Real food lunchboxes

Posted bybrooklynwellnessnzPosted inRecipes

Some of our members are busy Mummas with littlies they are trying to feed the best foods available and affordable.

All well and good when they’re younger and can be fed at home, but when they get to school and see what other kids are eating, it becomes more of a challenge. Here are some of their ideas, with photos of actual lunches or lunchboxes they’ve provided.

Plus a few Mumma lunch examples, which could easily be popped in a bento box for an adult lunch.

“Old school” lunches

Back in the day, sandwiches were the main component of a school lunch. Now, some of our Mums prefer to avoid commercial breads. There are lots of examples of bread free lunches below, but there are also lots of alternatives to commercial breads which can be a very healthy addition to the lunchbox. We’ve compiled a variety of homemade bread options, suitable for any style of eating. They range from gluten breads, to non gluten but still carby breads, to lower carb breads. Some include veges such as carrot, zucchini or even swede. While some can be used to make sandwiches, many are more suited to an open, toasted or grilled sandwich. Another option is a wrap, and there are a selection of recipes on the bread page, and a great demo below.

A popular sandwich filling is sliced luncheon meat, but we know that it’s not really meat. Here are three recipes for making your own sliced sandwich meats:

Next item was usually some homemade baking. We’ve put together two pages of baking recipes:

  • Savoury – scones, muffins, fritters and more
  • Sweet – scones, muffins, cakes, biscuits

Finish it off with a couple of pieces of fruit, or maybe a small box of raisins.

Modern lunchboxes

Sandwiches, fruit and home baking are still staples of many lunch boxes, along with dinner leftovers. But now, a lunchbox is also likely to contain a selection of pre-packaged foods like:

  • Snack bars
  • Boxes of flavoured (sugar laden, low fat & pasteurised) milks
  • Fruit flavoured (sugar laden) pots of yoghurt
  • Mini bags of chippies or other crunchy snacks
  • Maybe small bags of nuts – but not if anyone in the school is allergic

Including one or two of these items from time to time is probably not an issue, but they may not include the nutrients that you want your children to be eating, for their current and future health.

Nutrient dense foods

Here are some examples of more nutritious foods that our mums supply, and that their children eat and enjoy. An easy trap to fall into, even with a Real Food lunchbox, is an over emphasis on carbs. So make sure there is a decent serve of protein, and some good fats in there as well. If you combine some savoury items with some (less) sweet items, that will probably cover it.

Savoury

  • See our Savoury baking page – for scones, muffins, fritters and more
  • Dinner left overs
  • Slices of cold meat or chicken tenders, or the homemade deli meats above
  • Italian meatballs
  • Hard boiled eggs, or make deviled eggs, or avocado deviled eggs. Hard boiled eggs, zizzed up with butter, avocado and a little salt make a nice sandwich filling too.
  • Chunks of cheese – look for ones with animal rennet, such as Mainland tasty
  • Broccoli & haloumi fritters – these are very popular with one member’s family, and are often requested cold for lunch boxes.
  • Spicy Tuna Cakes – Paleo, Whole30, Gluten Free
  • Mini pizzas
  • A small pot of hummus with crackers or raw veges to dip
  • Crackers – think of swapping around chick pea, rice, and almond crackers
  • Good portable veges: Cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, cucumber, radish
  • Check out our Finger foods for pot lucks post for more ideas

Sweet

  • One or two pieces of fruit is suitable, but not too much
  • Homemade scones, muffins, cakes, biscuits – see our Sweet baking post
  • Homemade snack balls and bars are best – see our selection here. Some commercial snack bars can be a good option, but check the ingredients carefully. One good brand are the Noshu range with no added sugar. See our article reviewing some snack bars – the good, the bad and the ugly.
  • One mum makes gelatin based desserts, and stores them in the freezer. By lunchtime it has defrosted to the perfect texture. Recipe to come.
  • Baked custard – a whole food recipe from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon that can be made in small ramekins, a perfect size for school lunches
  • Chocolate “hummus” dip – for better nutrition, allow time to soak the chick peas overnight before cooking them. See why and how here.

Homemade wraps

Make some wraps beforehand, and let the kids choose their own fillings. Natalie shows how to make wraps from her very versatile recipe, and Sebastian tells us what he chose to put in them.

Bento box examples

Mandarin, apricot and blueberries / Avocado / Carrot, cherry tomatoes / Humus / Corn crackers / Cheesecake (homemade – leftover from family Xmas dinner)

Watermelon and blueberries / Chicken tenders / Carrot and cherry tomatoes / Humus / Avocado / Corn crackers

Left over roast chicken / Microgreens (coriander and radish) / Cucumber / Avocado with hemp seeds / Tomatos / Gherkins / Cheese / Olives / Walnuts / Brazil nuts

Leftover roast lamb / Chickpea snacks and crackers / Cucumber and carrot / Orange, Grapes, Blueberries

Guacamole (avocado, fresh lime juice, lemon zest, tomato, red onion) & corn chips / cheese / carrots, tomato, cucumber / gherkins / micro greens / raspberries

Ideas from other blogs

Just for Fun

One mum’s account of the difference between American and French school lunches.

Recipe posts compiled by Deb,
with thanks to Emma, May, Sharon, Tanielle, Natalie and Melody
Weston A Price foundation, Nourishing our Children
For more recipes, go to the Recipe Index page

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