Lunch Box Ideas for Kids – Fun and Sustainable Solutions

Lunch boxes most definitely don't have to be boring. Here are three fun and sustainable recipes that you might like to try for your kids. You might even be able to make use of some of your homegrown produce.

Veggie Fritters and Onion Bhajis With Cucumber Raita

For kids who like a little spice, and who are a little more adventurous with food, consider making some Indian style snacks, with a curry sauce for dipping that you can put into one of our round stainless steel containers.

If you know how to make a simple fritter batter, it is easy to 'disguise' a wide range of healthy vegetables and to get kids to eat them. Add some cumin and turmeric to your fritters if you wish, or enrich them with a range of fresh herbs.

Onion bhajis are made with onions, finely sliced, gram flour, baking powder, cumin, chili powder, and vegetable oil (for frying). You can make them as mild or as spicy as you wish by varying the spice content.

Make a yogurt dipping sauce (or a vegan alternative) with yogurt (or vegan yogurt), ½ a cucumber, and 2 tbsp of chopped mint, blended together and placed into a sauce container.

Smiley Face Mini Pizzas

Make a simple pizza dough with flour, yeast, salt, oil, and water. You can then make a pizza just the right size to fit into their lunch box.

Make a sauce for the pizza by blending tomatoes, sweet peppers and any other seasonal fruits and vegetables from your garden or local markets. Add some basil, oregano and onion or garlic to improve the flavour.

Next, you can have some fun. Add some cheeses (or vegan cheeses), zucchini slices, peppers, mushrooms, and other fresh vegetables to make a funny face on top.

Pop some fresh fruit into the other compartment of their lunch box for afters, and you likely have a real crowd-pleaser.

Tomato and Red Pepper Pasta With 'Bean Balls'

You know that sauce you made for your mini pizzas? Well, you can make a bigger batch of this flexible tomato, red pepper, and other vegetable sauce and use it as a sauce for pasta. Simply cook your pasta, pour over the sauce, and pop it in their lunchbox.

For an additional twist, you could also blend up some cooked beans with some vegetable stock, a little flour, and some herbs (to taste) to make a vegetarian alternative to meatballs to go with it.

And those three ideas are just the beginning. Especially if you grow your own, you'll soon find plenty of imaginative ways to get kids to eat healthily every day.