With it nearly being the end to the summer holidays it’s time to worry about the usual set of to-dos’ – uniform washes, stationary essentials, packing lunchboxes and the dreaded morning school runs are back on the agenda. Luckily, we have compiled a list of quick and easy lunchbox recipes to make getting back into your routine a little easier.
Back to School Lunchbox Recipes
Tiny Tuna Pita Pockets
Quick and easy, these delicious pitas are less messy for kids and packed full of flavour! A fun replacement to the usual sandwich, these tuna wheat pittas are a great way to add a variety of vitamins & fibre to your little one’s diet. All you will need is tinned tuna, wheat pitta breads, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and lemon juice. Simply grill your pittas on one side for one minute, slice in half (being careful to open as they sometimes can tear if not delicate) and stuff with a few leaves of lettuce. Mix your tuna, mayo, pepper chunks, add a dash of lemon juice as well as the tomato slices and then simply assemble into the pocket. Just like that, you now have a (relatively) mess free, tasty lunch pocket for your kids to enjoy!
Chicken Taco Salad
Healthy, fun, it’s got crunch and it has 4 of their 5 a day- what’s not to love?
All you will need is olive oil, low fat soured cream, white wine vinegar, baby gem lettuce, sweetcorn, cherry tomatoes halved, cooked BBQ chicken, half of an avocado and a handful of broken taco pieces. First, combine the oil, soured cream and vinegar to make the dressing and keep in the fridge. Next slice and dice lettuce, chicken, cherry tomatoes to your liking and add with sweetcorn and avocado. Add dressing and crunch taco pieces on the top! Tasty and full of attitude, this chicken taco salad is sure to be a winner at lunch time.
BLT Pasta Salad
This lunchbox recipe is perfect for those who love their BLT’s but simply are sick of sandwiches – it’s the best of both worlds. All you will need for this BLT pasta salad is 25g of pasta bows, 2 crispy bacon rashers, 20g spinach, 6 cherry tomatoes, half a table spoon of crème fresh and a half teaspoon of wholegrain mustard.
The night before school cook the pasta and run under the cold tap to cool, mix in the bacon, spinach, tomatoes, crème fresh and mustard. Add a little seasoning and then spoon into an airtight container. Bingo, you’ve nailed lunch time yet again.
Spinach, Tomato & Cheese Muffins
This recipe is so scrummy for little tummies and even better they’re simple to whip up! No equipment needed, just mix everything in the one bowl. All you will need is 2 medium eggs, 150ml of milk, 75g of melted butter, 150g of cheddar cheese, 1 chopped spring onion, 8 chopped cherry tomatoes, 75g of fresh baby spinach, ½ red pepper, 250g self-raising flour, ½ vegetable stock cube and salt & pepper to season. These can also be frozen once they’ve cooled to feast on another day. For the full method visit here.
Ham & Cheese Rolls
A delicious alternative to toasties, these ham and cheese rolls are easy to make with ingredients you will always find in the house; ham, cheese (grated), tomato puree, an egg (beaten) and one sheet of roll up pastry.
First preheat the oven to 200c and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the puff pastry sheet and spread on the tomato puree. Add ham slices on top and then sprinkle on the grated cheese. Roll the pastry back onto itself tightly, closing in all the ingredients. Slice the roll into 8 chunky slices, roughly 1 inch thick each and lay each one on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the beaten egg on the outside of the rolls and if you fancy, sprinkle on some herbs. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve warm or cold, just make sure you let them cool down before giving out to eager fingers!
Sausage & Tomato Skewers
Sausage and tomato skewers are absolute finger food heaven for your little ones. Using pre-cooked pork or Quorn sausages and cherry tomatoes on a skewer with lunchbox snacks of mango slices, strawberries, breadsticks and sugar snap peas. You can be sure this will be polished off quickly.
Don’t forget to finish off Lunchboxes with essential Fruit & Veggies
Consider oranges, apples, strawberries, grapes, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, mango slices, melon, baby carrots, cucumber slices and snap peas.
Other Lunch box fillers to think of include granola bars, Cheesestrings or Babybels, a yoghurt, trail mix, raisins, popcorn, fruit cups, crackers, or cherrios.
Let us know how you got on with these quick lunchbox recipes or even better share your own delicious recipes on our Facebook page!