Firstly, a shout-out to all the apples. You know, the ones that go for their daily excursion to school and return home worse for wear but are sent again the next day since “we don’t shop again til Thursday so it’s that or nothing.”
Every January I start out with excitement to pack fun, healthy, insta-worthy food for my kids. By term 3 it’s often reverted back to a sandwich, the excursion-apple and something in a packet as I get tired and the kids get bored. But since it’s currently January, I’ve been doing some serious research into easy school lunchbox ideas (AKA looking at Pinterest and TikTok) and wanted to share my fave new quick and healthy lunchbox fillers.
QUICK TIP: this device (around $20 at Big W) will make an apple slinky, which is heaps more likely to get eaten.
But First, The Lunchboxes
The big craze these days is the bento style, the ones with little compartments to fill up and keep food separated. I personally love them, but a few things to look for:
- Leak proof zones, so your wet food doesn’t make the dry stuff soggy
- Not too large, your kid’s bag will be stuffed and heavy already
- Easy to clean. Get basic designs. The last thing you need is 15 bits to pull apart and wash every single night
- Hinged lid, easy for little fingers to open and guarantees it comes home
- Fits inside an insulated bag. Our Brissy summers are hot and food is nicer cool. Add an ice pack to keep everything fresh
All the stores and supermarkets load up on options at the start of the year, but here are 3 of my personal faves:
Now to the Easy School Lunchbox Ideas
1. Mini Munch Wrap
Let’s kick off our lunchbox tour with a classic staple, the mini munch wrap. It might seem boring but it’s as easy as it is delicious and you can make it fun. Our family packs these for all our sporting day trips because they are easy, nutritious and yum.
Start with a Mission wrap (the softest, stretchiest supermarket brand I’ve found), spread a thin layer of hummus, mayo or cream cheese, and pile on colourful veggies like shredded carrots, cucumber and lettuce. Top it off with ham, turkey or leftover roast chook. Then either wrap it with cling wrap as you roll and cut in two through the middle, or roll it up without cling wrap and cut into bite sized pinwheels, locked closed with a toothpick.
2. Sushi Sandwich Bites
Sushi sandwich bites are a fun, fresh twist for kids’ lunchboxes, filled with their favourite ingredients and easy to eat. The recipe link has 3 great flavour combos to try.
3. AirFryer Arancini Rice Balls
Arancini, or Italian rice balls, is a very popular street food. The classic deep fried recipe gets a makeover by being air fried, making it a healthier, guilt free lunchbox filler.
AirFryer Arancini Balls recipe
4. AirFryer Chicken Rice Paper Dumplings
These are amazing. Air fryer chicken rice paper dumplings are a delicious, healthy twist on traditional dumplings, made easy with the convenience of an air fryer.
AirFryer Chicken Rice Paper Dumplings recipe
5. Spring Rolls, DIY or Buy and Bake
My kids love spring rolls so I grab a box from the frozen section at the supermarket, cook up a batch on a Sunday and they pop a few cold ones in their lunchboxes through the week.
6. Brownie in a Box
Super hack on this one, because brownies are a serious pain to make from scratch. But the $3 box of Coles double choc brownies is crazy easy and delicious. Just melt some butter in a bowl, add an egg and the packet mix, and bake. You may want to hide these from the kids and heat one in a bowl with some ice cream after they’re in bed. We are seriously addicted in this house.
7. Fruit Cake Bars
Another easy and tasty one. Add a cheap cake mix, a whole can of fruit salad (liquid and all) and one egg into a bowl, mix it up, then pour the batter into mini bar or cupcake moulds and bake. Suitable to freeze as well.
8. Pizza Pastry Scrolls
Grab some puff pastry, lay it out and top with pizza sauce, then cheese and ham. Add pineapple if you have exceptionally well rounded tastebuds. Roll the pastry up into a log shape, then slice into discs around 1.5cm thick and lay them flat on a baking tray. Add a little extra cheese to the end pieces that missed out on filling. Bake at 180 degrees for around 5 to 10 minutes.
9. Homemade Cheesymite Scrolls (and Mini Pizzas)
You can make a super simple homemade pizza dough by combining 1.5 cups of self raising flour with 1 cup of Greek yoghurt. Mix together and you have an instant pizza dough. You can then make mini pizzas, or lay it flat in a rectangle, layer on flavours, roll up and slice into pinwheels. Bake at 180 degrees for around 5 to 7 minutes.
If you have a Thermomix and want to try a fancier bread dough instead:
10. Turkey Meatballs
High in protein, low in salt and fat, these hidden vegetable turkey meatballs are a great midday hit in the lunchbox. I lay them on some spinach leaves to look a little fresher in the lunchbox.
11. Macaroni Cheese Cups
You can’t go wrong with a crowd favourite like mac and cheese. Instead of baking it all in one big pan, put spoonfuls into muffin tins for a lunchbox hit.
12. Wonton Pizza Cups
Pizza wonton cups are a quick, healthy and delicious snack that packs all the flavours of pizza into an easy, bite sized treat.
13. Strawberry Pots
Mix raspberry jelly with Greek yoghurt for a berry mousse. Follow the jelly packet to start (mix hot water with jelly crystals until dissolved), then instead of cold water, add Greek yoghurt for a creamy protein bump.
YoGo, Thermomix version. Ingredients: 100g strawberry topping, 60g corn flour, 80g sugar, 1000g milk. Directions: place all ingredients into the mixing bowl, cook for 10 minutes at 80 degrees on speed 4, then place into cups to cool and set in the fridge.
14. Mini Hot Dogs
Prep these basic little treats up and keep them in the freezer for a grab and go lunchbox treat.
15. Bacon and Cheese Power Bites
Okay, so it’s just zucchini slice, but if your kids are vege-phobes, calling this delicious slice “Bacon and Cheese Power Bites” might make it an easier sell.
16. Homemade LCM Bars
These are still full of sugar but heaps cheaper to make this way than buying the store ones full of extra packaging and preservatives.
Ingredients: 5 cups rice bubbles, 250g marshmallows, 125g butter, your choice of decorating goodies (choc bits, melted chocolate, mini jelly beans). Melt the butter and marshmallows in a slow cooker on high for about 20 to 30 minutes with the lid on, until all melted. Add in the rice bubbles and mix through until the marshmallow mix covers all the rice bubbles. Pour into a lined tray (I wet my hands and press it all down), decorate with whatever you like, then put it in the fridge until set and cut to the size you want.
17. Quiche Boats, Air Fryer or Oven
Another egg-cellent idea (not even sorry for that, there’s always time for a daggy egg joke). Throw your quiche mix into stand and stuff tortilla shells and bang them in the air fryer or oven. Eggs are a great lunchtime filler, high in protein and healthy fats that keep you feeling fuller for longer.
3 eggs, ham, spinach, cheese, 6 mini soft tortilla shells. 10 minutes at 170 degrees, rotating them after 5 minutes.
18. Sweetcorn Fritters
Sweetcorn fritters are little golden bites of goodness: crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and bursting with juicy, sweet corn in every bite.
19. Spaghetti Bolognese Cups
Spaghetti bolognese cups are the perfect lunchbox treat for kids: easy to pack, no mess, and packed with delicious, familiar flavours that’ll keep them fuelled and happy through the school day.
Spaghetti Bolognese Cups recipe
20. All the Balls
- Raspberry Smoothie Bliss Balls
- Carrot Cake Bliss Balls
- Cherry Ripe Bliss Balls (use cranberries instead of cherries)
- Milo Weetbix Bliss Balls
- Salted Caramel Bliss Balls (recipe not online): 160g pitted dates, roughly chopped; 3/4 cup desiccated coconut; 1/2 cup rolled oats (use brown rice flakes or quinoa flakes if gluten free); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/4 tsp salt. Place the dates in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and set aside for 10 minutes. Drain the dates, saving 1 tablespoon of liquid, and add to a food processor. Blitz until smooth and caramel-like. Add the remaining ingredients (keeping 4 tablespoons of coconut aside) and blitz until the oats break down and the mixture comes together, adding the reserved liquid if needed. Scoop out with a tablespoon and roll into 12 balls, then roll the balls in the reserved coconut and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Note: 2 balls equals 1 snack.
21. Sandwich Shapes
Level up the classic Vegemite and cheese sanga with cute cutout shapes, just $3 a set from Kmart.
22. Rice Triangles and Balls
Grab little moulds for around $3 each from Daiso (also on Temu, and likely at your local Asian grocery store) and use your leftover cold rice to create cute little balls or flavoured rice “sandwiches” with filling inside. Daiso is also great for shaped fruit punches and cute little sticks to hold things together, as well as little bottles and containers.
23. Sushi Bowl
We make these ultra simple. Mix some sushi rice seasoning over cooked rice (make the rice the night before), then layer on some meat (anything from supermarket hot chook to leftover roast) and a handful of packet coleslaw (no dressing), with some sesame seeds if you want. I throw a small container of soy sauce in to add when they’re ready to eat, and you can also add some of those crunchy seaweed snacks too.
24. Hot Noodles, Mac, Soup or Nuggets
If your kids will only eat packet mac and cheese or 2 minute noodles, you can make them in the morning and they’ll still be hot for lunch. I find pre-heating the thermos with hot water before adding the hot food helps keep it warmer for longer. This is also handy for soups and stews. My kids like tomato soup with cheese bread sticks to dip. You can also pre-heat it with boiling water, then empty it out and put some chicken nuggets in there. They’ll keep warm until first break.
25. Fried Rice Slice
Found this one on TikTok, from a creator who does heaps of school lunch prep that goes in the freezer. Make your fried rice, then squish it into silicone bar moulds (cupcake moulds or the triangle ones mentioned above would also work) and they’re ready for grab and go.
26. Egg-cellent Ideas (sorry, I had to)
You can always start with basic boiled eggs, self explanatory surely, or level them up in one of these ways:
27. Salads
Fork required, but sometimes that adds to the fun of a salad over a sandwich.
- Simple pasta salad
- Pesto chicken pasta salad
- Mango chicken rice noodle salad
- Greek salad
- Lentil salad
- BLT salad (tip: keep the croutons separate so they don’t go soggy)
- Caesar salad
Keep It Cool
If you made it this far, here’s the reminder again to always add a gel ice pack in the kids’ insulated lunch boxes. Our Brisbane summers are so hot, and it’s much nicer to have a fresh, cool lunch. I like the soft ones more than the hard style, and find the Smash range keeps things cool all day long.
I hope this is a good start to your annual lunchbox journey. Maybe I’ll be able to keep the excitement and joy of making fun, homemade, healthy stuff going until winter. Or Easter. Or week 5. Time will tell.
I wish you all the best in your own lunchbox quest. May they always come home empty and intact.
Brisbane Family Life 