LUNCHBOX INSPIRATION

After a lovely winter break our children are back at school and once again we are faced with the challenge of packing tempting and nourishing snacks for a busy day! I thought I would share some ideas that might help and inspire! Bearing in mind that playtime at school is limited and children want to spend this time playing with their friends, I pack small portions of a variety of snacks that are easy to “eat on the run”.

Remember that your child’s stomach is only as big as their fist and they therefore don’t need huge amounts of food. A rule of thumb is to only have a maximum of 3 fists worth of food per meal. I try to avoid things that will go soggy and also things that are messy and difficult to eat. Individually packed dry snacks are the answer!

I like to dehydrate my own fruit as this is the best way to get the full nutritional value. Although bought versions are available, they usually contain added chemicals. I have a wonderful recipe for dried apple chips, which my daughter adores. Sending apples to school is not always a good idea as they take too long to eat and often come home with a few bites out of them and have turned brown.

I hope these suggestions will help you with your lunchbox planning:

- Dried fruit pieces

- Dip ‘n Seed crackers and almond butter from Woollies

- Ancient Grain Original Crackers from Woollies

- Multigrain rice cakes with a little marmite

- Nakd Bars

- Organic Goji berries from Super Foods

- Kale chips (packed in an airtight container as they can go soggy)

- Raw tree nuts (FACT: peanuts are NOT nuts, they are legumes that grow on a

perennial plant along the ground)

- Organic raisins that do not have vegetable oil on them to make them shiny! Best,

nutritionally, would be raisins with seeds in them.

- Trail mix

- Fresh SEEDED grapes (don’t cut them up – you will lose nutritional value)

- Unpeeled bananas (make sure they have spots on them for better digestion and

nutrition)

- Dehydrated flax crackers

- Popcorn (use organic kernels and organic coconut oil)

We would love to hear from you if you have any questions or if you have some new ideas

for lunch box snacks that will keep our children nourished during their busy school days.