FFK29: Packed lunch ideas for kids at school - not just sandwiches!

In this episode Joanne runs through some ideas for school and nursery lunchboxes. One of the things that comes up all the time with packed lunches is that they can get boring. Some children of course don't mind having similar things most days but if your child is getting bored with the same old sandwich or you want to try and change things up a bit to add some variety, especially if your child's fed up with sandwiches in general, then what do you do?

There are loads of great ideas online for lunches, but sometimes they can make you feel bad and they can be a bit unrealistic when the creators who are making those blogs and videos are literally doing that for their side hustle or main income and they have lots of time to spend on it and you're juggling a job or several kids and after school activities. On the other hand, sometimes we do know that we've got into a rut and it's nice to get some extra inspiration because we forget that some things exist when we buy the same things at the store every week and also some people can be really creative and give us some really good ideas to tempt our kids.

So in this episode Joanne gives some ideas for different lunch elements, including some non-sandwich items without any side servings of mom guilt.

Links in this episode:

NHS guidance and ideas: https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes/

Episode with food safety guidance: http://thefoodies.org/ffk26/

Episode with pick and mix ideas: http://thefoodies.org/ffk26/

Jenna’s reel on food safety making packed lunches: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CTh3CdXDl8E/

Jenna’s reel on how to freeze sandwiches: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjQt3sYjDTI/

Mini frittata: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-egg-muffins

Savoury muffins: https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/tomato-and-bacon-muffins.html

Fruit kebabs: https://groceries.morrisons.com/recipes/rainbow-fruit-kebabs/95375

Popcorn idea: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chocolate-drizzled-popcorn

Chocolate fruit: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/choco-dipped-tangerines

Energy balls: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/choc-orange-energy-boosters

Pizza rolls / pinwheels: https://www.whatlisacooks.com/blog/pizza-rolls

courgette fritters: https://www.thefoodies.org/cheesy-courgette-fritters/

Blog series showing lots of great ideas for lunchbox components and combos:

https://www.whatlisacooks.com/no-sandwich-lunches-1

https://www.whatlisacooks.com/no-sandwich-lunches-2

https://www.whatlisacooks.com/no-sandwich-lunches-3

https://www.whatlisacooks.com/no-sandwich-lunches-4