Two words that send a shiver down any parent’s spine.

School. Lunches.

If you’re anything like me, the school holidays aren’t just a break for the kids, they’re also a break for the parents – especially when it comes to thinking about school lunches.

But now they’ve gone back to school and this has got me thinking that I really need to make more of an effort with their lunches. More than that, I really want to add more dairy to their diet, especially after reading recent reports.

I was staggered to read that more than two out of three children aged between 9 and 16 are not meeting the Australian Dietary Guidelines for dairy intake, which could jeopardise bone development. It got me questioning my own habits when it came to my children’s lunchbox and after school snacks.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time to make a watermelon into a waterfall or carve Mickey Mouse’s face into a sandwich each morning. But that said, it should be more than slapping a jam sandwich, an apple and a snack into a lunch box and sending them on their way.

As parents, we are constantly trying to keep it interesting for them, and we are also trying to remind our children when they sit down and eat their lunch that Mum and Dad were thinking of them this morning and that they are thinking of them now.

But how can we make school lunches fun but also realistic?

Behold – five fun lunchbox ideas that will have you sorted from Monday to Friday.

1. Monday.

Sandwich sushi is like regular sushi but without the seaweed or rice. Sandwich sushi is the next best thing and so much fun. Simply cut the crusts off a piece of bread and then layer your child’s meat of choice, some DAIRYLEA CHEESY POPS (which are also handy as a snack just on their own in the lunchbox) and then add some salad and roll the bread up and cut into thirds. Stand them on their sides and pop them in their lunch box.

2. Tuesday.

Tuesday is about making things in miniature and fun colours. When your child opens their lunch box, you want them to be mesmerised by the easy to handle, colourful finger food in front of them. Pop some green grapes into one tiny container, some sliced carrot into another, a DAIRYLEA FRIDGE STICK cut into mini bites for the colour yellow, mini toasts and some salami in another and your child will have a ball with their little feast.

 3. Wednesday.

Today is hot lunch day. Sometimes, especially now it’s getting colder, children feel more satisfied if they have something hearty in their stomachs. Cook up a little pasta, add some olive oil, cherry tomatoes and some DAIRYLEA CHEESE PODS and pop it in a container for something a little different to the everyday main meal of a sandwich.

4. Thursday.

Time for an easy open grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Grill this just before they leave the house of a morning and wrap it in aluminum foil. When they open it up at lunch, they’ll have a delicious warm sandwich that will make them feel as if they are home.

5. Friday.

We’re all ready to kick back on a Friday and have some fun so why not relax and give your children a little bit of a treat. Kids love making their own food. In two containers, pop some yoghurt and in the other, your child’s favourite treat – perhaps some coconut or a handful of blueberries.

Then they can mash them up at lunch, impressing their friends and putting a new spin on everyday yoghurt. If you’re in a hurry though, you can also pop the handily prepared DAIRYLEA DUNKERS with Jumbo Tubes into their lunchbox instead (which the kids will think is a whole heap of fun).

Granted, you may find the above difficult to do every week, but as parents we get so busy we can sometimes forget that our children look forward to sitting down to lunch just as much as we do. So every now and then, a little bit of effort goes a long way.

What do you pack for your kids’ lunches? 

If you need some more lunch box ideas, DAIRYLEA has got it covered.

Healthy snacks for kids.

 

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