Does your kids’ school have a nude food policy? Maybe they’re starting school for the first time? Or you’re working to reduce your waste this year.
Whatever the reason, packing a nude food lunchbox is achievable with a little forethought and it is a worthwhile habit to cultivate.
Not only will it keep the playground litter-free and reduce your soft plastic recycling pile, it saves your kids valuable time during their food breaks – because who has time to unwrap a sandwich that’s been mummified with clingwrap! Here are practical tips for packing nutritious nude food lunchboxes.
1. Meal Plan for Lunch
Just like meal planning for dinners cuts down on food waste and saves money and time, make sure you meal plan for lunches too. This also allows you to make the most of leftovers.
The best tip is to plan around food that will be eaten – unpacking an untouched lunch box is far less pleasant than packing it.
Include variety in nutritious and filling lunches by using a list of inclusions, such as:
- Carbohydrates such as a sandwich, wrap, pasta, rice or homemade pizza
- Protein such as cheese, hommus, yoghurt
- Fruit and / or vegetables
- Sweet or savoury baked item
- Savoury dry snack or baked item
2. Bulk Buy and Bulk Cook
Once you’ve got your lunch plan down – now’s the time to shop and cook up a storm. By making or shopping in bulk, you’ll save money and time, plus cut down on product packaging significantly.
Keep popcorn and other bulk goods in airtight containers, and make and freeze baked goods such as mini muffins and slices.
Large tubs of yoghurt, smoothies and fruit puree can be purchased or pre-prepared in bulk and packed into refillable squeeze pouches for storage and lunch boxes.
Precooked bulk lots of pasta or soup can be frozen then heated and sent to school in an insulated food thermos to stay warm until lunchtime.
3. Set aside freezer space
Have a section in your freezer dedicated to lunchboxes. And not just for the ice packs!
Kids love a snack, and you can freeze a variety of baked goods that are nutritious.
Bake once a week, fortnight or term – depending on your schedule and freezer capacity. (Baking is also an excellent way to use up food before it spoils.)
Here are some ideas for baked goods. If you need to pack in extra nutrients, search for recipes with hidden protein or vegetables:
- Pikelets
- Muffins with fruit and / or veggies
- Homemade muesli bars
- Veggie fritters
- Pizza or Vegemite and cheese scrolls
- Banana bread
- Zucchini slice
- Pizza
- Bliss balls (nut free)
It’s easy to freeze bulk goods in airtight containers to save waste, and then you can just take out a serve or two at a time. Reusable sandwich wraps can also be used in the freezer.
Make sure you take food out of the freezer to defrost in time – because there’s nothing worse than your child finding that their lunch box has kept their food frozen all day!
4. Pack lunchboxes the night before
School mornings are much calmer with fewer tasks – so preparing what you can in the evening while preparing dinner (or asking your kids to help) will save time and hassle before school.
Many fruit and veggies can be cut and stored in airtight containers in the fridge overnight, and other items can be portioned out ready to go.
It’s really much quicker to heat up some food or make a sandwich in the morning than to pack an entire lunch box.
5. Invest in a durable leak-proof water bottle
Packing enough water to last the day is important – depending on preference, you can buy a stainless steel water bottle, sports bottles or a specially designed kids water bottle.
Here’s a list of the best kids water bottles.
6. Invest in a good quality lunch box
Depending on your kid’s preferences, once you’ve planned and prepared food, pop it all in a popular Planetbox or Yumbox, or mix and match smaller containers or food pouches and wraps in an insulated lunch bag. Here’s a list of the best school lunch boxes and lunch bags.
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