The Batch Cooking Queen's quick and easy lunchbox ideas
If you go barny for a butty, you may have been horrified at the news that the UK's biggest sandwich makers are due to go on strike! Now's the perfect time to become your own pack-up-pro with top tips from Batch Cooking Queen Suzanne Mulholland. From make ahead ideas to freezable food. Suzanne joins us with some quick and easy lunchbox ideas to suit even the pickiest of eaters in the family (whatever age they might be!)
Freezing sandwiches, bagels and wraps
Use your freezer; buy a selection of bagels, bread and wraps at the beginning of the week, take out what you need for the week ahead and freeze the rest.
Top tip: make sandwiches for the week at the weekend and pop them into the freezer so they are ready to grab each morning and will be defrosted by lunchtime.
When it comes to freezing sandwiches: avoid too much mayo and don't freeze lettuce. Bulking out pasta salads and soups: Cheap and easy, things like tuna and sweetcorn, pesto, ham and sweetcorn make a great filling lunch. Buy the pasta in bulk as it will save you money. Try using orzo as it cooks quicker and is a nice change from the usual. Buy cheap tinned soup and bulk it out with things like pasta and rice.
Decanting snacks
For snacks: buy big and split the tubs, don't buy anything individually wrapped. Hummus: buy a big pot and split into individual portions that you can freeze. Popcorn & raisins: decant a big bag into small tubs rather than buying individual packs. Biscuits and crackers: buy a big pack of biscuits and wrap them individually. Top tip: buy high quality lunch boxes. The better the quality the less likely they are to leak and make a mess of school bags.
Keep lunches simple going for food that the kids definitely like will reduce leftovers.
How to save money on lunches
Use a cheese slicer: instead of a knife for thinner slices and less waste. Avoid cartons of juice: instead buy diluting squash and refill water bottles everyday. Be open to other brands: check if you can drop a brand on some products. Make your own sandwich fillings: buying ready made fillings like tuna and sweetcorn, or egg mayo etc can be very expensive.
Hack for keeping lunch boxes cold
Freeze small individual yoghurt pots and add one to the kids lunch boxes in the morning. By lunchtime it will have defrosted slightly but it will have kept Everything cold and the kids will have a lovely cool snack.