Lunch box ideas

One cannot think well, sleep well, or live well,
if one has not dined well.
Virginia Woolf

I have realised that my love of lunchbox packing is not a shared love.
 For me it is a new love inspired partly by this blog http://www.anotherlunch.com/ which i could never fully replicate, I am not an exact enough personality!!

So I thought in case it might be useful to anyone I would write about how I organise myself to pack lunches for my kids - without going insane. Now I am no dietician, my kids eat white bread from bakers delight which is low GI, they have sugar and butter etc, I am far from a perfect in this regard, alright in most regards :)) 

First I start with a list of what my child likes 'best to eat', (and your husband if you are relegated to packing his, which I am now).
I save it on the computer so I can update it as the taste changes -

Step 1

Shopping

Nibbles for cupboard

Popcorn for the air popper

Sultanas

Dried apricots

Pretzels

Bread sticks (easy to make)
Tinned fruit
Wraps - Mountain bread keeps for ages and has no preservatives, so a favourite with us.
Crackers
muesli

Fruit/Veg

Grapes

Apples

Oranges

Strawberies

Bananas - whatever is in season

Snow peas
Cherry tomatoes
mini cucumbers
capsicum
carrot
celery
*Plus I usually have tinned fruit and frozen berries for when I haven't shopped.

Fridge stuff

Cream cheese

Eggs

Yoghurt

Cheese
Ham
Salmon
Tuna
Chicken
Favourite dips, hummus or Tzatziki or salsa


Step 2 Baking, just a little - I buy mini muffin cases and bake a double batch which stocks the freezer. Then the next time I make fruit pikelets I do a triple batch and freeze them. Only took me about 40 minutes and I made 64 muffins, which packs a lot of lunches.

Step 3 - Plan and pack the night before.

So this changes but for example I might buy fresh bread which gives us 2 days of sandwiches (rolled or cut with shape cutters), then we have wraps or pita, or vita wheats, and then I buy fresh bread again before the weekend.

I looovvvveee the Nude food lunch boxes. Easy to fill a little section, fits an apple well etc.

So our main menu

Lunchbox 1

Ham, cheese sushi sandwiches - you just roll them crusts off

Grapes

Cherry tomatos, carrot sticks, cucumber and dip

Pretzels
Banana muffin

(the picture is not an exact replica, just tomorrows lunch)

Lunch box 2
Vegemite vita wheats
blueberries
yoghurt with muesli
bread sticks w/ cheese
pikelets

Lunch box 3
Chicken and avocado pita pocket
fruit salad/ fruit kebabs
Cheese shapes with mini cutters
mini muffin
yoghurt


Lunch box 4
Chicken wrap, cream cheese and salad stuff they like
Salsa and carrot sticks
Boiled eggs - i take out the yolk as my kids don't eat it and it crumbles through the lunch box, yuck!!!

small container of tinned fruit - pineapple is a fav here!

Lunch box 5 - freezer/pantry lunch box when I haven't shopped

mini Quiche - bacon, leek, cherry tomato

mini muffin
Popcorn and dried fruit trail mix

crackers and cheese (we seem to always have cheese)

So I guees this gives you a rough idea. I am planning to start making drinks to include for my twins as their lunchbox goes in the fridge.

I figure this lunch will make my daughter smile when she opens her lunch box tomorrow,

and that makes me happy!