Back-to-School Lunchbox Inspiration!

Back to school we go... and with it comes the inevitable lunchbox dread. Fine for the first week whilst some enthusiasm and inspiration remains in the tank, but by week two, we are back to the boring fallback of ham sandwiches, an apple and mini cheddars! Not that I particularly have anything against any of these three food items, but after a while they would become very repetitive for anyone.

So let's get creative and start making some interesting lunchboxes that will be the envy of the class!

I like to think of a lunchbox as a pick and mix project:

- Start with the main event and pick one from each group:

Carbohydrates: pasta / rice / pitta bread / bagel / couscous / wrap

Protein: tuna / houmous / cold chicken / hardboiled mashed egg / ham / falafel

Veggies/Salad: lettuce / sweetcorn / cherry tomatoes / spinach / pepper

- Now pick two fruits/veggies from your five a day: blueberries / satsuma / apple / strawberries / banana / pear/ mangetout / carrot sticks / cherry tomatoes / cucumber sticks

- Finally, add in one or two yummy snacks: yoghurt / cheese portion / pretzels / dried fruit / granola bar / fruity flapjack / energy ball / dip and breadsticks / hardboiled egg / rice cakes

That's it!
Get creative with these tips... here are some ideas:

• Pasta salad - use leftover pasta from your evening meal and stir in tinned tuna or pesto and some frozen peas
• Hard boil a few eggs to use as a sandwich filler (mashed with mayo and cress) and leave some whole to have as extra snacks
• Chop up a load of crudités (store in the fridge in cold water) and have with dips as a snack
• Stuff a pitta bread with leftover cold chicken and some salad from the fridge
• Make a couscous salad with some falafels leftover from dinner the night before
• Make a batch of healthy flapjacks to have as snacks all week (check out our Instagram for recipes!)
• Chop up some mini cheese portions and bag up with breadsticks for grab-and-go lunchbox snacks
• Make a smoothie and pour some into a little bottle as an extra snack to have at lunch

Don't forget to follow our Instagram account for more lunchbox inspiration!

Faith 

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