Three ways to make school lunches easier
We know only too well the struggle that mornings can be with school aged kids. There’s getting them up, dressed, fed and out the door with all the bits and pieces they need for the day. Add into that making a healthy and nutritious lunch that they will actually want to eat and mornings become a literal nightmare. The good news is that we’ve got some ideas to try to reduce the stress and make your mornings a little easier.
1. Preparation is your friend
You’ve heard the saying “preparation prevents poor performance” and this is true for school lunches. If you set aside some time on the weekend to plan and cook lunches, you’ll find that you gain some time in the mornings and remove one stress from the day.
Start by planning what to include in lunchboxes for the coming week. Then batch cook things like quiche, muffins and pasta salads and pop them in the freezer ready for the week. If cooking is not your thing or you’re time-poor take advantage of our ready-to-eat range of delicious foods like buttermilk chicken, quiche, egg and bacon tart, vegetarian patties, samosa, spanakopita, grilled chicken breast, and zucchini and bacon fritters.
2. Get the kids involved
Have your children help with the process of planning what to buy, choosing the food at the shop, and cooking and packing their lunch. This teaches them about healthy food choices and leads to less food waste because they are choosing food that they actually want to eat.
3. Pack and go
Presentation is really important because a lunch that looks appealing is much more likely to be eaten. Bento-style containers are fabulous for school lunches as they eliminate the need for plastic bags and wrapping. Silicone muffin cups are also really useful for separating food in lunch boxes. And don’t forget to keep a supply of ice packs or ice bricks in the freezer to keep cold foods fresh. Including an ice brick in the lunchbox will make sure that chilled foods remain safe, just like they would in the fridge at home. Pack sandwiches, fruit and dairy items like yoghurt in the lunchbox the night before and pop in the fridge. That means that in the morning you just have to top up with any pantry or freezer items and you’re good to go.
