Blueberry PeanutButter Smoothie

• 2 tablespoons peanut butter

• ½ cup blueberries, frozen

• 1 banana, frozen

• 4 pitted dates, frozen

• 1 cup milk of your choice

• honey, to taste

• 1 cup ice-cubes

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Add liquid if too thick, add fruit if too runny. You should be able to drink it through a straw.

Optional: Top with chia seeds.

Now, how about them lunchboxes? Endless sarmies will eventually bore you to death, salads are great but can be unsatisfying, and left-over pizza is unfortunately not a food group. Humph. Also, prepping for a week at a time is weird – can you really eat the same thing five days in a row?

Again, the greatest tip is planning – both for the kiddos and their extra-murals, and for yourself around your work sessions and being a parent. Write up your menu for the week and prep for each day the night before with a variety of textures. Always include a snack like nuts, biltong, grapes, cheese blocks or crackers.

A versatile winner that can pretty much include anything in the fridge and sustain you for an afternoon is a pasta salad. From simple Greek-style (tomato, cucumber, olives and a drizzle of olive oil, pictured) to the more sophisticated (see recipe below), a pasta salad is an easy fix for the family, goes a long way, and can include any protein from tuna to chicken to plant-based, or none at all.