Kid’s packed lunches can be one of the hardest things to keep varied and exciting, and satisfying for your children. As you take a break with the kids during the summer holidays, take time to plan for the autumn term. And why not try making some new combinations and ideas with the kids now to see what they like? Here’s some ideas for creative and healthy packed lunches to get you going:

1. Tummy Fillers 

Growing kids need plenty of starchy foods to fill them up and give them energy. Nutritious meals packed with fibre, protein, carbohydrate and vitamins will also help your child’s growing bones and give them a healthy dose of brain power for the afternoon ahead. These ‘tummy fillers’ along with fruit and/or vegetables should form the main part of your child’s lunch.

healthy packed lunches

Photo by Micolo J on Flickr

Try some of these ‘tummy filler’ ideas:

Sandwiches and Wraps

Let’s start with the starchy stuff – bread. Shop bought bread can be full of hidden sugar and salt, so if you’ve time to make your own, not only will you know exactly what your child is eating, but it’ll taste so much better too (there’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread!).

Here’s some homemade bread and wrap solutions:

  • Homemade bread: you can keep it varied by switching between wholemeal, granary, multi-grain and white.
  • Wraps: Crepes, pancakes, tortilla wraps
  • Alternatives: potato cake, malt loaf, hot cross bun, scone

Fillings and Toppings

When it comes to fillings and toppings, it can get a bit boring for kids having the same thing every day, so get them involved with picking their fillings. There’s so much you can choose from:

  • Meat: wafer thin cooked meats, cubed chicken/turkey breast with tomato and lettuce, ham and cheese, roast chicken & hummus, leftover cold meats (chicken, turkey, meatloaf, sausages etc) with salad, chicken and mashed avocado, cold BLT
  • Fish: tuna mayo & sweetcorn, tuna salad, sardine and tomato, fish paste and cucumber, mackerel pate
  • Veggie: grated cheese, cheese spread, cream cheese, Quorn slices and salad, cottage cheese with pineapple, cheese and grated carrot with a little mayo, veggie sausages, vegetarian pate with cucumber, cheese and coleslaw, egg salad/egg mayo, cheese and pickle, Marmite, hummus, falafel
  • Sweet:  High-fruit jam/fruit spread, nut-free chocolate spread*, honey, treacle, lemon curd

*Please note that some schools do not permit nuts and nut products to be brought in lunchboxes (due to pupils with nut allergies), so check with your school before including nut products. Read more about food allergies here.

Other ‘tummy filler’ ideas

healthy packed lunches

Layered salads by Lavender and Lovage

  • Carbohydrate based salads such as pasta salad, rice salad, cous cous,potato salad, tabbouleh etc.
  • Egg based foods such as quiche, mini quiche or frittata.
  • Baked items such as savoury muffin, cheesy corn triangles, pizza slice,mini pasty, cheese and potato roll, croissant, samosa, pakora, spring roll etc*
  • Layered salad pots – like the Mexican pots pictured above

*These items can be high in saturated fat, so just opt for them occasionally as a treat.

2. Five-a-day Options

kids 5 a day

Photo by Chez Mummy on Flickr

Next up it’s all about fruits and veggies, as we know it’s important for our kids to have their 5-a-day. Here’s some ideas of how you can jazz up the five-a-day options:

  • Any combination of the following, in a small pot or bag: raisins, sultanas, pumpkin/sunflower seeds, ready to eat dried apricots, dates or prunes.
  • Whole fruits: satsuma, apple, banana, pear, peach, plum, grapes, strawberries (whatever is in season)
  • Fruit salad pot:  any combination of prepared fruit: strawberries, orange, melon, mango, pineapple, kiwi etc.
  • Homemade fruit puree:  smoothie or apple sauce (you can add strawberry, peach, etc)
  • Fruit jelly:  made with fruit pieces and pure fruit juice.
  • Tinned fruit pot (useful in the winter if you can’t find ripe fresh fruit) – mandarins, pineapple, peaches, fruit salad, pears.
  • Salad pot:  any combination of prepared raw vegetables: cucumber, lettuce, pepper, celery, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, mangetout, slices of avocado sprinkled with a little lemon juice etc. or coleslaw

 3. Good for Growing Bones

Photo by Tanakawho on Flickr

Photo by Tanakawho on Flickr

Calcium is integral to your child’s healthy growth and strong bones, so where possible, add in some of these bone-strengthening foods:

  • Yoghurt: fruit yogurt, fromage frais or dairy-free alternative, Greek/plain yogurt.
  • Rice Pudding: Cold rice pudding or custard.
  • Cheese: Cubes or pre-packed lunchbox sized cheese portion, cottage cheese with pineapple.
  • Dips: hummus, tzatziki, raita, cream cheese and plain yogurt

4. Snacks

If you have energetic kids, you may like to add a snack to their lunchboxes to re-fuel their energy levels!

Here are some of our favourite snack ideas:

  • Savoury options: Hard boiled chicken’s or quail’s eggs, scotch/savoury egg, mini sausages, sausage roll, falafel etc.
  • Crispy snacks: A small bag of lower salt (preferably baked or reduced fat) crisps, or a handful of crisps in a pot. Crackers, crisp bread, rice cakes, cheesy biscuits, savoury flapjack, savoury scone, bread sticks, unsalted popcorn.
  • Sweet options: Muffin, cup cake, small piece of cake, biscuit or cookie, flapjack, shortbread, jam tart, cereal bars.

* Check cereal/flapjack bars for sugar content , as some can contain as much sugar as a bar of chocolate!  

healthy kids snacks

Bento Box by Michelle at anotherlunch.com

We’re a big fan of bento boxes – mixing a range of small snacks together in a colourful box with different compartments. This can work for snack time or even for their full lunch, depending on the size of the box. Here’s some great recipe/bento box ideas.

 5. Thirst-Quenchers 

healthy packed lunches

It’s important your child stays hydrated throughout the day and we recommend you steer clear of sugary drinks and go for one of these healthy options in your children’s lunchbox:

  • Water – fizzy or still
  • Milk (whole, semi-skimmed, goats or soya)
  • Homemade milkshake with fruit
  • Pure fruit juice or smoothie – preferably diluted.
  • Occasional well diluted high-juice squash

A note about sugar free options

Sugar can be hard to spot in children’s food, as it’s called many different things, especially thirs-quenchers. All the following are forms of sugar, which is only needed in small amounts and offers your child little, except empty calories:

  • sucrose
  • glucose
  • fructose
  • maltose
  • dextrose
  • fruit syrup
  • molasses

Look for ‘no added sugar’ on the packet. If you can’t see that on a label then read the Nutritional Information panel and look under ‘Carbohydrates – of which Sugar’ to spot any hidden nasties.

But do also be aware that products stating ‘no added sugar’ normally substitute with chemical sweeteners, some of which are being investigated for safety. If you can, make from scratch.

Do you want help with getting a weekly rotating packed lunch plan put together, creating a regular shopping list or even help with your weekly shop? We help busy mums and dads by doing your shopping for you or helping you find ways to get organised so you can spend more time playing with the kids after school and less time doing the chores.

Give us a call for a free friendly chat about how we could help you and your family.