Kids lunchboxes – love them or loathe them – they are back in your life, and chances are, you will have to learn to embrace them for the next 14 years (if like me, your baby is starting school).

Some children love the routine of eating a plain cheese and ham sandwich, but when the lunchbox comes home uneaten, it can be hard to come up with fresh ideas your child will love.

One of the easiest things I ever did was simply choosing five lunchbox recipes. It is a really simple concept that works even better if you involve your little ones because it puts the onus on them to eat the foods they have chosen themselves.

How to start

1 Make a timetable

Take a blank sheet of paper and divide it into five columns. Write the schooldays of the week in each one from Monday to Friday.

2 Find out the favourites

Have a chat with your child about their favourite lunch recipes. Think outside the normal lunchbox and get them excited to share foods you know they really love to eat. Encourage them to think about foods high in protein like meat, eggs, cheese, hummus and fish.

3 Add to the timetable

When you have five recipes add them to your chart. For example, Monday could be Hidden Heroes Veggie Nuggets with hummus (recipe below), Tuesday could be tuna mayo with sweetcorn and crackers for dipping, Wednesday could be weggie pasta pesto, Thursday might be Italian quinoa bites (see below) and Friday pizza toasties (these toasties are super easy to make, using wholemeal wraps as a base, pizza sauce made from tomato purée, water and garlic, topped with mozzarella and peppers and baked in the oven for 10 minutes)

4 Pick a side

Get your child to pick a fruit or veggie for the side each day. Choose from; chopped apple (with a little lime juice to prevent browning), peeled mandarin orange, chopped strawberries, blueberries, chopped mango or pineapple. Depending on the main choice, the side can sometimes be served with a little natural yogurt and a sprinkle of granola too, so mix it up a little.

5 Hang it up on the fridge

Batch cook

Once you have five lunch days planned, we can look at batch cooking to make our lives as parents easy!

  • Pancakes – these can be frozen ahead of time too. Simply cook, then place a little parchment paper in-between each one and freeze.
  • Pesto pasta – make a large batch and freeze into a muffin tin to get perfect little portions.
  • Hummus – freshly made hummus will keep in the fridge for up to five days and can also be frozen in an airtight, freezer-safe container in small batches.

    • Make a weekly shopping list

    Once you have gone through what recipes/meals your kids will enjoy, it’s time to make a shopping list. Bring your child shopping so they are excited to fill their lunchbox with you.

    Make it easy

    Having a fuss-free lunch box is great because realistically your child will only get 10 minutes, twice a day to eat their lunch. Peel their oranges, cut sandwiches into fingers, don’t include complicated packs for them to open. Think; easy, quick and nutritious!

    Recipe

    Sweet potato & carrot curried hummus with Hidden Heroes

    1 large sweet potato, roasted with skin on for 40 minutes until soft

    4 carrots, roasted

    4 cloves garlic, roasted

    400g (15oz) tinned chickpeas

    4 tbsp tahini

    4 tbsp olive oil

    4 tbsp water

    1 lemon, juice only

    1 tsp ground coriander

    1 tsp ground cumin

    ½ tsp ground turmeric

    ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

    3 stalks fresh coriander

    3 Hidden Heroes Veggie Nuggets

  • 1 Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark four).
  • 2 Place all of the ingredients for the hummus into a high-speed blender and blend until really smooth and silky. Add more water (1 tbsp at a time) if it is too thick.
  • 3 Pour the hummus into little bowls and leave in the fridge until ready to use.
  • 4 Cook the Hidden Heroes Veggie Nuggets as per the pack instructions. Add to the lunchbox and serve cold with a dollop of hummus on the side.

    • Italian Quinoa Bites

    200g (1 cup) quinoa, rinsed

    500ml (2 cups) homemade chicken/vegetable stock or water

    4 tbsp rapeseed oil

    1 medium onion, finely diced

    1 red pepper, finely diced

    1 medium courgette, finely diced

    2 cloves garlic, crushed

    10 basil leaves, finely chopped

    1 tsp dried oregano

    2 eggs

    2 tbsp tomato purée

  • 1 Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark four).
  • 2 Add the quinoa to a pot with the stock or water and cook as per the instructions on the packet. Once cooked leave aside to cool.
  • 3 Heat 2 tbsp of the rapeseed oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and gently fry the onion until translucent.
  • 4 Add the pepper and courgette and fry until soft and cooked through. Add the garlic and cook for a further three minutes, then stir in the basil and oregano. Set aside to cool.
  • 5 In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, tomato purée and 2 more tbsp rapeseed oil until fully combined. Then add the cooked quinoa and vegetables and mix well.
  • 6 Form into 24 evenly sized balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • 7 Bake for 25 minutes.
  • 8 Eat warm or cold.