Lunchbox ideas with the Flora Lunchbox challenge

By : | 2 Comments | On : October 10, 2016 | Category : Events

So what do you pack into your kid’s lunchboxes?

Is it possible to ensure a balanced meal everyday? It is necessary, though, to provide kids with a balanced meal so that they have enough energy to last the day and the brain works properly as well. Sugary treats will raise their energy for a bit and make them hungry again, but a bit of protein will keep them focused and full of energy through the day.

“A Flora-commissioned University of Leeds study recently revealed that only 1.6% of children in England receive a packed lunch that meets the nutritional standards set for school meals, with just 17% of lunches containing any kind of vegetables or salad”.

Hence, Flora is helping parents to pack healthy lunches by putting together a lunchbox builder.

Flora Lunchbox builder

 

It gives you ideas of what to put together for a Main Meal, Snack and Fruit & Veg, which means you can mix things up depending on the kids mood and yours and make many many combinations.

In short, here’s what you can do for a balanced lunchbox :

  • Starchy foods – bread, rice, potatoes, pasta
  • Protein foods – meat, eggs, fish, beans
  • Dairy – cheese or yogurt
  • Vegetables or salad and a portion of fruit

Tips:

  • Instead of sandwiches all the time, use bagels, pita breads and wraps
  • Low-fat snacks like bread sticks and carrot/pepper sticks
  • Dips with cottage cheese and greek yoghurt for extra protein instead of calorie rich mayonnaise
  • Vary the fruit in the lunchbox each day. Different fruits like Melon and Kiwi fruit give different nutrients and keep kids excited about their food.

When Flora asked me to participate in their #FloraLunchbox Challenge, I was very happy because I love packing my son’s lunchbox. He is a hungry boy, but can’t eat too much of one thing, nor can he eat the same thing repetitively. So it has to be different every day, tasty, have a variety of things and yes, lots of it! We are a hungry little boy!

Inspired by the recipes on their page, here’s what I came up with.

Vegetarian Toasted sandwich

My son loves carrots, peas and potatoes. So I boiled and mashed them, added a bit of salt , some pepper and spice. I spread some Flora on the slices instead of butter and  put some of the vegetable mash in and toasted the bread. I then wrapped it in foil , to keep it warm and easy for him to eat.

 

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Pasta with Ham and Peas-

Then, another day, I made him pasta which I made in Flora and added in some ham and peas for the extra protein and fibre to keep him full. A good balanced meal I think.

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Egg and Sweetcorn wrap

I chopped up boiled egg, added some sweetcorn and yellow and green peppers and made a wrap. Changing the carbohydrates also makes meals interesting.

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Egg and Cheese Panini

He loves sandwiches so I also made another variation , by adding in some boiled eggs to his sandwich instead of making ham and cheese. I put some Flora onto the panini bread, to keep it soft and wrapped it up in foil as usual to keep it fresh.

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Did you know that every Flora tub contains plant oils, like sunflower, rapeseed and linseed oils. Flora is lower in saturated fats than butter and provides a source of healthy Omega 3 and 6. These essential fats contribute to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels and are also needed for normal growth and to support the development of children. Flora ha recently launched Flora Freedom,  a 100% dairy free product, which is free of preservatives, artificial colours and flavours and  is approved by The Vegetarian Society.

Flora’s Lunchbox builder  has certainly made meal seem more exciting.

To look for more recipes to excite your imagination, do hop over to the Flora recipe page.

 

“This post is an entry for the #FloraLunchbox Linky Challenge, sponsored by Flora. Check out their lunch planner and recipe ideas here <http://www.flora.com/article/category/1104207/healthy-kids >
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