Help.. I have to fill a lunchbox for 2 kids...

[littlegrohl]

Ok.. so I'm calling all savvy mum's/nan's and ladies who have any tips for putting healthy/yummy treats in lunchbox's that wont cost a fortune!!

I'm so tired of trawling the isles of supermarkets and being bombarded with nasty looking treats for my kids.. I'm paying mainly for name and packaging and TBH im sick of it!!:irked:

So I only buy them one thing now.. They get to choose a treat for the week.. and i have decided to try and come up with cheaper.. healthier options.. Im not tight.. just sick of outlaying money on stuff i could do better at home.. ((well maybe i am cheap.. but im trying to start a business on top of raising two constantly hungry girls and buying my own house all on my own)) SO... If you have a tip.. please let me in on it..
Thankyou soooooo much!

My two tips are..
Homebrand (generic) cake mix ((cheap but good))
home brand (generic) choc chips..
make up mix and add choc chips to it.. fill cup cakes/patty pans and you have lovely moist cup cakes with chocolate melted through.. Cost me about au$2 and i make at least 30 cakes out of it!!!

Pop corn dusted with icing sugar.. rather then pre-packaged chips that cost a fortune this costs next to nothing and my kids LOVE IT!!:green:

anyone else have a tip??
:green::green::green::green::green::green::green::green::green:

 

[Lellipop]

I buy large packs of raisins then give them so many each day, Works out cheaper than buying the little boxes.

 

[littlegrohl]

ooo' good one.. I spose you could get loose nuts and dried fruit and make little mixes!! .. Thanks that has got the brain thinking..

 

[IllumeGirl]

Hey Chels, to my kids delight i have joined best recipes..its a excellent aussie cooking site..am really feeling my age,lol. Really user friendly and tonnes of yummo ideas for everything. I especially love no cook slices..just chuck em in the fridge..ready 2 hours later. Mars bar slice is a fave right now..not healthy,but so what?:lol:

 

[littlegrohl]

:green::green::green::green:

Just googled it!! OMG its a food heaven in there.. Thanks so much.. excactly what im looking for!! I'm going to "cook" up a storm!
Thanks again...:green::green::green::green:

 

[IllumeGirl]

No worries..between geeking and best recipes..you wont get anything done now..just like me!

 

[littlegrohl]

:green: grand isnt it?? but our nails will look great and the fridge will be full!! :green:

 

[florence2004]

Trail mixes are great for snacks and you can put just about anything in! - Nuts, dried fruit, cereal (cheerios are good for this) m&m's - GORP - good old rasins and peanuts!

home made muffins are great and again you can put anything in them - choc chips and banana is fab, raspberries, choc orange segments melted yum!

Cheese and vegetable pasties, make up some short crust pastry and then make a filling using cooked onion, diced potato, grated carrots, frozen peas, broccoli (anything you like really) put in a pan and add milk and cheese and thicken and then put into the pastry and bake!

cheese & onion tartlets or mini quiches - home made!
home made pizza
carrot & celery sticks
cheese straws
fresh fruit salad
home made cookies packed with oats and dried fruit!

 

[littlegrohl]

Trail mixes are great for snacks and you can put just about anything in! - Nuts, dried fruit, cereal (cheerios are good for this) m&m's - GORP - good old rasins and peanuts!

home made muffins are great and again you can put anything in them - choc chips and banana is fab, raspberries, choc orange segments melted yum!

Cheese and vegetable pasties, make up some short crust pastry and then make a filling using cooked onion, diced potato, grated carrots, frozen peas, broccoli (anything you like really) put in a pan and add milk and cheese and thicken and then put into the pastry and bake!

cheese & onion tartlets or mini quiches - home made!
home made pizza
carrot & celery sticks
cheese straws
fresh fruit salad
home made cookies packed with oats and dried fruit!

Fantastic thanks!!! Cheese straws.. are they pastry and cheese?? twisted then baked?? I think i have done these ages ago...

Look at this i got from the best recipe site..

Ingredients

1 packet of cake mix, any flavor
60 mL vegetable oil
2 eggs
Decorations or add-ins of choice
Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Combine cake mix, oil, eggs and add-ins and mix to form a dough.
3. Shape dough into walnut-sized balls or use a dough scoop.
4. Decorate by rolling in coconut, chopped nuts, chocolate pieces etc.
5. Place balls on an ungreased tray about 5 cm apart.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set or lightly browned.
7. Remove from tray and cool on a wire rack.

How easy is that?? now if i could remove my butt from this chair i may actually make some goodies instead of thinking about it!:green:

 

[florence2004]

here is a little variation on cheese straws
75g (3oz) wholemeal flour
50gr (2oz) plain flour
100 g (3.5oz) butter cut into small pieces
50gr (2oz) of cheese (any white cheese is good)
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder (optional)
2 teaspoons poppy seeds (optional)
1 egg seperated

combine the flours in a bowl and rub in the butter untill the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yol, cheese cayenne and mustard powder if using. Stir with a fork, then kneed lightly until smooth

Roll out the pastry on a floured board to 5mm (1/4 inch) thick, cut into long strips and brush with beaten egg white

give each strip a half twist in the middle before laying on a lightly oiled tray. Sprinkle with poppy seeds if using

Bake in a preheated oven at 200c (400f) gas mark 6 for 10-12 mins. Cool on a wire rack!

 

[littlegrohl]

:hug:Awsome.. i am going to give these a go..
sound delic!!

I just made cake mix cookies and WOW.. easy and yummy.. I also just made about 30 mini quiches ((sorta a variation on tuna mornay)) they are in the oven as we speak.. Im going to lok into trail mixes.. getting the kids to make up the mixes may encourage them to eat em aswell!! going to give the cheese straws a go as i do think i have done something like this when they were toddlers.. :green:

:hug:Thanks for the replies..great tips and recipes.. you should smell the fab aroma coming from the kitchen..:hug:

 

[IllumeGirl]

Noticed that one today,sounds nice and easy Making "Honey Kisses" in a minute..although my young son doesn't deserve any..he's in trouble at the office..again

 

[Zo Zo]

Be careful with nuts:!:

It may be different in Aus but here the school's ask you not to pack nuts in lunchboxes as so many kids have anaphylaxis

I put a lot of fruit and veg in my little minx's lunchbox - carrot, cucumber, peppers (I think you call them capsicum), leaves, cherry tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, clementines (depends how kind I'm feeling as she expects me to segment them for her!)

She has told me off a number of times for giving her too much lunch. She says it takes her too long to eat and that means she gets less time to play. I say, well I don't mind if you don't eat it all but I would hate for you to be hungry. But tbh it has made me look at the meal as a whole and consider if it is suitably sized.

I often put a small carton of juice in, so that's one of her five a day. Then strips of capsicum, that's two. Then grated carrot in her cheese sandwich, that's three. Some grapes, thats four. Sometimes I blanch french beans, then cool them quickly in cold water, she loves them in her salad.

Pasta salad is quite easy. Mine likes it with pesto, sweetcorn and tuna

 

[littlegrohl]

:green:will check on the nuts.. hadnt thought of that..
The biggest hassle i find is thinking up stuff that is healthy but that wont spoil over the course of the day.. Mine have the thermos bags.. and the freezer blocks.. but come summer its a nightmare..
anyway i just did 30 odd mini quiches that were so easy and can be eaten cold.. im going to use them instead of sandwiches now and again.. I did tuna this time but i promised i would do ham next..

I pack way to much aswell.. but i cant handle the thought of them being hungry.. gets eaten though!

:green:

 

[pinkmummy]

I have a great book by Annabel Karmel (child nutrition guru) called Lunchboxes. As a treat I sometimes do chicken balls for the kids. Recipe below:
Annabel Karmel’s
finger-picking chicken balls

Makes aprox 20

1 large Granny Smith or Bramley apple, peeled & grated
2 large chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled & finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp thyme
50g (2oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
1 chicken stock cube, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Flour for coating
Vegetable oil for frying

Using your hands, squeeze out a little excess liquid from the grated apple. Mix the apple with the chicken, breadcrumbs, onion, herbs & the dissolved stock cube & roughly chop in a food processor for about 30 seconds. Season with a little salt & pepper.

With your hands, form the mixture into about 20 balls, roll in flour & fry in shallow oil until lightly golden & cooked through (about 10 minutes).

They taste great chilled overnight and put in a lunchbox with an ice pack (& ketchup!)
Also here's a link to her website.
Annabel Karmel

 

[tonilee]

Get some wholemeal pitta breads, snip them into triangles spray with a little oil, then shake over any of the following (or none if you prefer) Paprika, garlic salt, chilli powder.....then pop into the oven while they crisp up (not sure on settings or times as we have an aga sorry...shouldnt take long though would imagine 5-10 mins in a moderatley hot oven) and hey presto healthy "crisps" taste yummy with a bowl of soft cheese to dip in!!

I started making these for my kids but have to confess we munch on them too now and they go lovely with salads and soups!!

 

[mercedes69]

My word I am so glad I don't have to do packed lunches...this all sounds exhausting.

Mine have always had school dinners ( you mean this is for school right? ).
Even in the UK they had school dinners. My 20 year old had packed lunches for a couple of weeks in the early days. It was a complete nighmare having to think what to put in each day...make it variable each day, healthy but what she wanted to eat...it always ended up in a squabble between me and her. Plus I always put in too much that she would throw away...then I would get annoyed she had thrown it away.

In Spain it's a little different. Their lunch time is 12.30pm - 3pm. If they stay at school during this time thay HAVE to have school dinners...if they don't want the dinners then you have to take them home for them to return for the last part of the school day at 3pm - 4.30pm .
We pay per month for the dinners which is fairly reasonable...it's just we have to pay for a couple of them.

I am happy though that I don't have to do the packed lunch thing...the meals they get at school are healthy and well balanced. Lots of salad, rice, fish etc. Dessert is always nearly fruit or a yoghurt. Plus they have to eat it ( that goes against my principles a little but at least it's not me being the big bad wolf ).

I can't think of anything really to put in a packed lunchbox but if they like tuna a nice little filling which works well for anything...is...

tuna, finely chopped apple, very finely diced onion ( so they can't pick it out or find it ) and mayonnaise...

this is nice if you fill celery sticks with it ...

 

[*JOANNE*]

my boys have packed lunches.....
cook pasta and let it go cold straight away in the fridge.
then mix with mayo.... each day you can add different things to the basic mayo pasta...like
tuna and sweetcorn
prawns
cold chicken and also if your child isnt allergic to nuts my boys love having nuts mixed in.
the boys also like those fahita wraps with chees and ham...i just pack the ingredients because they like to make them up themselves at school.

 

[florence2004]

Get some wholemeal pitta breads, snip them into triangles spray with a little oil, then shake over any of the following (or none if you prefer) Paprika, garlic salt, chilli powder.....then pop into the oven while they crisp up (not sure on settings or times as we have an aga sorry...shouldnt take long though would imagine 5-10 mins in a moderatley hot oven) and hey presto healthy "crisps" taste yummy with a bowl of soft cheese to dip in!!

I started making these for my kids but have to confess we munch on them too now and they go lovely with salads and soups!!

you can do this with tortilla breads too!

 

[littlegrohl]

:green::green:
Thanks so much for the replies.. All the food sounds great and i have copied the recipes given to use!!
We dont get school dinners over here... which i think is a bit silly as our climate is hot we dont havemuch choice in what we can put in during summer.. I am thinking of campaigning my Government to supply public schools with little fridges for each class.. makes sense.. then the lunchboxes could be stored correctly!!

My girls went off with an array of goodies today.. so thanks everyone from them too!! ((cant wait to try the crisps and the chicken balls!!)) :green::green:
Thanks for the links and the great advice!:hug: