Sassy Mama Lunch Box Tips – make school lunches easier to organise and more enticing for the kiddos!

Picture this mamas – the kids have slept in (always on a school morning and never on the weekends right?!), breakfast just isn’t happening and you’re running late for school drop off – and to top it all off you still have packed lunches to make. Sound familiar? Well, say goodbye to last-minute lunch packing and sad soggy sandwiches and give your kiddos’ lunchboxes a little love and a Sassy Mama makeover!

Image sourced from Pinterest

Divide and Conquer
Children love food that’s compartmentalised – buy a bento box style lunchbox or divide a Tupperware container with silicone cupcake cases and fill each with different ingredients and try to make it look as colourful as possible – our little people eat with their eyes first!

Image sourced from rachelobeauty.com

Plan, plan, plan!
Make a lunch plan so that you or whoever is preparing the lunchboxes knows exactly what needs to go in each day – this is much easier for shopping and for knowing that your little ones are getting a good variety. Make sure that each lunchbox has 1 starch, 1 protein, 1 fruit, 1 veg and 1 treat. Got a fussy eater on your hands? Let them plan with you and keep portions small so as not to overwhelm them (and see below our tip for a fab meal planning app that’s sure to get all the kids excited about food.)

 Image sourced from biome.com

Think outside of the (lunch) box
Gone are the days of soggy cheese sandwiches (they’ll haunt us forever mamas) – try homemade sushi rolls, pasta or grain salads, roasted chicken legs, spring rolls, frittata, mini pies – the list is endless (and last night’s leftovers usually make great lunches – honestly!). Use different breads for your sarnies – kids love bagels, wraps and English muffins. Keep food fresh and cool with an insulated lunch bag or by popping a frozen drink bottle or ice brick into their container.

Image sourced from babble.com

A little treat will go a long way
As much as you don’t want your precious little person gorging on junk, you also don’t want to make their lunchbox so boring and healthy that they’d rather steal a friend’s. Make sure you include something fun, such as a mini packet of cookies (no nuts please!), cheese strings, a couple of chocolate coins or even a yoghurt tube – you don’t need to go mad, but you want that packed lunch to get eaten, right mamas?!

Image sourced from Pinterest

Be creative
If you’ve seen Lunchbox Dad‘s incredible packed lunch masterpieces based on his daughter’s favourite shows (we especially loved his Finding Nemo creation), you’ll know just how far a little creativity can go! No, we’re not telling you to spend hours carving carrots into fish, but a few magic touches can make a big difference, mamas. Buy cool cookie cutters for your sandwiches and include little notes or drawings for your kids – they love to be surprised when they open the box.

Image sourced from Pinterest

Dangle a carrot (or an apple, strawberry, courgette… you get the picture)
Desperate to get more fruit and veg into your little salad dodgers? Bake your own muffins and cram them with the good stuff – from courgettes to carrots, apples to berries – they taste great and the little ones will never know! You can also make your own fruit roll-ups which are super easy and healthy – just google a recipe and off you go!

Image sourced from Shutterstock

Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today
Try to make as much as possible the night before. Yes, we’d rather be watching TV with a glass of wine, but you’ll thank yourself in the morning when the house is chaotic and you’re running late. Batch bake muffins or make a whole load of mini burgers to freeze and use when needed (defrosting in the evening and preparing in the morning). Make sandwich fillings, but leave assembly until the next day to avoid sogginess.

Image sourced from lalalunchbox.com

Turn to technology
These days there’s an app for everything – and lunchboxes are no exception. We LOVE La La Lunchbox, an app that makes a game out of a chore and takes the stress out of meal planning for families. Kids can select foods for their meals with fun monsters, colours and sounds that are then turned into a handy grocery list. As they say, “Save time. Save money. Save sanity!”

Right mamas, it’s time to make our lunchbox meal-plan before school starts next week!