Great ideas for stress-free lunchboxes

Nutritionist Chloe Steele provides inspiration for healthy, filling school lunchboxes that your kids will actually eat!

f you dread the thought of a whole

Iweek of lunchboxes every Monday morning, then you are not alone. Finding nutritious and appetising foods that will withstand the rigours of the schoolbag is not an easy task. I speak to numerous lunchbox makers in the playground and most of them have run out of ideas, are exasperated by the whole experience and are desperate for some tips to keep it interesting. So why are more and more children taking their own lunch to school?

It has been 16 years since Jamie

Oliver first visited school canteens and highlighted the terror that is the

Turkey Twizzler – thankfully a lot has changed since then. Improvements in food quality and education have ensured that lunches in most schools aren’t simply about preventing hunger, but improving health, grades and athleticism. Despite this, one unforeseen outcome has been that many parents and carers lost faith in the Great British school lunch and started sending children with a packed lunch, as it was seen as the healthier option. However, the reality is that only 1% of packed lunches meet the nutritional value that schools are required to achieve with cooked lunches.1

The playground has become a battleground, with schools, parents and students all hotly debating what constitutes healthy food and what should be included in a lunchbox

The playground has become a battleground, with schools, parents and students all hotly debating what constitutes healthy food and what should be included in a lunchbox. Everything from cakes and biscuits to packets of crisps are now being banned due to their high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat, which unfortunately often leads to lunchbox shaming and a huge amount of confusion. What we, as the lunchbox makers, need to focus on is the fact that what goes in the lunchbox needs to be eaten and will keep our children healthy and attentive during lessons.

KEEP IT SIMPLE AND PLAN

Many of us plan our weekly evening meals, however, fail to do the same with lunchboxes. Planning can save you time, stress and money. Keep it simple and base your planning around a starchy carbohydrate like the nut-free pesto and tomato pasta recipe (see page 95) or some sort of wholemeal rice, cereal or grain. Then add in a fruit and some vegetables, some protein and a water bottle.

Carbohydrates are often vilified as the reason for weight gain, but the reality is that carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy, which is especially important in growing children. Combining carbohydrates with other food groups ensures that they are gradually absorbed, resulting in level blood sugar and a child who can concentrate.

PACK THE NIGHT BEFORE

If you find that your morning is a bit chaotic, then it may be useful to pack lunches the night before. Items such as vegetable sticks, fruit skewers and vegetable pikelets (see recipe on page 98), can be easily prepped and placed in the fridge overnight, allowing you more time to repeatedly remind your children to brush their teeth and put their shoes on!

BE AWARE OF SCHOOL GUIDELINES

Now, what happens if you follow the advice and send your child off to school with a lovingly homemade, sugar-free lemon and courgette cake, only for them to come home with a banned food notice? Remain calm, teachers and lunch staff may be unaware of the nutritional value of your food and are simply following guidelines. If you feel strongly about the decision, then speak to the school and see if you can work out a compromise. But remember that when we send our children off to school, it is not only them that sign up to the rules, parents and guardians have a responsibility to follow them also.

BAKE YOUR OWN

Our lives are busier than ever and our reliance on ready-made and packaged foods has increased. Ultra-processed foods are characteristically high in sugar, salt and fat and can be hyperpalatable, so if included in packed lunchboxes could mean that any healthy foods remain uneaten. Highsugar foods can cause blood sugar spikes, to which the body responds by producing insulin and other hormones driving sugar down to suboptimal levels, resulting in the release of stress hormones. In a child this can manifest as hyperactivity, followed by irritability and stress, which is not a great recipe for learning.

Instead consider baking your own, set aside some time and freeze what you make. Baking your own will ensure that you are more aware of what ingredients are included. Items like the cheese and veggie quiches (see recipe on opposite page) and vegetable pikelets are great for freezing and can simply be defrosted and popped in the lunchbox.

INCLUDE DISLIKED FOODS

Familiarising children with foods that they may not like is a great way to encourage them to be eaten. Don’t be afraid to include a small portion of a disliked item alongside foods you know they will eat. This is an especially good tactic with small children, who as part of their development, will refuse new foods or those that they ate before without any fuss. Sitting and sharing a meal with their classmates may give them the push they need to try a new food item. But don’t be disheartened if they continually return home untouched, it might not be a fast process, but one day they may surprise you.

USE LEFTOVERS

Packing leftovers from the night before is a great way to ensure your children are getting a healthy home-cooked meal at lunchtime and will save you time in the long run. Items like the nut-free pesto pasta recipe are easily made for dinner and can be rolled over to the next day. Meals like this can also be another avenue to get extra vegetables included in their diet without them even realising, just ensure that you make enough to cover both days.

CONSIDER THE LUNCHBOX

How the packed lunch is presented can make a huge difference to whether it is eaten or not. Now I am not saying go out and spend excessive amounts of money on a lunchbox. Simple solutions like a large silicone ice cube tray in a Tupperware box will look appealing, keep food items separate, and ensure that you are not left reeling when it gets lost within the first week.

Chloe Steele MSc Personalised Nutrition is a registered member of British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and an editorial board member of Nutritional Medicine Institute. For recipes and nutritional advice, follow her on Instagram

@ladyaboutnutrition

REFERENCE

1. Dimbleby H, Vincent J. The School Food Plan. Sch Food Plan. 2013;(July):149. https:// assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/251020/The_School_Food_Plan.pdf.