10 simple recipes for the ultimate lunch box

Grace and Harry are officially kindy kids.

Hooray.

They’ve both settled in beautifully to school and return home with the cutest paintings and stories about the fun they’ve had.

Unfortunately they’ve also returned home [on more than one occasion] with an almost full lunch box!

Which totally shocked me.

These kids love their food!

It turns out packing a lunch box ain’t so easy.

Getting the stuff kids love mixed in with the goodness they need is a little tricky.

But I’m delighted to say after a little experimentation [and lots of cooking] I’ve finally nailed the ultimate collection of lunch box recipes.

Recipes so yummy they’re guaranteed to fuel little tummies with whole food goodness and return lunch boxes home empty. Oh and did I mention most of the recipes are freezer friendly!

Meaning you can cook once and fill weeks worth of lunch boxes.

Along with a tub of natural yoghurt, carrot sticks, apple slices and fresh berries I pop 1-2 of these recipes into the lunch box too…

Simple to prepare and always a hit with the kids these apricot and coconut bliss balls are great in your little ones lunch box. This recipe makes 20 balls which are freezer friendly. Oh and if your school is ‘nut free’ simply swap the almond meal for rolled oats.

Full of carrot, zucchini, corn, fresh herbs and cheese – our mini vegetable loaves are a clever way to get a little extra veggie goodness into your kids! They freeze and defrost wonderfully – I wrap them into individual portions so they can be popped into the lunch box straight from the deep freeze. Simple and delicious.

Nothing quite says ‘I love you’ like a blueberry lemon & spelt muffin nestled in your little ones lunch box. The kids and I bake these together – Grace stirs together the batter whilst Harry tries his best to eat as many blueberries as possible. Being in charge of baking the muffins definitely encourages the kids to eat them! If your little one is going through a fussy stage – get them into the kitchen cooking too. Being a part of the process gives your child a sense of control over what they’re eating and [usually] gets them eating a lot more adventurously.

These zucchini pancakes are savoury lunch box heaven. They are chock full of zucchini, can be eaten on-the-run [which let’s face it – kids always are] and one batch makes a week or two of lunch boxes. I fry up a batch of these babies, wrap individual portions and pop in the deep freeze ready for the mid week lunch box dash.

For a special treat we’ll include one of our choc chip cookies into the kids lunch boxes. I don’t have to tell you these never return home – kids and chocolate huh?! Again, these cookies are freezer friendly and defrost in time for afternoon tea.

Our oodles of noodles are a leftover dinner the kids adore in their lunch box. Although mighty messy – these sauce [and veggie] soaked noodles are eagerly slurped down for lunch. However, these noodles do require refrigeration or appropriately cooled lunch box.

Kids and pasta = lunch box heaven. Our easy peasy pasta salad is a great alternative to the usual boring sandwich. The pesto soaked pasta is made even more delicious thanks to the sweet juicy cherry tomatoes and shards of parmesan. Although this recipe isn’t freezer friendly – it’s a great way to get your child used to seeing veggies in their lunch box.

Our Sunday morning surplus blueberry & ricotta buckwheat pancakes are great for the lunch box. A clever mix of banana, blueberry and ricotta these pancakes need no topping whatsoever as the jammy molten blueberries offer just enough sweetness. Another freezer friendly recipe – these will become a fast family favourite.

Our wholesome apple coconut & buckwheat breakfast cookies couldn’t be easier to prepare. Simply pop all of the ingredients into a bowl and give them a good stir. We intentionally shape large cookies so a slice of apple is easily nestled on top but feel free to make smaller cookies if you wish. Also, if your school is ‘nut free’ you can swap the almond meal for wholemeal flour.

baked tuna patties with pea hummus & oven roasted truss tomatoes

We make our baked tuna patties once a week for dinner and the kids love the leftover patties popped into their lunch box. Because these cakes contain tuna – your little ones lunch box must either be kept in a fridge or an insulated lunch bag with ice pack. This recipe makes approx. 15 patties that freeze wonderfully.

There you have it lovely!

10 simple yet delicious recipes YOU can pop into your little ones lunch box!

I truly hope these ideas help you pack a simple yet scrumptious lunch box that fuels your little one all day long AND returns home empty.

Tell me what your child loves to eat at school!?

Comments

MRS KELLY M MEMBURY says

November 16, 2016 at 12:13 pm

My son hates fresh tomato, do you have any suggestions for a replacement in the salads? Also he’s nearly 2 and likes to snack on a couple of biscuits and a little trail mix but I want to get him away from sweet snacks. Have you any ideas for a savoury cookie/biscuit recipe I could try. My family loves eating your food and we are so grateful for all your efforts and for sharing your recipes for free!! Hubby keeps telling me off for printing them but I love having them all in a makeshift book I can flick through when I need inspiration!

P.S. can’t wait to try these recipes, the printer is whiring away as we ‘speak’!

Thanks again.
KelzBelz1985

- mylovelylittlelunchbox says
  
  January 16, 2017 at 4:33 am
  
  YAY! So happy you’re enjoying our recipes Kelly! Hopefully I’ll have a cook book for you soon! Stay tuned lovely. Hahahahah my Grace goes through a love/hate relationship with tomato. I don’t replace it with anything – I’m really hoping she’ll change her mind (I grew up on a tomato farm lol). I read it can take 20 introductions before a child will like a new food…so I’ll keep on keeping on. But she does love sweet potato in salads if that helps you….we basically chop it, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked. Mixed through a salad its delicious! Hope that helps! Kayla X
  
Mandy says

November 22, 2016 at 10:48 am

I have tried a fair few of these with (mostly) success. Mine also like edemame (? Spelling) which defrost straight from the freezer, chicken and apple meatballs, corn cobs, dried fruit and pretzels. Can be tricky navigating daycare/school limitations. Thanks for more whole food ideas, I find your website invaluable!

- mylovelylittlelunchbox says
  
  January 16, 2017 at 4:29 am
  
  YAY! Thanks Mandy! X
  
Alexandra says

January 22, 2017 at 4:45 pm

I’ll certainly try out your tips also for our “adult” lunches 🙂 We need kind of a revolution in our home, when it comes to lunches at work. How many sandwiches can you eat in your whole work life 😉 At home we cook pretty healthy and variable, but we don’t have much time after work for preparing meals and your recipes seem to be easy and quick to make, especially when we can comfortably freeze them and defrost when we’re late at home or simply don’t have any idea what to prepare 😉 best regards from snowy Poland!

- mylovelylittlelunchbox says
  
  January 30, 2017 at 2:33 am
  
  Hi Alexandra! I hope you enjoy the lunch ideas lovely! Yes, how many sandwiches can you eat before they get boring! Change is like a holiday! Hope you find some winners here! Enjoy the snow! We’re melting here is Australia at the moment….so hot! MWAH! Kayla X