Awesome Lunch Box Ideas

Lunchtime ideas can be tricky for any parent - trying to balance a healthy food choice with what they will actually eat.

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The Picky Eater

Picky eating is completely normal and natural for a young child and there is no 'quick-fix' so relax your expectations and know that it can take months (sometimes years!) to effectively nurture a healthy way of eating. But by putting the time in and being patient, you are actually creating healthy eating habits for life.

We recommend reading The Gentle Eating Book by Sarah Ockwell-Smith.

TIP: when you introduce your little one to new foods, give them two things you know they like and one new thing. And then keep giving it to them - it may take a hundred times of re-presenting challenging foods, so accept it will come with repeated refusal. Until the day they try it!

Stay calm and avoid putting pressure on them to eat anything.

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Get them involved

Take your little on shopping with you, get them cooking at home and help them prepare their own lunch box. Show them where food comes from and how it is made, along with all of the variety of colours, flavours and textures (squishy, soft, rough, hard, sweet, hot, bland, sour etc)

Here are a few healthy choices you can put into their lunch box:

Raw Veggies - for texture

• Carrot sticks

• Cucumber batons

• Cherry tomatoes cut in half

• Sweet pepper strips

• Fresh raw peas

• Sweetcorn kernels

• Avocado strips

• Edamame beans

Fruit - for sweetness

• Grapes cut in half length ways

• Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries

• Pear or melon slices

• Apple quarters

• Orange segments

• Whole banana

• Raising, sultanas or dried cranberries

Dairy & Meat - for protein

• Hard boiled eggs, quartered

• Cubes of cheese

• Natural yogurt pot with, jam, fruit or honey

• Ham or chicken strips

• Sausage cut into coins

• Minis crackers with cheese spread

Bread & Pasta - for fullness

• Bread sticks and hummus

• Mini sandwiches - ham, cheese, peanut butter, salmon

• Wraps or pitta bread - chicken or ham and salad

• Mini falafels

• Penne pasta tubes

• Homemade granola bars

Drinks - for hydration

• Avoid fruit juices, fizzy drinks and drinks for children

• Stick to water, milk and sugar-free squash

Here is another great source of information for lunch box ideas -

NHS - Change 4 life