Healthy lunches for kids

It's almost that time again when the kids return to school. We, as parents, are faced with the daily dilemma of what to put into the kids lunches that is healthy and filling and that they might actually eat!

Growing kids need plenty of starchy food to fill them up and give them energy. Meals should be packed with fibre, protein, carbohydrate and vitamins to help them grow and help boost their brain power.

It would be a good idea to get a lunchbox with different sections so that they could pick and mix themselves as they like. You can probably get them in Tesco. You could use some of the below suggestions to fill the different sections:

• Raw carrots, cucumber, broccoli, peppers, sugar snap peas, green beans etc. cut up into bite sized pieces, or sliced with a vegetable peeler.
• Cooked chicken, ham, beef etc in bite sized pieces. (you could use leftovers from Sunday dinner on Mondays) 
• Hard boiled eggs cut up.
• Bite sized cheese pieces.
• Dried fruit and nuts.
• Any type of fruit cut up e.g. melon, pineapple, mango, grapes, peaches, apples, pears, kiwi etc. 
• Cherry Tomatoes.
• Leftover roasted sweet potato or roasted butternut squash.
• Leftover meatloaf   *
• Homemade granola bars *
• Homemade coleslaw *
• Pasta Salad.
• Rice Salad.
• Cous Cous.
• Mini Quiche.
• Sandwiches made on brown bread, pitta bread, wholemeal wraps.
• Crackers and cheese.

Some of the suggestions you are probably thinking your child will never eat, but if you don't offer it to them you will never know! They are no doubt very hungry when it comes to lunch time in school so you might be pleasantly surprised when they come home with an empty lunch box! And don't forget to give them their water. Avoid fruit juice and diluted juice, these are full of sugar.  

I will put up some healthy recipes for granola bars, coleslaw and meatloaf in a blog in the coming days. What is a good idea is to make some things at the weekend and then freeze them so you have them to hand when you need them. Every little helps in the mornings when you are tied to time getting your little ones up and ready for school!

It gives you extra time then to get your workout in before school! Happy mammy, happy kids! That's the way it works in my house anyway :)