Packed Lunches for School

melt71

Rachie_B wrote:

ditch the cheese string and give them cubed cheese with a few grapes / apple slices
ditch the kit kat and batch make your own cookies / flapjack / muffin type things

those drinky yogs are expensive ! why not just give them a lil pot of yog or make your own with plain yog and whatever dried fruit etc they like

I have to say I agree with both of these suggestions. Cheese strings are disgusting anyway, they taste like rubber! My daughter loves them but I refuse to buy them, she only gets to eat them at nanny's house. If they had real cheese cubed and in a tub that would give them more protein and therefore be more filling that the processed counterpart.

I have always put a little pot of yog in my daughter's lunch box but this week I tried her with my homemade yogurt (just plain bio yogurt mixed with a tsp of runny honey) she LOVED it!! I was really surprised. I have a chopped banana in with mine, but she prefers the yogurt on it's own with the honey.

Get them to try things at home before you commit them to the lunch box and I'm sure you will be able to find things that they like and that are much cheaper.

Not sure if they have a nut allergy but nuts are a great filler, again because they have protein in them. Pistatios may be a bit awkward at their age, but my daughter is 8 and copes fine with them. she has a small tub of them most days. She also love cashew nuts, probably because they are quite sweet.

melt71

Forgot to say I would ditch the crisps (replace it with nuts maybe) it will be much more filling for them and there's obviously more nutriants in nuts than in crisps.

Rachie_B

try these apple "crisps"

cut apples into thin slices
lay them out on a baking sheet,pop them in a preheated oven @ 200 degrees ,turn straight down to 50 degrees and cook for 2 hours

would this work with potato or other fruit / veg too ???

vodkaqueen75

wow, thank you all for your responses, i have wrote everything down and over the weekend am going to taste test them with different things to see what they will eat!
to be honest i have never baked a cake i really wouldnt know where to start embarrasing isnt it, although it would be great fun to make biscuits as i have a 3 year old at home and he would love to cook these things with me! the only cakes i have ever cooked are those noddy/scooby doo ones in the packs
i will hunt around for some recipies and will do this! also i will buy some tubs or cheese and raisins ect, where could i get small ones for lunch boxes though?

and, can i ask if anyone knows how to keep chopped up apples form going brown as they always come home with half eaten apples so was going to give them half of one each everyday instead, and they get the free fruit at school also.
Thank you again xx

bluekp

How about investing in a yoghurt maker (try Lakeland plastics) to save even more money in the long run?

My grandad used to make us yoghurt all the time and it was delicious - far better than any shop bought products

x

Rachie_B

vodkaqueen75 wrote:

wow, thank you all for your responses, i have wrote everything down and over the weekend am going to taste test them with different things to see what they will eat!
to be honest i have never baked a cake i really wouldnt know where to start embarrasing isnt it, although it would be great fun to make biscuits as i have a 3 year old at home and he would love to cook these things with me! the only cakes i have ever cooked are those noddy/scooby doo ones in the packs
i will hunt around for some recipies and will do this! also i will buy some tubs or cheese and raisins ect, where could i get small ones for lunch boxes though?

and, can i ask if anyone knows how to keep chopped up apples form going brown as they always come home with half eaten apples so was going to give them half of one each everyday instead, and they get the free fruit at school also.
Thank you again xx

you cant go wrong with basic biscuits / muffins really,have a go its fun

have look at the "easy biscuit " thread

Rachie_B

teeny tiny plastic tubs : look in the pound shop or hypervalue type places

im sure thats where i got mine from !

mae

How about making banana flapjacks very easy to make?

125g butter or marg
3 tbsp sunflower oil
125g demerara sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup (you can use golden syrup but I think maple healthier?)
1 or 2 very ripe bananas (or 100g chewy banana chips)
200g porridge

melt butter, oil, sugar, syrup over a low heat. Mash your bananas with a fork and add to the pan or add you banana chips snipped into small pieces. Add the oats and stir well. Put the mixture in a tin and press down evenly. Bake for about 20 mins 180C/350F/gas 4. Let it cool for 10 mins then cut into about 12 flapjacks.

Rachie_B

some threads that may help you:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=162392

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=161521

Rachie_B

if you go onto https://www.netmums.com then onto the FOOD pages they have some recipes which are fab for lunch boxes esp the savoury flapjacks and the pizza whirls

they also have a lunch box guide too