5 easy and healthy lunchbox snack ideas
Lacking inspiration for healthy but easy lunchbox snacks?
Then you’ll want to take a look at this blog!
We’ve found some yummy but easy healthy lunchbox snack recipes, that all fit perfectly in your kid’s bento-style lunchboxes.
BANANA SUSHI
INGREDIENTS
1 flour tortilla
1 banana, peeled
2-3 Tablespoons peanut butter
a small smear of Nutella
INSTRUCTIONS
Spread peanut butter on one side of a tortilla. Add a thin line of Nutella.
Peel banana and straighten it a bit (it’s okay if it cracks a little).
Place on top of Nutella. Roll the tortilla up around the banana, trying to make it as tight as possible.
Slice your “sushi” roll and serve
TODDLER FRIENDLY MUFFINS
INGREDIENTS
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar, or to taste
2 large bananas, mashed
1 can of pumpkin baby food
2 carrots, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup oat bran
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat an oven to (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth.
Mix in the mashed bananas, pumpkin, carrots, and eggs.
Stir in the flour, oat bran, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.
Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.
Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze.
EGG & LETTUCE PINWHEELS
INGREDIENTS
4 large free-range eggs
6 thin slices of bread
1 cup iceberg lettuce, shredded.
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil.
Add eggs and cook for 7 minutes then, using a slotted spoon, instantly plunge into iced water to cool.
Peel eggs, then mash.
Season with pepper.
COLOURFUL KIDS PASTA
INGREDIENTS
150g small pasta shapes eg macaroni cooked and cooled
Handful of frozen peas cooked and cooled
Handful of sweetcorn tinned, fresh or frozen, cooked and cooled
½ red pepper chopped
1 small carrot peeled and chopped
Small handful of fresh herbs eg basil chopped
8 cherry tomatoes quartered
¼ cucumber diced.
INSTRUCTIONS
First, cook 150g small pasta shapes according to the packet instructions. Drain and cool. You may wish to stir a little olive oil through the pasta to stop it from sticking together.
Place in a mixing bowl with your choice of vegetables. I used a handful of peas, a handful of sweetcorn, ½ chopped red pepper, a chopped carrot, a handful of torn basil leaves, ¼ cucumber diced and 8 quartered cherry tomatoes. Mix well.
To make the dressing
Mix 1 tbsp olive oil with 1 tbsp lemon juice and ½ tsp dried oregano. Pour over the pasta salad and mix well. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
KIDS MEATBALLS
INGREDIENTS
1 handful fresh parsley
1kg beef mince
1 egg
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp pink salt flakes
freshly ground pepper
extra virgin olive oil, for frying.
INSTRUCTIONS
Chop the parsley until quite fine.
Place all ingredients except the extra virgin olive oil into a large mixing bowl and get the kids into it. All the ingredients need to be well combined.
Using wet hands, roll into small meatballs.
Heat a frying pan to medium-high heat and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Fry meatballs evenly until golden and well cooked. (If you prefer, you can bake the meatballs in a 180°C oven for around 10-12 minutes.)
Cool before freezing in portion control-sized packs. Send to school frozen, they will be thawed by lunchtime and help keep the rest of the lunch cool.
Please Share these recipes with others who need some lunch box ideas...