School of Yum
I’ve been thinking the thought of a thousand parents who has a child starting ‘big school’ this week; where did the time go? Thing is, there were no tears (from either of us!). I’ve been as excited for her and she is for herself. We both have the same ‘let’s do this’ attitude. But still, it’s the end of an era…but also the beginning of another. Monday-morning-school-uniform panic, more socks to lose in the washing machine, Saturday sport, best friends, wrong uniform sports days, homework dramas, parents completing class projects, banana left in the school bag, ‘lost’ notes from the teacher, forgetting underpants…you get the picture.
Lucky for me, I’ve had some practice in the packed lunch department with both my kids having attended family day care on and off over the years. There’s a lot of pressure on parents to provide an eclectic yet appealing variety of food for their growing offspring. It feels a lot to me like a Vegemite sandwich, an apple and a poppa just don’t cut the mustard these days. But I cringe at seeing some of the alternative suggestions where being original outweighs being realistic (homemade Vietnamese rice paper rolls anyone?). I think somewhere between the two is reasonable for both parents who have to make it, and for children who have to eat it.
I try to remember these five elements for an interesting and healthy school lunch box:
Drink
A bottle of water is a given these days, but there’s nothing wrong with the bubblers. Otherwise a fruity poppa or flavoured milk work a treat. When it’s been frozen the night before, it goes from convenient ice-brick to a gorgeously cold, slushy reprieve from an intense game of chasies.
Fruit
I think most schools have adopted ‘crunch ’n’ munch’ break where each child must sit down to eat a piece of fruit. I think this is a great initiative. Every kid, all at the same time, is eating his or her piece of fruit. No more smelly bananas left in the school bag. While you can get most fruit all year round these days, it pays to shop seasonally. You’ll save money and get the best nutrients from what’s most fresh. Here’s a loose guide to work from:
Spring / Summer
+ Apricot
+ Banana
+ Blueberry
+ Raspberry
+ Strawberry
+ Cherry
+ Fig
+ Mango
+ Honeydew melon
+ Rockmelon
+ Watermelon
+ Nectarine
+ Orange
+ Papaya
+ Passionfruit
+ Peach
+ Pineapple
+ Plum
Autumn / Winter
+ Apple
+ Banana
+ Grapes
+ Kiwifruit
+ Mandarin
+ Orange
+ Pear
Dairy
This has everything to do with providing calcium and protein for your little tike’s growing body. For those intolerant or allergic to dairy or are vegetarian there are a lot of alternatives for which I am sure parents are well versed on. In our house we look to the following:
+Yoghurt
+ Cheese
+ Cream cheese
+ Quiche
+ Frittata
+ Hard boiled egg
Lunch
Sandwich bread, rolls and wraps are the majority shareholders when it comes to the main meal of the school day. You can go to town on the combinations here or keep it as simple as some Vegemite if the weekly shop’s not yet been done. Some of our favs are:
+ Banana & honey
+ Egg, lettuce & mayo
+ Ham, tomato & cheese
+ Tuna, cucumber & carrot
Some other ideas, which are usually the result of leftovers in our household, are:
+ Pasta & chicken salad
+ Corn & zucchini fritters
+ Potato salad
+ Rice salad
+ Fried rice
+ Homemade ham & pineapple pizza
+ Meatballs
+ Sausage roll
Treat
You can leave the lollies, chips, cake and fizzy drink for all the birthday parties they’ll be going to. But we all like a little goodie to round out a meal.
+ Corn chips & guacamole
+ Rice rounds & hummus
+ Muesli bar
+ Dried fruit
+ Fruit jelly cup
+ Muffin
+ Mini pikelets with jam
+ Anzac cookie
+ Trail mix with choc bits
Otherwise, there’s always the school canteen. Never did me any harm.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Susan Whelan, Carol Duncan. Carol Duncan said: Thanks! RT @siobhan_curran: Just in time. Some simple lunchbox ideas RT @cookwithheart: School of Yum. http://is.gd/PvF62q [...]
Can you make me lunch everyday! This would definitely stop me from going to the pie truck at work.
This is absolutely amazing – fantastic ideas and your photos as usual are unbelievable.
For a person who hates doing school lunches this has giving me such inspiration!
Great post! I came over from Tricia’s blog… your site is so lovely, esp. love the header…
http://www.eatatdixiebelles.blogspot.com/2010/01/school-lunch-snack-ideas.html