheese spread or cottage cheese Extras • Pike lets • Cheese and crackers • Cheese slices or segments • Little bags of popcorn • A small handful of breakfast cereals, such as Multigrain • A few nuts • A few mini-crackers • Luncheon rolled around grated cheese and/or carrot • Biscuits, muesli bars, slice etc (try making your own) • Tiny pots of yoghurt, or fruit or fruit puree • Hard boiled eggs