Whether you’re making a packed lunch for nursery, going for a picnic or eating out at a friends and need to take food – here are some top tips and ideas for you:
2) Aim to include the main food groups in each lunch (read more about the food groups here), with carbohydrates, protein, fruit and veggies and essential fats. This can make it super easy to plan out what to pack- just tick off the food groups. See the examples below for ideas:
3) It doesn’t have to look like an adult packed lunch. Your little one will have different ideas about what they like and that is fine. Many will not enjoy sandwiches but love a sushi style wrap, pinwheels or breadsticks with cheese and hummus.
4) Cut foods up so they can be safely eaten. Anything round like a cherry tomato, grape or olive needs to be sliced in half lengthways as these foods can be choking risks.
5) Keep it colourful and fun! Try using little cutters to make sandwiches more interesting, add silicone cake cases for a splash of colour, make a pasta salad with colourful vegetables or try slicing veggies up in different ways.
6) Get baking. When you have a bit more time, try baking some savoury muffins, some courgette pancakes, make mini pizzas, or some fruity flapjacks using banana instead of syrup. These all freeze well and can defrost overnight, giving you options to make a fast packed lunch the night before it’s needed.
Here are some mealtime ideas, which can work well on-the-go:
-Written by For Aisha dietitian Priya Tew.