Back to School 2024 – Packed lunches

Back to school can mean many things to many people and in our house it signals the beginning of another year of packed lunches. Packed lunches can be essential for some children and families but as we are all beginning to become concerned by the sudden rise in food prices is it possible to send your child to school with a healthy packed lunch without breaking the bank?

When we look at, what I like to call, a standard British packed lunch we tend to think of a sandwich, a packet of crisps, a yogurt, a chocolate covered biscuit bar and a piece of fruit that mostly just travels to and from school and we throw in “just in case” the dinner lady happens to wander past your child’s table as they sit covered in the remains of a Penguin – and I don’t mean the feathered kind.

Many a British child has been raised on this kind of lunch and it does the job but lunches are evolving thanks to the invention of Instagram, Pinterest and a heavy dose of parental guilt so we are starting to look at the multitude of options out there.  When it comes to a healthy packed lunch the most important thing is balance and making sure your child has what they need to get them through the afternoon and preferably the walk home from school too.

 

I would love to say that I had invented the following guide as to what to put in my child’s lunchbox but alas I got it from the inside of my sons Yumbox a couple of years ago, however I do find it incredibly useful, so I am going to share it.

When packing a lunch you should try to include one of the following food groups, protein, grain, dairy, fruit, veg and a little treat always goes down well.

How you include these things is up to you and obviously there may need to be adjustments made for those with dietary restrictions however this does nicely move me on to my first tip for saving money and it’s the old classic, meal planning.

We do it for our dinners but rarely do it for our lunches. At the end of the week I will write out a meal plan for lunches and for every lunch I will try to make sure all those boxes are ticked. Meal planning can minimise waste and save you a lot of money in the long run and stop you from stocking up on more things than you need.

My second tip to save money is using your freezer. When I work out my meal plans I will go through what I have stashed away and what I need to freeze if I am not using it all up.

Using the freezer can also help with adding variety – for example I will bake a cake which if I leave out will disappear in a couple of days so instead I will cut it into lunchbox portions and freeze it. I will then do the same thing when I bake another cake and with very little effort I will have 3 or 4 different cake options in my freezer that I can mix and match and put in the kids lunchboxes and they don’t have to have the same flavour for days on end – it also works out FAR cheaper than that multi pack of penguins.  Freezing food is absolutely the best way to save time and money and still give your kids great food.

Another way to save money is to look at very simple swaps. So we have already swapped those Penguins so lets take another staple, crisps.

There are cheaper and healthier alternatives. Popcorn that you pop yourself at home is super cheap (popcorn is not recommended for children under 5), crackers and cheese can also be a cost effective, a large pack of crackers is around 40p and will last weeks, add a little grated cheese and it is healthier, cheaper and a more filling alternative. If you are feeling particularly brave you could even try making your own crisps in the oven for pennies and they will usually keep for a couple of weeks if stored correctly.

I am running out of room so I will keep this last tip short, leftovers! I will send my kids to school with all kinds of leftovers, meatloaf, chicken, sausages, the list goes on.

Before now I have bought too many meatballs and turned them into mini burgers and when I cook too much rice and pasta I will immediately run it under the cold tap and use it the next day as the base for a salad or my youngest even enjoys it plain, this can be another swap for that sandwich. Using leftovers for lunch can save you time and money and once you get into the swing of things it really can become second nature.

Happy back to school week!

Alice x

 

Thank you Alice for this fantastic blog! If you need more child friendly meal ideas, here is great link for BBC Food