Healthy/less processed packed lunches

[Thora]

I know there have been loads of packed lunch threads over the years but I was hoping for some new ideas.

Soon going to have to make 3 lots of packed lunches for kids

My criteria are:
Healthy and low sugar
Avoiding processed snacks
No meat (fish fine)
No nuts

One kid also isn't keen on cheese/dairy products.
I don't mind doing a bit of cooking or baking especially if it's stuff I can do in advance and freeze.

What should I pack?

 

[SpookyFrank]

What should I pack?

An improved understanding of what 'meat' is.

 

[DaveCinzano]

Peak Urban

 

[Thora]

An improved understanding of what 'meat' is.

Your only contribution is that you're confused about what meat means...?

 

[SpookyFrank]

Your only contribution is that you're confused about what meat means...?

No, I also have something about only eating animals that come from ecosystems on the brink of collapse and how that's more ethical for some reason.

 

[PursuedByBears]

No 2 child sometimes take a little box of pasta with chickpeas, olives, lemon juice; apple/orange; Mr Kipling apple pie and cereal bar. Otherwise it's a jam or houmous sandwich.

No 1 child eats exactly the same thing every single day which is as above but always with cheese sandwiches.

Packed lunch making is tedious and unrewarding.

 

[Thora]

No, I also have something about only eating animals that come from ecosystems on the brink of collapse and how that's more ethical for some reason.

Cool but that's not very relevant to my kids packed lunch thread.

 

[Saffy]

I relied heavily on pasta salad when he managed to make the change from only eating chocolate spread sandwiches.

 

[Thora]

Packed lunch making is tedious and unrewarding.

Feeding children is pretty much the worst bit of parenting. And you have to do it multiple times a day.

I think mine would like a little box of pasta, chickpeas & olives though.

 

[ouirdeaux]

A pedant writes: the original meaning of 'meat' in English is 'food'. As in Biblical meat and drink. It only took on its modern meaning when people became too squeamish to say 'flesh' to refer to edibles derived from organisms that had had a more active life than the average plant.

 

[trashpony]

I used to get cheese and marmite sandwich, apple, yoghurt. I still think that’s an okay packed lunch.

for no dairy, tuna mayo and a homemade granola bar or muffin?

 

[trashpony]

Sandwiches are good because you can make them in advance and freeze them. You really don’t want to be making packed lunches x3 every morning before work

 

[Thora]

I've made oat bars before so will def do that again.

Are frozen sandwiches actually ok by the time they are eaten?

 

[Artaxerxes]

I make miso-yaki onigiri for when I go into work.

Miso Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Rice Balls) 味噌焼きおにぎり

Sweet, savory miso sauce slathered on warm rice balls, this Miso Yaki Onigiri is such a simple and humble dish, yet so deliciously comforting. Perfect for a summer picnic, afternoon snack for your children, or midnight treat for yourself!

www.justonecookbook.com

Worth looking into bentos in general

The Just Bento Cookbook

In this section, you'll find all the news, updates and so on about the Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go, and its sequel, the Just Bento Cookbook 2: Make Ahead, Easy, Health Lunches To Go.

justbento.com

 

[Thora]

I'm a bit cautious about sending rice in a lunch box it will be at room temperature for a few hours before being eaten.

 

[Epona]

I'm a bit cautious about sending rice in a lunch box it will be at room temperature for a few hours before being eaten.

Pasta that hasn't been stored correctly is a similar risk though

 

[Artaxerxes]

I'm a bit cautious about sending rice in a lunch box it will be at room temperature for a few hours before being eaten.

I atent dead

 

[Epona]

I think the key with both rice and pasta (I enjoy both cold in salads, but wouldn't eat leftovers that had been left out overnight) is what happens to it right after it is cooked.

Cooling it quickly and refrigerating it as soon as it reaches a safe temperature to introduce to the fridge is key.

Sushi rice for example is typically cooled very quickly by fanning it while adding the cold dressing.

(EDIT: also I use cold cooked rice very frequently to refrigerate to make egg fried rice and other fried rice dishes etc. - that needs to be dried out also so I spread it out on a baking tray and it cools and excess moisture is lost from it quite quickly, then into a bowl in the fridge).

 

[A380]

Just give them a couple of quid and tell them to go to the chippie. Never did me any harm (well apart from the type two diabetes, clinical obesity and beri-beri obvs).

 

[Epona]

Here's a salad I really love, it's a great base for adding cooked cold prawns or fish (especially salmon or tuna) to, the lemon and cucumber goes really well with seafood/fish - either with or without the feta. (But you could easily use other proteins too).

Cucumber Lemon Orzo Salad

Fresh, vibrant and so easy to make, this cucumber lemon orzo salad is a perfect summer side dish. Full of flavor and it can be made ahead of time in minutes

feelgoodfoodie.net

 

[Epona]

Depends how adventurous your children are too of course - barley, millet, cracked wheat, quinoa also make good bases for filling healthy salads that provide a bit more lunch variety than sarnies every day.

 

[Saffy]

Pizza is pretty good cold in a lunch box too. I make frying pan pizzas, the dough is enough for 3 and that does him all week.

 

[RubyToogood]

My personal default adult packed lunch is couscous with things in it (whatever veg I have, maybe chickpeas, something out of a jar like sundried tomatoes, some form of cheese or a dollop of hummus, things like that). Couscous easier than big pasta as you just have to pour boiling water on it. Would they eat that?

 

[Thora]

Yes, they will eat couscous. Pre-school might hate me for the mess though

 

[nagapie]

Sandwiches are good because you can make them in advance and freeze them. You really don’t want to be making packed lunches x3 every morning before work

My eldest eats a sandwich every day but freezing them, that sounds too weird.

 

[trashpony]

My eldest eats a sandwich every day but freezing them, that sounds too weird.

They were ok. My mum worked full time with 3 kids so it was either that or make it ourselves and we were too lazy for that!

They defrost by lunchtime and aren’t much more horrible than one made in the morning

 

[Santino]

and aren’t much more horrible

SOLD

 

[moomoo]

Mini pittas/wraps are more interesting than sandwiches and can be stuffed full of salad (plus whatever filling you like) without going soggy.

Yoghurt

Fruit

Cereal bar

Bottle of water

That’s what I used to put in my kids lunchboxes.

 

[purenarcotic]

Another vote for pasta salad type thing. Easy to make in bulk and sandwiches are gross after sitting around in lunchboxes. Big capacity for variety too; tuna mayo, tomato sauce with veg added, pesto etc. Could make on a Sunday, freeze in portions and take out the night before so it’s ready. All food is processed so I have no idea what you mean by that term, but for snack stuff the little sticks of cheese for dairy fans, dried fruits, berries always seem to go down well with kids I find… do they like chickpeas? You can roast a tray the same time you’re cooking the pasta and they get super crunchy, great texture wise and a combination of fibre and protein so win win. You can add spices or just salt, as a crisp substitute.

 

[killer b]

I tried to be creative but they didn't thank me for it, the fuckers. So they mostly had sandwiches/fruit/yoghurt/etc cause that was the easiest thing to whack together half asleep at 7.30 in the morning, and really what they preferred.

They're on school dinners since last year, and now they they can choose their dinner still have sandwiches fruit and yoghurt (and maybe some kind of cookie but they don't tell me about that), but with much lower quality ingredients.