This is Mia’s first year in preschool and one of the things I have had to do for the first time ever was pack school lunches! And mind you, it’s not just lunch I am having to pack. I also have to pack morning tea AND afternoon tea.
No one told me how hard it was going to be to actually pack a lunchbox!
It sounds so simple right? It’s just a sandwich and chips right? Well no! It’s not.
Things have changed since when I was in primary school and nowadays schools have woken up to the fact that children need to eat healthier foods. No more sending chips and juice boxes to school. Now it’s all about healthy lunches and snacks.
Here are my 5 top tips to get you packing school lunches like a pro.
1. Invest in a Bento Box
I’m sure you would have seen these lunch boxes by now. They are everywhere and I can understand why. Bento boxes are originally from Japan and still very much used today by the Japanese. It’s their way of having a healthy lunch with variety. Each section is marked with a particular food group such as dairy, vegetables, fruit and protein. This helps prompt you on what to pack for school lunch and makes the process of giving them a balanced lunch that much easier.
2. Give them variety
To ensure you are not getting your lunches returned untouched, I suggest in giving them variety and not packing the same lunch every day. Now I know you must be thinking “there is no way I can do a different lunch 5 days a week!” And I totally agree! So what I suggest is having 2 or 3 different lunch alternatives that you can alternate every 2nd or 3rd day. For example you would pack strawberries and bananas day 1 and then apples and kiwis day 2 and day 3 back to strawberries and bananas. The same goes with sandwiches. One day it might be a vegemite and cheese sandwich and the next day it may be cream cheese and turkey sandwich. This means kids will most likely eat all the foods as they are not seeing the same thing every day.
3. Find inspiration
Thanks to social media, it’s so much easier to get some inspiration on what to pack for school lunches. For me personally, I use Instagram, Pinterest and I also buy those food magazines they sell at supermarkets as many have school lunch ideas in them. There are plenty of accounts on Instagram dedicated to just posting about school lunch ideas and Pinterest have boards filled with school lunch recipes. It’s a great way to introduce variety and new foods to your kids.
4. Pack the night before
I highly recommend packing lunches the night before. The mornings are always manic in getting the kids ready for school and because of that, you may be tempted to pack things that might not be so healthy. Packing lunches the night before means all you have to do is wake up and put the lunchboxes in the school bags and you would have had time to prepare lunches in a calmer and more thoughtful way.
5. Get your hands on Mamee snacks
We are huge fans of the Mamee snacks range which includes Mamee Noodle Snack in Chicken and BBQ flavour and Mamee Gluten Free Rice Sticks in Cheese flavour. Every time I pack either snack in Mia’s bento box or send it for afternoon tea, she completely devours it. Mia’s favourite by far is the Mamee Gluten Free Rice Sticks in Cheese flavour. We are loving these snacks because:
- They are compliant with the Healthy School Canteen Strategy (Amber approved)
- Contains no added MSG
- Made with RSPO sustainable palm oil
- THEY ARE TASTY!
You can find the Mamee snacks range in Woolworths. They definitely help make packing school lunches easier as well as being a healthier option for kids’ snacks.
Written in partnership with Mamee
We are also giving away a ONE MONTH supply of Mamee snacks!
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Mamee chicken noodles are a staple in our pantry 🙂
Chicken noodles are also a favourite with the family
That time I forgot to pick up my child from school… was when i was completely stressed out with work and personally life, I got home and it clicked I forgot to pick my son up after finishing work. I felt pretty guilty about it as well.
My boy would love it all, my girls would love he cheese ones. Thank you 🙂
This would be perfect for the kid’s school lunch boxes! Great post and tips!
My boys say “Chick chick chicken!” 😁
My son is fussy so it’s great to be able to provide him with some variety with mamee snacks
No one will go hungry at the high school I work at. The needs of survival will be taken care of with Mamee. Yess I say!
Always chicken yummy
The Mamee Gluten Free Rice Sticks in Cheese flavour are exactly what my son loves. He is cheese obsessed, and probably dreams of cheese up above. I love that they are rice sticks as it won’t get too messy to clean. But seeing my son’s face light up as he eats them, will make me feel like a Mummar Queen.
My 3 just started preschool this year and trying to keep their lunch boxes organised, edible and interesting has been a challenge. But one that I am actually enjoying! Great blog, full of useful ideas to keep me motivated.
My 6yo is obsessed with noodle snacks! Great lunch tips, we love a good bento box!
Wee are a cheese loving family, so I know my little girls would love the cheese flavour mamee! I don’t know why I haven’t tried these before, thanks for the lunch box inspiration!
My boys absolutely love mamee chicken noodle. They are great healthy alternative for school recess, lunch and after school snacks!
My kids would LOVE the noodle snacks! Perfect for lunch boxes!!
They would love them all! But I think the favourite would be the Mamee Noodles Snacks as they love absolutely anything with noodles!
The noodle snacks in chicken flavour both my kids would love these.
The Gluten Free varieties for my daughter in particular. Due to my crappy European DNA she’s ended up with Coeliacs so anything tasty that she can have is a goer.
My son loves both the chicken and BBQ flavours.
WE LOVE THIS SO MUCH !
Chicken or cheese for my boy
Olives or Feta for my Granddaughter
My little man is absolutely obsessed with barbecue flavour Mamee noodles… we all do. It is something we have all been brought up with from generation to generation!
My girls would love the chicken noodle snacks or cheese flavour rice sticks as they just love to have a snack after getting home from a long day at school and kinder.
I reckon my kids would love the Cheese Flavoured Monster Rice Sticks
Vegetable Mamee Gluten Free Rice Sticks – its the only VEGETABLE she loves 🙂
BBQ because it’s truly an Australian classic flavour in any product!
I am 20 now yet my 8 year old sister and myself still fight over who will get the last mamee noodle packet in the pantry. Its a war zone!
Master 7 isn’t a huge fan of cheese but would be all over the chicken flavoured snacks for sure!
Such a perfect healthy snack for kids to enjoy between meals! I even sneak a pack or two for myself!
My kids would love cheese flavour rice sticks.
Any and all flavours would be wonderful
Mamee Gluten Free Rice Sticks, Cheese.
Fruit and Vegetables cut up in finger sized , sizes for easy eating for kids and even adults
Mamee were my best friend’s favourite snack when we were kids – she always gave me some as my Mum didn’t buy them. So yummy!
If my kids are anything like me (spoiler alert: they definitely are) they will LOVE the Mamee chicken noodles. I still fondly recall eating them during my own primary school days! I thought they had stopped making them!!
Ps hot tip for packing school lunches… get hubby to do it when he packs his own 😉
Monster Rice Sticks 10 Pack – 10 packs are never enough!
Mamee chicken noodles! They are deliciously yummy and incredibly versatile, just perfect for supplementing school lunchbox snacks on the go. I love creating little burgers using these handy Mamee noodle as ingredients, pairing them with stir fry veggies to add a bit of crunch to the texture. The kids love them. With Mamee chicken noodles for lunch, it\’s the only way to get my kids meals in pecking order!
Cheese flavour is always a crowd pleaser with my little ones