Clever Lunchbox Ideas by Neven Maguire

Bored with sandwiches and soup every day? Are you struggling with lunchtime ideas for your kids? Neven Maguire shares a few ideas for smart lunches that will excite and delight!

As we all know, healthy lunch ideas that inspire you to put together real food for your kids are essential if you want your children to have a balanced diet. Packing a lunch into a sectioned lunchbox or small Tupperware containers make is easy to put together an assortment of healthy textures, colours and a well-rounded assortment of food groups. Try to vary what you put in so that you don’t pack the same thing every day.

Some Menu Suggestions:

Melon ball skewers (using different varieties);

Cheese cubes with red and grapes on skewers;
Banana wrap - smear vanilla yoghurt on a wholemeal wrap, put in a peeled banana, then roll up to enclose and cut into quarters;
Mini wholemeal pittas filled with lettuce, turkey, tomato relish and cherry tomatoes;
Baby carrots;
Roasted red pepper hummus (shop-bought ot homemade);
Bread sticks wrapped in thinly sliced baked ham or Parma ham;
Crunchy soya beans;
Dried apricots and cranberries;
Mixed berry smoothie;

Bento Boxes

Bento boxes, which originate from Japan, are suddenly all the rage. Cuteness is the name of the game in the current trend of making bento lunches: food is often shaped into animals, flovers or cartoon characters. Although these adorable feasts tend to take a bit longer than a regular packed lunch, your child’s reaction will be worth it. Whether you decide to go super cool or not, you’ll need to purchase a bento box, which are now readily available in supermarkets and department stores.

Choose at least one option from each group:

1: Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Seedless grapes, Mandarin Orange Segments, Cherries;

2: Cubes of chicken, Chunks of their favourite cheese, Rolls of ham, Canned tuna flakes, Shredded cooked turkey;
3: Pasta with tomato dipping saucepot, Crackers, Tortilla wraps, Bagel chips, Mini Pitta pockets;
4: Carrot buttons, Slices of Cucumber, Raw Sugar Snap Peas or Mangetout, Celery sticks, Handful of Sweetcorn, A few Cherry Tomatoes.

Find out more in Neven Maguire’s The Nation’s Favourite Food FAST!, now available online and all good bookshops nationwide.