Cheap and Cheerful Lunch Box Ideas

Do your children feel a bit bored with their packed lunches? Are you struggling to make them finish their healthy sandwiches before they get stuck into their puddings? If this is the case, why not try some of these cheap and cheerful lunch box ideas that will hopefully keep your kids happy and healthy during school.

Super-Star Sandwiches

If you want a simple way to make their sandwiches fun, then this might be the idea for you. All you need to do is buy a star-shaped cookie cutter* and cut each slice of bread before making the sandwiches, to make the sandwich extra healthy, wholemeal bread is always a good option. Fill the sandwich with something yummy and wrap in cling film.

Before you head over to the bin with the bread trimmings, why not pop them in your freezer instead to use as breadcrumbs for another meal?

Savoury Muffins

If sandwiches just really aren’t your kids kind of meal, then why not try baking some savoury muffins. You can experiment with different flavours to find the perfect one for your little ones. For example, you could try Welsh rarebit muffins, or cheesy bacon muffins and see if they are a hit.

The great thing about baking your own muffins is that you don’t need to worry about getting up at 5:00am to bake them fresh every day, oh no, you can just make a batch at some point over the weekend and freeze them. Perfect!

Spinach whirls

The spinach whirls are one of my sons favourite dinner time meals. They look great but take no time at all to make.

Essentially they are a wrap filled with cream cheese, spinach and ham. The exciting part is that you don’t wrap them up in the tortilla in the usual way, instead you roll it from one side to the other and wrap it in cling film. If you get chance it is best to pop it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm up, but don’t worry if you don’t have time. Once you’re ready just cut the wrap into slices and remove the cling film from each slice. The whirl effect is really exciting for kids, and they look very nice in the packed lunch box too.

Pasta Pots

Again, this idea is great for any children that just don’t like sandwiches.

Pasta pots are basically plastic pots* filled with whatever kind of pasta your child likes. It could be tuna and mayonnaise or pesto pasta, whatever you find easy and your child enjoys. Changing the type of pasta that you use is a good way to keep it interesting for them too. Also, don’t forget to use whole wheat pasta if you want to cook the super healthy option.

So, there we have it, four simple, cheap and healthy lunch box ideas that will hopefully make packed lunches more fun and filling for both you and your little ones.

Do you have any lunch box ideas that have helped your children enjoy their meals?