Tips for making packed lunches less boring and more fun

I’ve made a bit of a promise to myself that I’ll make more of an effort this year to make Rhys’ packed lunches a bit less boring and a bit more fun.

See, he can be so picky with what he eats that last year I was really guilty of giving him pretty much the same thing every day, because I knew he would actually eat it.

This year though, I want to gently push both of us to branch out a bit and be a bit bolder with food, so I’ve been scouring Pinterest for inspiration and think I’ve come up with a pretty good list of different things I can put in his lunchbox to make lunchtime a bit more interesting and fun for him.

So here goes:

The main event.

Last year, the main thing in Rhys’ lunchbox was a soft cheese and ham sandwich.  Most days made with white bread, occasionally made with 50/50 sandwich thins.  Really not very exciting or fun!

So here are some ideas for alternatives to sandwiches, or ways to make a simple sandwich a bit more interesting:

• Quiche.
• Pizza.
• A bagel (probably filled with soft cheese and ham to start with, so it’s not too far removed from what he’s used to!)
• Other kinds of breads, like soft rolls, wraps, sandwich thins, granary bread, pitta bread, baguettes etc.
• Pasta salad.
• Cous cous with red and green pepper.
• Little pasties or a sausage roll.
• Sandwiches cut into fun shapes with cookie cutters, instead of boring old squares!

And here are some filling ideas for days I want to just fall back on the trusty soft cheese and ham:

• Sliced cheddar and cucumber.
• Ham and sliced cheddar.
• Tuna mayo.
• Peanut butter (although we’d need to check that this was ok, I’m not sure if there are any children with allergies at his school)
• Cold chicken.
• Cheese spread and ham (a tiny twist on our classic!)
• Honey and sliced banana.
• Grated cheese and grated carrot.

Something snacky.

Alongside his sandwich last year Rhys would have a little tupperware pot with crisps in, more often that not teddy bear crisps, ready salted flavour.

Here are some alternatives to mix it up a bit:

• Popcorn.  Plain, airpopped stuff is the healthiest option, but there are tons of varieties out there now.  My favourite is still the toffee stuff though, can’t beat it!
• Pretzels.
• Cheesy biscuits.
• Bread sticks.  Again, this doesn’t have to be as boring as it might sound, you can get some pretty interesting flavours of breadsticks now, and throw in a little tub of hummous or dip and you’re away!
• Rice cakes.  Plain, sweet, savoury, even Marmite flavoured!
• Vegetable crisps.
• Cracker crisps.
• The same old teddy bear crisps, just in a different flavour!
• Chunks of cheese.  Or mini babybel.  Or cheese strings.

Something healthy.

I would normally slice up an apple for Rhys and wrap it in clingfilm for his lunch, but I really should offer him more variety because he does actually like quite a few different fruits!

Here are some suggestions for the ‘healthy’ element of a packed lunch:

• Apple slices.
• Pear slices.
• A banana, either left whole or chopped up.  You can get banana protectors if you’re worried about them getting bruised in your child’s bag!
• A handful of grapes (sliced lengthways).
• Mixed berries.  A little pot of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries would be a real treat!
• Carrot and pepper sticks.
• A small pot of raisins.
• Cucumber, either in chunks or sticks.
• An orange.  Or satsuma, or clementine, whatever’s available!

Something for pudding.

One of my big missions is to get Rhys eating yoghurt.  He used to love it, then went off it completely after a holiday to Marrakech when he was about 15 months old, and still won’t eat it now.  So he’s not really been having a pudding as such in his lunchbox, but I’d love to start giving him something nice to finish his meal.

Here are my ideas for what he could have:

• A yoghurt.  One day he will cave and try it again and remember he likes it!
• A small pot of custard.
• A small pot of rice pudding.
• A jelly pot.  A little bit of birthday party fun would really liven up a lunchbox!
• Fruit pieces, the ones in little pots either in juice or in jelly.

Make it fun.

I remember when I was at Primary school I had school dinners every day, and used to be quite jealous of the children who had packed lunches as their meals seemed to be more fun than my steak and kidney pie and rice pudding.

I want Rhys to have good memories of lunchtimes at school, and I want him to look forward to opening his lunchbox every day.

So what can I do to make things more fun for him?

Here are some ideas:

• Include a treat.  I don’t want to be putting a big bar of chocolate in with his lunch every day, but now and then a little Kinder bar hidden in there would really make him happy.
• Make something together to go in the lunchbox.  We often bake fairy cakes together, and I think it would be lovely for him to have one as part of his lunch to show his friends!
• Make the lunchbox itself fun.  There are so many options now for lunch boxes there’s no excuse for anything boring!
• Include a little note or joke.  Now Rhys is getting more confident with his reading I could start popping in a little note to him, to surprise him when he opens his lunchbox.  There are loads of ideas on Pinterest for lunchbox notes if you like the idea but need some inspiration on what to write.

Talking of keeping away from boring lunchboxes, how cute is this one from Hartleys?  I love the retro vibe!

You can get your hands on one by collecting 12 special edition green lids from their pots of No added sugar jelly, and you can make it even more fun by personalising it with a set of stickers that comes with it.

This would definitely brighten up lunchtimes!

This post is an entry for BritMums #HartleysYourLunchbox Linky Challenge, sponsored by Hartley’s Jelly.  

We were given the lunchbox and some jelly to try, however all words and opinions are my own.