Healthy lunchbox ideas

[fliptheswitch]

I seem to be putting the same things in my child's lunchbox, which is obviously a bit boring for my child.
It's usually a roll or sandwich, carrot sticks, yoghurt and some kind of mini chocolate bar/treat.
If I could get some different ideas, that would be great. Healthy please.

TIA.

[I.Don No]

I am a school dinnerlady so I see a few different set ups as far as lunchboxes go. It seems to me you are doing OK as long as you vary the content of the roll or sandwich and maybe sometimes replace with a piece of home cooked chicken or a pasta salad with ingredients your child will eat. The addition of a piece of fresh fruit is also a good idea....I, for one, don't mind peeling an apple if asked!

Above all keep a check of what your child brings back home and if there are somethings not eaten just ask if they didn't like it or were just not in the mood for that particular item that day. You would be surprised how many times a child will turn up with the same sort of sandwich that they took home a day or two previously saying to me that they did not like 'corned beef' or whatever it was. Sometimes I am convinced the very same sandwich turns up.

Also, do not overload the lunchbox. Some children will get upset if they do not eat everything they find inside either because they did not like it or, believe it or believe it not, that there was not time during the whole lunchtime for them to eat it all. Some children bring enough to feed the street!

hope this helps!

[boxtops]

I can only speak for myself, but I've started taking wraps for lunch instead of bread - bread is my downfall, wraps give some variety. You can get them in the supermarkets in lots of different sizes and flavouring now.

[redcrx]

my son likes the usual sandwiches and yogurt but he likes fresh fruit (kiwi / apples / grapes) and also those little bags of yogurt covered raisins etc.

[Old_Geezer]

How about cooked rice with bits of veg and maybe fish or meat in it ? A kedgeree type of thing ?

In fact the cooked and cooled type of thing must have a number of variations you could consider. Doesn't all have to be high fat mayo potato salad.

[fliptheswitch]

Pasta and rice is a great idea, so thank-you for that.
He's not fat, just a bit tubby, so I am trying to keep things as healthy as possible. He was on school dinners, but each time I asked him what he'd had for lunch, it would always be pizza, chips, that kind of thing... which is not what we were told when we signed up. Think they need Jamie Oliver to pay them a visit!
Wraps are also a brilliant idea.

[annie0000]

Sugar free jelly pots tend to go down well - mine like chapatis with honey and or peanut butter (they tend to be wholemeal), Raisins, plenty of fruit (a favourite is a tub of fresh chopped up pineapple), they like cold toast too for a change from sandwiches but maybe not to everyones taste! Sliced cucumber or baby tomatoes. They also like Melba toast with those wee tubs of philadelphia cheese to spread on it. They sometimes get leftovers too like quiche or pasta. Eldest loves those tins of peppered mackerel in olive oil mixed into rice.

[Buenchico]

There's not necessarily anything wrong with pizzas, Fliptheswitch, especially those served in schools. When I was teaching I always ate with the kids. The pizzas (on a wholemeal base) were delicious, as well as being both 'healthy' and nutritious.

However, to attempt to answer your question;
Firstly, vary the bread as much as possible. Use rolls, sliced loaves, wholegrain bread, bagels and pitta pockets.
For the fillings, start with the 'usual suspects' (cheddar cheese, blue cheese, beef, pork, ham, chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, etc) but consider what goes well with them. (Beef is traditionally paired with horseradish sauce, and ham with mustard, but there are lots of other accompaniments. I particularly like Stilton with mango chutney. Another favourite of mine is cream cheese with celery and crunchy peanut butter!).

See here for some quick (and different) sandwich fillers:
http://www.bbcgoodfoo.../fab-sandwich-fillers

Take a look in supermarkets to see what they put in their pre-packed pitta wraps, and then put your own variations into pitta pockets. And/or, see here:
http://www.recipe.com...unch/sandwiches/pita/

There seems to be no fruit in your daily list. Things like apples and bananas immediately come to mind but fruits like pineapple can be cut up into chunks and put into plastic containers.

Just stick to the basic rules, as illustrated here
http://news.bbc.co.uk.../img/lunchbox_786.jpg

21:33 Fri 17th Jun 2011

[joeluke]

My young son takes a sarnie, crisps, cherry tomatoes, slices of cucumber, grapes and some raisins

[hannah40]

raisins and yogurt flakes and a bay bel and brunchies which are cookies made of oats and seeds and chocolate chips.

[momcj]

U know them certain snack packs where u get round crackers, cheese and a meat (ham/turkey etc) these are quite high in all the bad stuff and pricey!, so i make my own for my daughter, get stack of crackers, cut a stack of cheese and a stack of meats, they enjoy building the towers. also little tubs of whatever salad stuff they like- carrots, celery, cherry tom, cucumber, pepper etc. Ive also done in her lunchbox-keish, pasta salad and rice salads and rice cakes instead of crisps.

[Angie85]

My daughter eats ridicuslously healthy, i pray for the days when she would like a bag of crisps! Would make my life easier haha! But no, my little'un normally has a sandwich, most of the time marmite (she's a bit obsessed! Lol) but sometimes i'll make her a pasta pot with tuna, a salad pot (this includes cucumber, red yellow and orange peppers, tomato and olives) a yoghurt and a piece of fruit bread and a bit of fruit :-)

[joko]

baby bels, snackajacks, sugar free jelly pots