Healthy lunchbox snacks for children?

[Lily House]

My daughter's kindergarten is about to get some accreditation for healthy eating.

Currently they ban the obvious stuff - chips, lollies, chocolate etc, which I have no problem with. (If one four year old has a choci bar, they all want one).

With the new acreditation, they are going a step further and banning all processed and pre-packaged foods.

For snack time, I usually send my daugher with a piece of fruit (which she knows she has to eat first), and a muesli bar or cheese-n-bikkie snack-box thingo. But no longer - no more shop-purchased muesli bars etc.

Can anyone offer any suggestions as healthy snack foods for kids? I could send her with some cheese, or a yogurt (which I hate doing as she tends to eat half then put the rest back in her lunch box, which makes a heck of a mess), but I need more variety. She likes her carb-type snacks.

The other limitation is I don't have the time and inclination to be in the kitchen, daily, cooking up healthy snacks. Something like a once a week cook would be fine though. I'm thinking something like muffins that can be frozen, so I can just pull one from the freezer as needed.

Any ideas and recipes would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Lily

 

[Mooze]

Home made banana bread

Preheat oven to 160 degrees (fan forced)
20gm butter
2 large tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
- melt in saucepan together
add in three mashed banana's and stir
add in approx 200gms SR flour and a teaspoon of baking powder, stir through
add in one egg, stir through

whack in a loaf tin and bake for approx 35min or until firm. Takes about 5 minutes of prep once you've made it a few times

Another option
Home made energy slice
50gm honey
20gm butter
20gm brown sugar
2cups cornflakes
1 cup rolled oats
1/2cup coconut
200gm pack slivered almonds

melt first three in saucepan, then stir in rest of ingredients. Bake for 15min at 150 degrees, cut (but leave in pan), then refrigerate until needed.

Edit to add - the banana bread can be easily frozen as one or two slices per sandwich bag, and the energy slice keeps for several days in the fridge. We use these when we go on multiday adventure races, so the results have been tested with rough treatment.

 

[ianvestor]

I was going to say, muesli bars aren't really that hard to make and bake, but you don't want to be in the kitchen. A batch would probably last a while though if you wanted to do them once a week.

How about pikelets? Not everyone likes cold pikelets, but I sure did when I was 4 years old. Can't go too wrong (unless you buy that pre-mixed shake stuff )

2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
1/4 to 1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
Milk to good consistency (usually about 2 cups)

Use low heat (like 2 out of 6 on my electric stove).

-Ian

 

[wylie]

What about -

carrott, celery and zuccini cut into strips with a little container of dip

store bought muffin cannot be picked as being store bought

plain popcorn

squares of quiche eaten cold

magic apples (cut into quarters, core cut out, and put back together so it looks like a whole apple until the wrap comes off and it comes apart again - stops the apple turning brown

Slinky - you can buy the slinky machine for about $30 from kitchen stores and it cores and cuts apples into one giant spiral that still look like a whole apple until you unravel it.... one way to get kids to eat applies who might balk at eating them whole

 

[Bradsdad]

Make you own muesli slice? Banana or date loaf is another easy one that only requires the once a week cook and can be stored in a tupperware container.

Far better that anything dairy that runs the risk of going off after sitting in the lunch box (out of the fridge).


BTW....

I always found that when you feed my kids they grow. This leads to the need for more clothes and the need to buy more food for them. Gotta be far cheaper just teaching them to hunt and point out which berries are edible.

 

[lizzie]

if you're looking for carbs - my littlie loves cooked tube pasta in her lunchbox.

i find the best thing is that i have a collection of little (easy to open) containers and just put a bit of everything in a container. chopped carrot, diced sandwiches, rice cracker biscuits, cheese (loves camenbert), pasta, grapes etc.

 

[wishing_well0]

I found this website looking for some ideas a little while ago and love it. There is a section just for lunch box ideas. I also bought couple of WW cookbook's that that also have quick and easy school lunch box ideas. Pizza Scrolls, muffins, cookies, slices etc.

Some of them are so quick & easy the kids enjoy making them

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/lunch+box+ideas

The pizza scrolls and picklets are favorites in our house. We also include at least on piece of fruit at morning and afternoon snack time.

Have fun

 

[Lily House]

Thanks everyone - great ideas.


Mooze - love the sound of those recipes, super quick and easy which even I could handle - and especially as they can be stored for a while. Thanks for taking the time to type them out for me.

Ian - we often have pancakes for our special Sunday brunch, so great idea. I'm going to try yours with the wholemeal flour which is so much healthier. Thank you.


Wylie - I just wish my daugher would eat raw veggies! Those apples ideas are cool. Thanks.


Bradsdad - thanks for the giggle. Do you (or anyone else) have a recipe for a kid-friendly muesli bar?

Lizzie - pasta! I think she would love that. And yes, they like their little containers don't they. Thanks for the ideas.

Wishing Well - thanks, I'll check out that web-site. I think the words 'pizza scroll' will have great appeal to my daugher.


Thank you all.
Lily

 

[RumpledElf]

Home made meusli bars are great, you can make them way bigger than the tiny little ones you buy. WAY more expensive though, they cost a lot less by volume but they taste good so instead of 1 a day for the kid it works out to 6 a day for everyone. Meusli bars are really high fat/sugar ... yum

I'd be going with mixed dried fruit and nuts as a lazy option. Or diced apple and cheese and dried apricots together. Or that packet muffin mix (or some other packet cake mix, any will do) and put em in cupcake or tart trays and make weeny little muffins.

I send my kid to school with relatively junky stuff every day (white bread sandwiches, packaged meusli bars) because she'll actually EAT them instead of quietly binning them and then coming home whinging about being hungry.

I really hate the healthy eating kick. Its not opt out, so the kid comes home ranting on about fat, refuses to eat any meat because it might have fat on it (especially stir-fry, she really hates that), interrogates me about all the healthy stuff in the house (things like apples and strawberries) as to its fat content but give her chips and she's in heaven and won't believe you that it's unhealthy because you can't see the fat on it. I argue with my daughter a lot at the best of times, I don't want to have other argument topics coming home from school, she's a skinny picky eating pain in the butt at the best of times without giving her MORE reasons not to eat the non-junkfood.

You honestly think any of this healthy-eating enforcement has any effect? The fat slobby kids that live on maccas at home aren't going to be swayed by anything, and us skinny people who eat unprocessed passably healthy food wind up with some picky little nuisance and more arguments and me having to correct all the garbage notions she's brought home because she's so selective about listening. I wouldn't mind if they said "chips and soft drinks and lollies are bad" but they say FAT is bad and you can only see fat on meat, and you can see fat when you pour oil in a pan. You can't see it in anything else.

 

[Nards]

Along with all the other things above, my 5y.o likes little containers with dry cereal like nutrigrain, cheerios or mini wheats. Also a few crackers with some slices of cheese and olives to put on top. My daughter loves nuts too, but these are banned at school due to allergies, so save them for home.

Fruit bread with a smear of marg....

As already mentioned there a lots of websites with kid-friendly lunchbox ideas....we make loads of healthy mini-muffins and pikelets also.

Cheers, Nadia

 

[ianvestor]

Along with all the other things above, my 5y.o likes little containers with dry cereal like nutrigrain, cheerios or mini wheats.

Whoa! Go the mini-wheats. Dry nutrigrain should be classed as a 'lolly'.

 

[The Y-man]

With the new acreditation, they are going a step further and banning all processed and pre-packaged foods.... some cheese, or a yogurt

Hang on - cheese and yogurt are not processed and prepacked?

How about dried fruit? Dried apricots, sultanas, cranberries, dates, apples, pineapple, mango, pawpaw, goji....

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[our obsession]

Coupla world famous obsession snacks...

An alternative on little pizza type snacks is a wholegrain breadstick and/or pipe loaf.

-Slice the loaf/stick up into suitable thickness of pizza bases

-In a bowl, (when I used to make these with the little kids, they had a bowl too and were able to get creative with their own toppings)...low fat mozz or tasty/cheddar cheese, (grated)

-coupla eggs

-chopped up tomatoes

-heaven forbid the little trees, chopped up broccoli

-sliced spring onions

-chopped up bacon and/or ham...and as pointed out to me by a budding improvising 6 yo chef, "we can do mutton and chicken too!"

-i have been known to use chopped garlic, depends upon person eating them

-chopped up fresh parsley or any herb u think might go well in it (mix)

-just can't think of any other toppings, i think we just sort of fly by the seat of the pants

-have oven really hot, lay out bases on baking tray spread over toppings, probably not too thick is best

-only takes shortime to cook (guess who never uses recipes or follows instructions) long as oven hot and toppings cook and go golden

-wholegrain cereal, plus good coverage of proteins, dairy and fruit/vegies, no need to lather cheese, egg holds it together as well, u will figure out topping ratios as u practice, and it's good fun cooking it all up with the kids

-can do the ham/pineapple/cheese too, but multi affect is generally most popular, and they never cottoned onto "doin' broccoli" sometimes zucchini, any green bits are generally ok, whatever is lying around fridge

-wholegrain/wholemeal flour banana cake, none of the bleached muck mongrelised flour...no need overdoing sugar in it, bananas naturally good flavor make good taste.

-earlier start little ones on foods, experiences of different flavors, using the healthier stuff, i found better eating habits insitu from start, and i am not the world's greatest cook, but i am here on my little hill lotta fun

-big kids love 'em too, and big, ooooooold kids

-fresh fruit salad, getting them to help chuck in the strawbs, watermelon, rocky, banana, kiwi fruit, apple, orange, red seedless grapes is fun, lots of natural goodness, lots of color, shapes...put in small container to take in school lunch, also an improvising game.

 

[Alabex]

How about just buying the bars etc unwrapping them and re-wrapping them in glad wrap.. then they look home made he he...

What about going to a deli and getitng some little suffed sundried tomatos or olives, falafel rolls etc???

 

[bailz66]

Just further to that make sure you mix it up a bit.

For my 13 years at high school my mum made me lunch (Slack i know) she always packed nearly the same thing every day and after 13 years i will rarely go near a sandwich just because i had so many growing up.

The different fruits are great to pack as they are healthy and you can get a good mix so they dont get sick of them.

 

[silversands]

Hi,

My munchers love mini quiche. Use a lge scone cutter to cut puff pastry. Put it in muffin trays and fill with a combination of cheese, cream, egg, corn bacon, onion, cherry tomatoes or any similar chopped veg and bake for 20 mins. Can freeze once cooked.

Enjoy

 

[Olly]

http://www.lifestylechannel.com.au/4Ingredients/recipes.asp

I suggest the following from the above link-
Episode 2 -Lunchbox Sushi & Apricot balls
Episode 4 - Chicken Nuggets, Little Lemon Cheesecakes, Tuna and Tomato Risotto
Episode 5 - Avocado Salsa
Episode 6 - Mini Pizzas

Some spreads that can also be used as dips with carrot or celery sticks or crackers
Hoummus
Tin of Chick Peas
3 tablespoons tahina light
2 tablespoons Olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
salt
Blend together and top with paprika and drizzle olive oil

Avacado
Just blend together
Flesh of avocado
lemon juice
crushed garlic

Creamed Cheese

Lebanese Bread Rolls
Mash up tuna or salmon (after removing bones and black skin) and remove most of the juice so it doesn't make the bread soggy.
Spread a 'tube' of tuna or salmon down one end of the bread then roll up.
Cut into 2 manageable lengths instead of leaving it one long roll.
Optional
Use shredded chicken made creamy with mayonnaise
Use a spread if you like
Add other bits and pieces - tomato, cucumber

Get your daughter to help you prepare her food the night before. Great bonding time, she's learning something and is more likely to eat her food if she's helped make it.

Cheers
Olly

 

[Lily House]

Thanks very much everyone,

Elf - try getting your daughter to squeeze a chip between some pieces of paper towel - then she might believe you about the fat.

Nadia - thanks for the ideas.

Y-Man - yep, I get your point about the dairy products. And I just wish my daughter would eat dried fruit - so easy to chuck in a box of sultanas! At least she likes the fresh fruit.

Our Obsession - thanks for the reminder about home-made pizzas. You are right - kids love to help with the cooking.

Alabex. hee hee. Love your devious mind.

bailz66 - so true, variety being the spice of life and all.

Silversands - those quiches sound so easy and yummy - thanks so much.

Olly - thanks for taking the time to type out those recipes. I'll check out that website. The one that WishingWell pointed out is excellent.


Lily

 

[marg4000]

Someone mentioned nuts...

Please check with your kindergarten - most are nut-free these days due to some kids having severe allergies.
Marg