Lunch Box Survival Training

Posted on 1 February, 2015

Are your kids back at school over the next week? Yes? Well buckle up soldier, welcome to lunch box boot camp.

Get in line, stand up straight and listen carefully. We are going to get through this year with no guilt, no stress and no fuss. You can put nourishing food in your child’s lunch box. And you will.

Step 1: Conduct a family meeting.

You wont have a good idea about what to pack your kids for lunch unless you talk to them about it.

We’re often hollering at our kids as they’re running out the door: “Mikey? Why didn’t you eat your yoghurt?”

Mikey can’t be bothered to talk about it, he just wants to go play soccer with his mates. Rather than talking about it on the go, have a purposeful moment where you sit down one evening and chat lunch box food. As they throw out some ideas that you deem worthy choices write them onto your list. Use this list for step 2.

Here are some food ideas from each of the food groups that you can use as a ‘conversation starter’. Try as much as possible to keep foods that are high in sugar and low in nutrition (jam, honey, biscuits, chocolate spread, cakes, muffins, etc) infrequent visitors in your child’s lunch box. Keep it simple, keep it basic. This post does not address fussiness in primary school age children, that is for another day.

Vegetables

• Carrot sticks with hummus to dip
• Traffic light boxes – put cut up carrots, capsicum and cucumber in a container
• Corn kernels in a snack cup with a spoon
• Cherry tomato halves and cheese slices
• Potato salad
• Zucchini slice
• Spinach and feta pikelets
• Ham and salad wraps/sandwiches
• Avocado sandwiches or wraps

Dairy

• Cheese slices with crackers or on sandwiches
• Yoghurt
• Vegetables sticks with cottage cheese dip

Whole grains & Legumes

• Sandwiches – put whatever you want in them
• Wholegrain crackers with hummus or cream cheese
• Fava nuts – really yummy roasted broad beans
• Small tins of baked beans

Meat, Fish & Eggs

• Tins of tuna with crackers or on a sandwich
• Boiled eggs on their own or mashed into a sandwich
• Chicken strips on their own or in sandwiches.

Step 2: Write a meal plan

Client after client asks me for advice on feeding their family healthy food whilst living a busy lifestyle.

It is possible but you can’t expect to change the way you do food as a family if you don’t plan to do so. There isn’t a secret formula that means healthy eating will one day naturally happen all by itself. You have to plan to eat well.

Print off this planner, fill it out, write a shopping list, order the food online or buy it in store, do the necessary prep and then you’re good to go. All that organisation on the weekend and you’ve got yourself quick easy lunches ready to go each morning, with out the fuss and the stress.

Step 3: Repeat steps 1 & 2 each week

Planning, preparing and creating healthy food that the family enjoys and putting healthy food in your kids lunch box each day is a skill that takes time to develop. Practice, practice, practice.

Keep talking to the family and keep planning. If something doesn’t work, try something else. Life is a constant renegotiation as we navigate everything that’s going on. Something that may have worked last year, might not work this year, That’s ok – move on and find another healthy alternative.

Need more help?

Visit the Good Habits for Life website to find out more about how you can encourage your kids to eat fresh, nutritious food. You’ll be teaching them good eating habits that will keep them healthy and happy throughout their lives. Try these handy tips, recipes and challenges to make it easier to keep your family eating well.