Healthy Kids Lunchboxes.....ideas?

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rebeccadavis88
rebeccadavis88 Posts: 40
in Food and Nutrition
Hey All

Earlier this week, I was prepping the families lunches for the next day and couldn't believe how healthy my family has become!!

Even my two boys had wholemeal wraps, bananas, strawberries, raisins and pecan nuts for snacks! I think its taken about a year to get to this point and their lunchboxes look very different to what they used to be .....white bread sandwiches, packet of crisps, chocolate biscuit and a banana!

I can't actually remember the last time we bought white bread! I make (healthier) cookies for the week for treats and they have Friday sweets, chocolate, occasional takeaways at the weekends (its all about balance!), but I think we have finally cracked it! We are on the whole a healthy family :happy:

Here are some of my ideas for the kids luchboxes - I would welcome any ideas you guys have too - could do with some new inspiration :wink:

Here are the cookie recipies. These are the healthier ones – both are yummy: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/756636/the-ultimate-makeover-chocolate-chip-cookies http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1112634/orange-oat-and-sultana-cookies

Here are my boys favourite – not so healthy but at least you know there’s not a load of preservatives in them: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2248639/butterscotch-cookies

I tend to do wholemeal wraps for the boys with different fillings: *Ham, Cream Cheese, Cucumber *Peanut butter, banana and cream cheese (only for my eldest!) *Chicken and Salad *Tuna with Sweetcorn

They always have chopped up fruit (they think its easier to eat!) including apples, grapes, strawberries, blueberries plus a banana.

Snacks are a choice of : healthy cookies, Popcorn (cook it in a brown paper bag in the microwave and top with cinnamon and little maple syrup), cheese cubes, plain yogurt mixed with a little vanilla and maple syrup.

If they are going through a growing spurt (being 16 and 12 that happens pretty often!) and need more food then I make up a big wholemeal pasta salad with Tuna or make a chicken cous cous salad and they take a box of that too.

Please share yours too!

Becky x x

Replies

  • Peanutbutterx
    Peanutbutterx Posts: 332
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    those are all good ideas, i would also try yogurt and apple sauce, apple slices with natural peanut butter, string cheese, baked chips, turkey an light mayo lettuce wrap, 2% chocalote milk, and natural fruit juice, baked apples with cinnamon, frozen grapes, vitamin enriched cereals, and raisins
  • kingofcrunk
    kingofcrunk Posts: 372 Member
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    That's so good that you are improving the health of your entire family. These habits will stick with them for the rest of their lives and they'll grow up being healthy humans too!
  • rebeccadavis88
    rebeccadavis88 Posts: 40
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    Oooh, love the idea of apple and peanut butter and frozen grapes - will have to try these, thank you! I did pick up a recipe for Banana icecream, which is just frozen banana liquidised up with some milk until its the right consistency - am yet to try it, but its supossed to be yummy! Thought this could be another healthy dessert.

    Please keep the ideas coming x
  • Peanutbutterx
    Peanutbutterx Posts: 332
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    ive heard of that too! using frozen bananas, sugar free chocalote syrup and i think it was peanutbutter too in a blender but i would go for natural peanut butter because it doesnt have a lot of sugar and uses natural peanut oil
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    My kids eat real peanut butter, real ice cream, real cookies and enjoy real birthday cakes. Yes, they get plenty of lean meat, vegetables, dairy, whole grains and fruit. They are also incredibly active. I refuse to play the "health food" game with my kids. That said, it looks like you're doing a great job with what you have up there, OP!
  • 1two3four
    1two3four Posts: 413 Member
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    I'm making those orange cookies w/ raisins. Yum.

    My only good idea was pasta salad and you seem to have that covered with the tuna salad...

    As I kid I used to LOVE cold chicken and bread and butter in my lunchbox... some pickles and a pear. Best lunch ever. Soup in a Thermos would have been a runner-up.
  • cineshome
    cineshome Posts: 97 Member
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    great thread! sushi would be my only novel idea.
  • rebeccadavis88
    rebeccadavis88 Posts: 40
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    My kids eat real peanut butter, real ice cream, real cookies and enjoy real birthday cakes. Yes, they get plenty of lean meat, vegetables, dairy, whole grains and fruit. They are also incredibly active. I refuse to play the "health food" game with my kids. That said, it looks like you're doing a great job with what you have up there, OP!

    I am right with you!! Just take yesterday as an example - it was my husbands Birthday, so we ate a fish and chip supper and Krispy Creme doughnuts! But I believe that this should just be a treat rather than a day-to-day way of eating.

    My kids have treats at the weekend, occasional pizza etc etc, it is all about balance.....but its great to see that over a period of a year or so they actually are fine (and choose) to eat wholemeal bread, fruit, popcorn etc on a day to day basis rather than eating crisps and chocolate bars full of sugary rubbish and saturated fat.

    I try and homecook most of our meals (unless I've had a really stressy day!) and we all eat the same and eat together.

    They are really active too (with football and streetdance) and I am hoping to have set them up to live healthy lives! I don't think its a "health game" as such I really didnt want to have pass on my unhealthy habits that I accrued over the years.....so we are all living healthy (and balanced) lives now.

    Warm soup and sushi could definetly be winners too! thanks for the ideas x
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
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    That's so good that you are improving the health of your entire family. These habits will stick with them for the rest of their lives and they'll grow up being healthy humans too!

    lol this made me laugh. Are they not human now?
  • jezzi16
    jezzi16 Posts: 128 Member
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    My daughter is a great eater. She is only 3 and in preschool so I pack her breakfast lunch and two snacks daily. One of her favorite snacks is cherry tomatoes , cucumbers and crumbled blue cheese. Someone mentioned sugarfree chocolate, I avoid giving her fake sugar as much as possible I'd rather her have the real thing in a limited amount then that chemcial stuff. That stuff is in everything from yogurt to vitamins these days so it's becoming harder to avoid,
  • brandyjones1991
    brandyjones1991 Posts: 34 Member
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    Bump!
  • emmalzthompson
    emmalzthompson Posts: 275
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    Definatly think balance is key, my little boy nearly four didnt try chocolate until his first birthday, so many shunted me for it saying i was depriving him. Which is ludacris why does a 9 month old need chocolate? any way he hated chocolate until about 8 months ago. it set his pallete right. He has always had a varied and balance diet. until recently he ate healthier than me!! BUT he does eat crisps, cakes, and chips, and sweets, to deprave a child of these things is also bad.

    I will look at your recipes in a minute, i do love giving me son a varied lunchbox, and just the other day his nursery teachers said to me they love his lunch boxes and snack options.

    So here are a few things I give:

    * Carrot sticks, a few tortilla chips and hummus ( all in separate little pots)
    * A pot of yogurt, a pot of granola, a pot of berries ( to keep it from going all gooey) to be eaten together.
    * Health food stores have some great healthy treats, Im in the UK ... 'Bears Nibbles' fruit yo yos are great.
    * Whole meal pitta bread with filling such as chicken,mayo and spinach. Ham and Cheese. mango, chicken and spinach.
    * Sandwiches are not a no go, just on whole meal or seeded bread, usually cream cheese and ham
    * I like to make a Bean, quinnoa, and sweet potatoes salad in bulk to last a few days and sometimes send him with this as apposed to sarnies/wraps/pittas .... If you would like the recipe let me know :)

    I do however also make sure a little treat is in each box ( by the way hes at nursery and I have to provide snacks for morning and afternoon as well as lunch) .... like snack size oreos, or a two chocolate fingers .... everything in moderation :D
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Bump! Am I the only one with kids who will pretty much only eat sandwiches and fruit?
  • emmalzthompson
    emmalzthompson Posts: 275
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    Bump! Am I the only one with kids who will pretty much only eat sandwiches and fruit?

    Dont deny them what they eat, but dont make a fuss about giving them new foods, just do it dont fret, dont show any signs of concern when you plate up something different. also i find if you keep serving dinners up with something they dislike they will eventually eat it. My son hated peppers, but If i had them in my meal i would give them to him too . i wouldn't ask him to eat them, I wouldnt ask him to try them. and one day he ate it, and said he loved them! this has happened with a few different food actually. :)

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