Great 'cheap but nutritious packed lunches' hunt

hazzbean

loving the suggestions. can I just check with someone - milk in the freezer is this the plastic cartons and how long can it be frozen for. also, yoghurts/frubes can these be frozen I didnt know that!

thanks in advance

GrammarGirl1991

I'd suggest falafel in pitta with houmous - very cheap and easy to make, and ridiculously filling!

All you need is a tin of chick-peas, some ground cumin and coriander, a glove of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a bit of fresh parsley if you have any.

If you have a food processor then just blend them all together until it forms a thick paste with a little texture (don't puree them). If you don't have a processor, mash the chick-peas up with a fork. It can be a little bit tricky but you get a really nice texture, and then add the rest of the ingredients finely-chopped.

Form the mixture into bite-sized patties, coat them in flour and then fry them for about 2 minutes on each side, in vegetable oil.

Serve them with houmous (I buy my houmous because I'm lazy lol) in pitta bread!

London_Mum

katyboo123 wrote: »

Here's my tip...

Corned Beef or Tuna Savoury

Make it up on a Sunday night (will keep for 5/6 days), out of one tin of either, there is enough here to do at least 5 days sandwiches (2 slices of bread) for two kids...

1 tin (smart price or similar) corned beef / tuna £1.20
2/3 Courgettes - Grated £1
Bag of grated Carrots 50p
2/3 Red Onions - Diced really finely 30p
Tomato Sauce

Mash / mix all ingredients together, then add tomato sauce a squidge at a time until it becomes a spreadable consistancy.

Tuna is obviously great for growing kids, but you might be a bit worried about corned beef. Because you're using the corned beef over a number of days (approx 10 sandwiches) there is really nothing to worry about, so for example, in a tin of Corned Beef there is 18g Sat Fats, but over 10 Sandwiches this equates to just 1.8g per Sandwich!

It's cheap and easy to make and if you fancy an adult supper, take a spoonful of savoury and a spoonful of mash and then roll in to a patty and fill for corned beef cake or fish cake yummy! Plus if you're a really busy Mum or Dad, this takes about 15 minutes to do on a Sunday, then whack it in two slices of bread, with some lettuce or sliced tomato, no butter / marg required cause the tomato sauce makes it moist enough...

And lastly, I bet most kids wouldn't eat courgettes normally - it totally disguises their taste and just adds a pleasant crunch! xx

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I really like this, definitely going to try it!

London_Mum

ilovecushions wrote: »

Not totally relevant but I write jokes on my OH's bananas, sometimes reminders, love notes, etc. Use a biro, have fun, and I'm sure plenty of you will come up with more to write/draw on them!

so sweet :rotfl:

London_Mum

MickiR wrote: »

I have just written a new Back To School factsheet on my site at purehealthclinic.co.uk (sorry I can't link as a newbie!) with ideas for healthy lunches and tips to keep kids healthy at this time of year.

Here is the bit on packed lunches. And you can read the rest of the factsheet if you need more info.

Hope it helps.

Back To School


They Are What They Eat….

We know that diet is crucial to make sure kids have plenty of energy to cope with the day to day demands of school life, after school clubs, peer pressure, exams etc. We also know that diet has a huge impact on behaviour, learning ability and concentration levels. So, take this time to review what your children are eating.

A lot of parents are now waking up to the idea that school dinners may not provide their children with the healthy nutritious meals their kids need.

Packed lunches are a good way to control what your children are eating. However, there is a lot of peer pressure when kids take lunches that are different to what’s in their friends’ lunch boxes, so you do have to get a good balance to keep them healthy, but not make them appear too different.

A good packed lunch could include

• a wholemeal roll filled with organic chicken or good quality meat (no packet meats, please) and salad
• Or try peanut butter (no salt or sugar variety, and if peanuts are allowed in school) and mashed banana
• Tuna and mayonnaise with bits of cucumber and tomato
• As a change from sandwiches, give them a cold pasta salad or a brown rice salad with interesting bits in that they like. You could include tomatoes, small bits of broccoli, olives, gerkins, sundried tomatoes, cashew nuts etc.
• Their lunchbox should also include at least one piece of fruit. Try a little pot of berries, a couple of plums or a pear to vary it from the ubiquitous apple.
• Add in a few cherry tomatoes, a little pack of nuts and raisins or, even better, a few organic nuts and a couple of unsulphured dried apricots.
• Give them a flask of filtered water, organic apple or orange juice or include a good quality fruit smoothie such as the Innocent ones
• Alternatively, give them a food flask that has a good quality yogurt in it – preferably a plain live yogurt to which you have added some honey and berries or stirred in some pure fruit jam such as St Dalfour’s strawberry which is delicious.

Try to avoid rubbish foods like pre-prepared sandwiches and salads, fruit yogurts, sweets, crisps and sugary drinks. Remember, if you give them junk or money to take to school, they will always choose junk. If they have no choice, they’ll eat what they’re given and eventually their palate will start to change for the better.

Remember, that if you can’t control what your kids are eating at lunchtime, try not to worry about it – do what you can, and make sure they’re eating really well, preferably organically, when they’re at home.

A good breakfast and tea will go a long way to helping you nourish your kids well. If they are eating in this way most of the time, the odd bag of crisps or sugary snacks here and there won’t hurt. We have a rule in our house that there will be no junk foods in the house, but if they have the money and the inclination to walk down to the shop, they can have what they like. It usually puts them off!

Excellent ideas.

MandM90

Yesterday we fancied hummous, but didn't have any tinned chickpeas (only dried) so I boiled a cup of lentils in veg stock, drained and blitzed with 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter, handful chopped coriander, 4 garlic cloves, an onion, a tbsp chilli, splash of vinegar and enough olive oil to make it 'smooth'; it was gorgeous and tasted great with pittas. We are having it for lunch tomorrow with wholewheat pittas, olives (were 75% off this week at Sainsbobs) and fruit.

We generally just cook double of dinner and have it for lunch the next day (or quadruple to freeze half for one lunch and one dinner), so we have two hot meals a day without extra fuss. One of our favourites is lentil sauce (onions, garlic, mixed dried herbs, veg stock cube, tin of tomatoes, tbsp of ketchip and a cup of water...add a 3/4 cup or so of lentils and simmer to cook lentils and reduce) over wholewheat pasta. Quite cheap but good source of fibre and protein and tend to chuck in some ropey veg or frozen peas/sweetcorn too.

ETA: Sometimes we make falafels with chickpeas or similar patties with other beans, but as it takes so long to soak, boil, etc we make LOADS and freeze them individually on greaseproof paper then put them in a freezer bag. When we are stuck for a lunch/dinner they just need to be put in the oven/grilled from frozen and served with a tahini or peanut butter dressing with flatbreads and salad. Yummy!

Queenriderbrekke

katyboo123 wrote: »

Here's my tip...

Corned Beef or Tuna Savoury

Make it up on a Sunday night (will keep for 5/6 days), out of one tin of either, there is enough here to do at least 5 days sandwiches (2 slices of bread) for two kids...

1 tin (smart price or similar) corned beef / tuna £1.20
2/3 Courgettes - Grated £1
Bag of grated Carrots 50p
2/3 Red Onions - Diced really finely 30p
Tomato Sauce

Mash / mix all ingredients together, then add tomato sauce a squidge at a time until it becomes a spreadable consistancy.

Tuna is obviously great for growing kids, but you might be a bit worried about corned beef. Because you're using the corned beef over a number of days (approx 10 sandwiches) there is really nothing to worry about, so for example, in a tin of Corned Beef there is 18g Sat Fats, but over 10 Sandwiches this equates to just 1.8g per Sandwich!

It's cheap and easy to make and if you fancy an adult supper, take a spoonful of savoury and a spoonful of mash and then roll in to a patty and fill for corned beef cake or fish cake yummy! Plus if you're a really busy Mum or Dad, this takes about 15 minutes to do on a Sunday, then whack it in two slices of bread, with some lettuce or sliced tomato, no butter / marg required cause the tomato sauce makes it moist enough...

And lastly, I bet most kids wouldn't eat courgettes normally - it totally disguises their taste and just adds a pleasant crunch! xx

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As consumer advice for tinned tuna is to consume within 24 hours of opening, I would be very wary about using this tip, especially with young children and elderly relatives:(

FatMoGuy

Cheesy Lentil wedges hmmmmm I love it.