Pack, eat and repeat.
As we roll into the school year, it's time to start thinking about ways to make lunchbox packing easy and affordable - and keep those mornings stress free. Think healthy snacks, baking in bulk and shopping for easy to pack vegies and fruits.
Remember to plan ahead and stock up on healthy ready-to-go snacks that will give your kids long lasting energy. Preparing your own healthier snacks also saves money, and the reduced packaging is better for the environment. Setting time aside on one day to bake some sweet and savoury muffins, pikelets, fritters or healthy biscuits will kick start those first few weeks and save loads of time in the long run. Extra batches can go straight into the freezer in zip lock bags.
Healthy snacks
Our top recommendations for healthy lunchbox snacks include natural yoghurt topped with frozen berries, grainy crackers and sliced cheese, air popped popcorn, a hardboiled egg or some wholemeal fruit bread. You can also make savoury muffins or pikelets packed with lots of extra vegies – plus grating carrot or zucchini into the sweet ones is another tasty trick. Our healthy muffin recipes tick lots of boxes as they stay fresh across the day, can be made big or small and are easy for little hands to hold.
Try these healthy ideas for delicious additions to any lunchbox:
Our top supermarket picks
Take the time when food shopping to look for vegies and fruits that are fresh, seasonal and easy to pack for snacks as well as Crunch&Sip. Great examples of lunchbox friendly vegies include cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers, sliced carrot, sliced capsicum and whole button mushrooms. When picking fruits choose ones that won’t go soggy across the day by picking them when firm or choosing products that still have some ripening to do across the week.
