Readers' Recipes: Lunchbox Ideas

Recipes

girl eating packed lunch Every day of the week, Raisingkids members
are on our Back To The Table forum swapping
ideas and recipe tips. Here's a selection of
some of the delicious ideas they've come
up with for school lunch boxes.

All Wrapped Up

"For a change from bread, soft tortilla wraps are good. You can fill them with chopped chicken or tuna and salad, a bit of salsa or low fat mayonnaise for example. Fold over the bottom of the wrap first and then roll - that way the contents don't fall out!"

Thanks to: Raisingkids' member Ana_rkid

Faster Pasta

"Here's one I tested earlier - Nicoise Pasta Salad. Mix pasta shells with tuna, bite size pieces of just cooked french beans, some hard boiled egg, cubes of cucumber, and some halved cherry tomatoes. Mix with either mayo or french dressing. I'm getting hungry thinking about it!"

Thanks to: Raisingkids' member Kambrose

Soup Kitchen

"How about home-made soup in a flask - supermarkets do nice, small, cheap flasks and in the winter months soup and a couple of rolls is lovely! My 'won't eat vegetables' child adores spicy butternut squash soup!"

Thanks to: Raisingkids' member Corris

Fluffy Couscous

"I can definitely recommend couscous - we've used the Ainsley Harriot ones which are gorgeous and low in fat - I usually add finely chopped peppers, spring onions and cherry tomatoes, along with a sprinkling of sunflower seeds and a tiny amount of olive oil to keep it fluffy and separate. My very hard-to-please 11 year old actually asks for this if we haven't made it for a while."

Thanks to: Raisingkids member LindaB

Popcorn Idol

"A healthy snack to put in their lunchboxes is popcorn - it's so quick and easy to make in the microwave. Buy a bag of popcorn, spread a single layer in a pyrex dish, put the lid on and set the microwave to about 7 mins (650 watt). When the popping stops - take it out (mind the steam as you lift the lid!). The pyrex dish should be almost full of popcorn. My kids eat it without anything on it, but you can add flavourings."

Thanks to Raisingkids' member cpaine

For more recipe ideas - or to share your family favourites with other parents - click here for our Back To The Table forum.