Lunch boxes made easy

The main shopping list contains:

• cherry tomatoes
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 2 large potatoes
• lettuce / spinach
• celery
• cucumber
• garlic
• red / white onion
• carrot
• 5 clementines/apples/grapes
• 5 bananas
• cheese
• natural yoghurt
• hummus
• ready-made filo pastry
• baked beans
• tinned kidney/butter beans
• tinned sweetcorn
• whole wheat pasta
• 6 eggs
• tortilla wraps
• rice cakes/plain popcorn/breadsticks/oat cakes
• oats
• honey
• rice krispies
• dark chocolate
• dried fruit, like sultanas/dried apricots
• frozen peas
• frozen berries

Staples

The staples we suggest are:

• oil/butter/spread
• your favourite seasonings - curry powder/smoked paprika/dried herbs/salt and pepper

Optional extras

You could also get:

• olives
• avocado
• lemon
• pesto
• falafel
• desiccated coconut
• 2 tins tuna
• mayonnaise

Monday - burritos, banana cookies, fruit

Tuesday - picky box, samosas

Wednesday - rainbow wraps, flapjacks, fruit

Thursday - pasta salad, crudités, rice krispy cake, fruit

Friday - frittata and salad, oat cakes, yoghurt and berries

1. Eat the colours of the rainbow
2. Try using different breads to make sandwiches more fun
3. Through the winter use a thermos flask and give children hot leftover dinner or soup
4. Fruit for breaktime
5. Make the lunches the night before to save time in the morning

Ingredients

You'll need:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 6 mini wholemeal wraps
• 1 sweet potato chopped in small pieces
• 1 carrot grated
• 1 tin of baked beans - or any tinned beans
• a little grated cheese, if you like
• your favourite extras - sweetcorn, avocado, lettuce, tomato, cucumber

Method

1. Cook sweet potato and burrito in the microwave for 2 minutes or in a pan until it is cooked and soft
2. In a bowl, mash the beans and sweet potato
3. Lay wraps on a large baking sheet and spread each with about a spoonful of mixture, then add the grated carrot, cheese and extras

Ingredients

You'll need:

• 1 and a half cups of oats
• 2 medium ripe bananas, brown is fine
• half a cup dark chocolate chips - you can make your own by cutting up a bar of dark chocolate

Method

1. Turn the oven onto 180C and line a baking tray
2. Using the back of a fork, mash bananas in a bowl, then add in oats and chocolate chips and stir well
3. Make small cookie shapes with mixture and cook for 15 minutes

Tip: if you haven’t got an oven, don’t worry, you can make these into smaller balls and put them into the fridge for an hour and eat once chilled.

Ingredients

To make 2 rainbow wraps, you'll need:

• 2 tortilla wraps
• 1 avocado mashed
• 1 tablespoon of hummus
• handful of spinach/lettuce
• 1 tomato sliced
• 1 teaspoon of pesto - optional
• 1 carrot grated
• cooked falafel - optional

Method

1. Lay the wraps on a clean surface and spread hummus over the wrap
2. Mash the avocado in a bowl and spread over the hummus (optional)
3. Add the spinach, chopped tomato and grated carrot carefully roll the wraps tightly

Tip: you can add a little grated cheese, if you'd like.

Ingredients

To make 12 no-bake flapjacks, you'll need:

• 175g or 1 and a half cups of oats
• 30g or a small handful of dried fruit, like sultanas/apricots
• 2 mashed bananas
• 3 tablespoons of honey
• 1 and a half tablespoons of desiccated coconut - optional
• 4 tablespoons of melted coconut oil or butter/spread

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl very well, then push into a small, greased oven dish
2. Put in fridge for an hour (or bake on 180C for 15 mins until golden brown) and then cut into squares and eat
3. If unbaked, keep in a container in the fridge

Pasta salad ingredients

You'll need:

• 100g, or quarter of a pack of whole wheat pasta shapes cooked
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 200g tin of butter beans, drained
• small jar of pitted black olives, drained - optional
• 1 tin of tuna drained/grated cheese - optional
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• handful of fresh parsley - optional

And for the dressing, you'll need:

• 100ml, or quarter of a pot of natural yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise - optional
• half a lemon, juiced - optional
• a pinch of salt and pepper

Method

1. For the dressing, mix all the ingredients and whisk well
2. Cook pasta and let it cool down
3. Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl, then pour the dressing over it and mix well - add some squeezed lemon and some salt and pepper

Tip: if you have leftovers, you can serve this warm with some grated cheese on top.

Rice krispy cakes ingredients

You'll need:

• 3 cups rice krispies
• 1 bar dark chocolate melted
• half a cup of honey
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil/melted butter

Method

1. Put rice krispies in a large mixing bowl
2. Melt the chocolate, oil or butter and honey in a pan on a low heat (or in the microwave) and pour the mixture into the bowl of rice krispies, then mix well
3. Pour rice crispy mixture into a lined tin and press firmly into place - refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set

Mini frittata ingredients

You'll need:

• splash of olive oil
• handful of chopped spinach - optional
• half a small red/white onion, sliced
• 3 medium eggs
• 50 g, or half a cup of cheese, grated
• 10 cherry tomatoes, chopped
• salt and pepper
• half a cup of frozen peas
• half cup of frozen sweetcorn

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C and grease 2 nonstick muffin tins - now fill with the spinach, onion, tomatoes, sweetcorn and peas
2. Whisk the eggs together in a jug and season with the salt and pepper, then pour the mixture into the muffin tins and sprinkle the cheese over the top
3. Bake the mini frittata for 15 mins, until golden brown
4. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tins and then remove and leave to cool for at least 10 more minutes on a rack

Yoghurt swirl ingredients

You'll need:

• yoghurt
• handful of oats
• frozen berries

Method

1. In 2 small pots add half the yoghurt in each
2. Add a handful of oats and some berries or chopped fruit
3. Put the lid on and remember to add a spoon in the lunchbox

Perfect for fussy eaters or when you want to give more of a snack like lunch.

Ingredients

You'll need:

• pita bread or tortilla wrap cut into slices spread with cheese spread and cucumber or rolled up
• large spoonful of hummus
• mini rice cakes/bread sticks
• plain popcorn
• carrot washed, peeled and cut into pieces
• grapes/berries
• cheese cut into squares
• cucumber pieces
• mini tomatoes
• sultanas or dried apricots

Tip: you can buy these boxes at Hobbycraft or Poundland.

Ingredients

You'll need:

• 250g of potatoes - around 3 potatoes - washed and cut into small cubes
• 100g, or three-quarters of a cup of frozen peas
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 tablespoons of oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 tablespoon of medium curry powder
• ready-made filo pastry

Method

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 10 minutes, add the peas and cook for 5 more minutes
2. Cook the onion in 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan until soft, then add the garlic, ginger, carrot and curry powder
3. Cook for another 2 minutes and season with salt and pepper - add the potatoes and peas, then tip into a bowl and leave until cold
4. Pre-heat the oven to 170C and line a baking tray with baking paper
5. Take one sheet of filo pastry and put 1 heaped tablespoon of the mixture in the middle at one end, then fold over the filling to make a parcel - fold over again and again and seal with a little water or oil so it sticks, then brush lightly with a little oil and put on the tray
6. Repeat, making more parcels until all the filling is used up and bake for 15 minutes

Remember, try to eat a variety of food from each of the food groups in the Eatwell Guide.

The Eatwell Guide shows how much of what we eat should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet.

You do not need to achieve this balance with every meal, but try to get the balance right over a day or even a week.

Thank you to EMAS ( Ethnic Minority Achievement Service)

Public Health Schools

Gem's Wholesome Kitchen

Design by Nikki Dupin for Studio Nic&Lou

Illustration by Carmen Ogston