LUNCH BOX IDEAS | a list to fill them up!

Luk beautifood Lunch Box Ideas 'Cheat Sheet' '(click to download) It's just over a week til our little (& big) ones start or go back to school and you want to fill their lunch boxes with food that: 1. Is quick to prepare 2. Healthy & nutritious to keep them alert in class to learn and stay focused and energised to run round the yard not class! 3. They will love & eat - there is nothing more demoralising than a lunch box being returned (or binned if they are older) with the food that you lovingly (whilst cursing) prepped that morning. There's a lot of information available and in fact I wrote guide last a year ago when Karl my 5 year started. Twelve months on and with a business up & running I am re-visiting how I tackle task of making lunch boxes. My mantra is to 'love what you do' so how can I take out the pain out of making lunch. My "pain" so to speak is what to pop in - to snack on & to fill the sambo or what to sub the main game with, day in and day out! I am an ideas girl, and if I am not under pressure at 7am in the morning then I am a nicer (think calmer, happy, caring) mum! To remove the pressure I figure there are 2 things I need: 1) List of snacks and filling ideas 2) That food on hand! Easy - so here is a WIP Lunch Box Ideas List I have created to work with my 6 year old's school & 4 year old pre-school schedules. Master 6 starts at 9.30am (strange I know...it's a bus availability thing) has a fruit break (10ish), recess (11.15) & lunch (1.10). Miss 4 has to have all food eaten & be at school by 12.30. You can work with this list or wave your magic wand over to personalise it for your own schedule or kids preferences, that's why I have kept this first draft as a word doc . I'd love you to post your ideas below so I can update it and share with our little community. (hence no pretty design or love links to recipes...we are talking stage 1 - big picture + be practical!) Later this week I will provide recipes (mostly baking), look at what kids 'should' eat, how to balance the days food intake, what's foods are rich in what nutrients to help our kids focus, perform, grow, improve immunity, provide sustained energy etc and what makes a good lunch box etc. The posts will be short & sweet. So big deep breath - we've < 10 days to go. Cindy :) (BTW - to keep you at ease re my experience, cooking & nutrition skills - I have 2 little ones that DON'T eat everything effortlessly that I dish up, have an applied science degree in Food & Nutrition, spent 5 years behind the stove for one of Sydney pioneering Catering & Event Companies in the late 80's - Norma Willis of Juste Nous including my own Exec catering biz, developed many delicious products for Sara Lee (think sticky date pudd, ice cream & lasagne) & baked million (yes!) of biscuits at Luken & May. Apple pic source: http://frenchgardenhouse.com/blog/?p=662 This document below will be updated with more ideas over the week + I will fill in the baked goodies section as recipe are posted & links added.