Lunchbox Ideas 2009
Lunch Box Ideas
Excerpt from Cindy Williams' Healthy Food Guide Article
A healthy lunch box needs to give you enough energy to fuel your
body and brain for the five or six hours you're at school.
Carbohydrate foods such as bread, pasta, rice, fruit, milk and
yoghurt are good energy foods. Ideally, a lunch box also has some
protein food, both for nutritional value and to help you last until
afternoon tea time. It should include some fruit or vegetables as
part of your 5+ a day minimum. And of course, every lunch box needs
something sweet and a bottle of water for hydration.
Energy food: bread, crackers, rice, pasta
Lasting food: cheese, nuts, peanut butter, lean
meat, chicken, yoghurt, milk
Fresh fruit or vegetables: carrot sticks, baby
tomatoes, snow peas, capsicum
A treat: biscuit, slice, cake, dried fruit - once
a week foods
A drink
Ideas for getting vegetables in the lunch box
- cherry tomatoes - pop in with a cube, slice or
wedge of cheese
- corn fritters
- cheese and corn muffins
- mini vege quiches - make in muffin pan
- celery stick with peanut butter
- corn on the cob - cut in quarters
- carrot or capsicum sticks - on their own or with
hummus
- snow or sugar snap peas
- ham and vegetable frittata
- traffic light skewers: cherry tomato, orange capsicum and
cucumber on sticks
Lunch box-friendly fruit
- grapes
- strawberries
- dried fruit - apricots, dates, raisins, figs, craisins -
packaged on their own or as part of a scroggin mix with nuts and
plain popcorn
- pear quarters
- mandarin
- kiwi fruit - cut in half and pack with a spoon
- baby apple
- fresh pineapple chunks
- pottle of diced fruit
Great snacks
- mini bagels
- rice crackers
- pita crisps
- mini bag of popcorn
- pretzels
- rice chips
- small baked potatoes
- cheese triangles
- baby carrots
- salami sticks
- dried apricots
- jellies with fruit
Tips for sandwiches
- For still cold sandwiches at lunchtime, use frozen
bread.
- If rushed in the morning, make sandwiches the night before.
Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and freeze.
- When using moist fillings such as tomato or cucumber, use
thickly sliced or dense bread or rolls.
- Keep bread and rolls in the freezer and pull out just what
you need each day.
- Cheese crispies: Slice bread in strips. Spread with Marmite,
sprinkle with cheese, and oven bake until crisp - just like a
cheese and Marmite sandwich only crunchy.
- Or instead of cheese, drizzle bread with olive oil and bake
at 160°C for about 15 minutes until crisp. Yummy with
dips.
- What's wrong with a plain jam sandwich? Most kids love jam
or honey sandwiches and would happily eat them every day. You can
still make a healthy lunch with a jam sandwich. Use a more
nutritious bread such as wholemeal or whole grain. Cut back on the
sweet treats (since that's part of the sandwich) and pack
with some cherry tomatoes, a cube of cheese and some fresh
fruit.
Ideas for Sandwich fillings
- corned beef, lettuce and tomato
- roast beef, chutney and lettuce
- creamed corn and grated cheese
- Marmite and sliced avocado
- asparagus rolls
- avocado and grated carrot
- hummus and crunchy sprouts
- tuna, hummus and tomato grainy roll
- ham and cheese on light rye bread
- Lebanese wrap spread with peanut butter, rolled and cut in
thirds
- cucumber, grated carrot and reduced-fat cream
cheese
- pita bread filled with mini meatballs (left over from
dinner), lettuce and chutney or tomato sauce
- ploughman's lunch: thick slices of bread, hunk of cheese,
dollop of relish and a few cherry tomatoes
- roast chicken and coleslaw roll
- pita bread with feta cheese and roast vegetables (leftovers
from dinner)
- tomato, basil and mozzarella in baguette slices
- avocado, turkey and cranberry sauce
- low-fat cottage cheese and chopped dates
- fruit or walnut bread and reduced-fat cream cheese
- Marmite, cheese and lettuce
- ham and cheese (and chutney or whole grain
mustard)
- diced chicken mixed with a bit of mayonnaise or sliced
chicken and lettuce
- traditional filled roll (ham or chicken and
salad)
- tomato and cheese sandwiches (put the tomato between the
cheese to stop bread going soggy)
- egg mashed with a bit of mayonnaise
- salmon or tuna mixed with a bit of mayonnaise and
lettuce
- wraps (cut in smaller bits) with reduced-fat cream cheese,
tomato relish, ham, lettuce
- banana sandwiches
- peanut butter and jam
- peanut butter and honey
Easy leftover ideas
- slices of quiche or frittata - or make mini ones,
freeze, then take out the night before
- corned beef hash - leftover corn beef, mashed potato and
onion made into patties
- cold slice of pizza
- cold fish fingers
- cold pasta dish
- leftover roast veges
- corned beef slices (not canned)
Checklist: In the lunch box
Is it enough? Check if you have something from
each of these groups:
- Energy food such as bread, crackers, rice or
pasta.
- Sustaining food such as cheese, milk, yoghurt, meat and
hummus.
- Fresh fruit or vegetables.
- A snack. Try more nutritious snacks such as apple, banana or
carrot cake/muffin, date and walnut loaf, muesli slice or scroggin
with nuts and raisins.
- A drink.
Is it safe? Foods which are high risk for food
poisoning include milk, yoghurt, meat, chicken, fish, hard-boiled
eggs, paté, hummus or anything high in protein. If the lunch
you pack has high risk foods, make sure they stay cold. Freeze
overnight, pack in an insulated bag or pack with a freezer block.
Pop into a resealable plastic bag or wrap in a thin cloth to absorb
moisture and use as a handy wipe.
Will you eat it? The healthiest lunch in the world
does no good if you don't eat it! Try out potential new foods at
home and let your Mum or Dad know whether it's a goer.
