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Make the back-to-school transition a smooth one this year.
These delicious and nutritious lunchbox snacks can be prepared in advance. From freezer-friendly quiches and fun sushi balls to pikelets with nut-free chocolate spread, this blog is the place to be for fun lunch box inspiration!
Starting a new school year, or starting school for the first time, is a big transition. Some kids may need extra support and some kids will relish this time. Regardless of what part of the spectrum your kid's feelings are sitting on, giving them choices will help them to feel in control.
We have pulled together a plethora of fun, yum, and, between us, healthy options to fill their lunch boxes, or to keep stored for easy snack access!
All of these recipes can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer so that you are ready to go for the week. Better yet, invite the kids into the kitchen to help out with cooking, it is a fantastic opportunity to teach them skills that will last them a lifetime.
Before you dive into our fun-zone recipes, here are our hot tips:
- Fresh fruit and veggie sticks are a must
- Plan ahead to save yourself a headache
- Check out our Marketplace, add to your order and get everything delivered to your door!
Quiche Lorraine
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 bunch spring onions
- 180g bacon
- 3 eggs
- 150ml whipping cream
- 300g puff pastry sheet
- 100g grated cheddar cheese
- Preheat oven to 220ºC. Defrost pastry.
- Heat a frypan over medium heat with butter. Cut bacon into small strips, finely chop spring onions (reserve green tops for step 5) and crush garlic clove. Add to pan as you go. Cook until onion is soft and bacon just crispy. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Crack eggs into a jug. Pour in the cream. Season with salt and pepper and whisk to combine well.
- Use a rolling pin to gently roll out pastry. Cut into 6 pieces. Press into a 6-hole muffin tray.
- Evenly divide bacon mix and cheese into pastry. Pour in egg mix to fill halfway. Let the egg mix settle for 1 minute, then fill to the top. Garnish with reserved spring onion green tops and extra cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the egg mixture is set. Allow to cool for 5 minutes then remove from muffin tray.
- You can switch up the quiche fillings to suit your family or what you have in the fridge! Ham, bacon, cheese, grated zucchini, tomato, baby spinach and mushrooms will all work well!
- These can be made and frozen. Thaw out and reheat in an oven preheated to 220ºC until warm.
- For more quiche cooking tips you can read our blog post.
Want to make this at home? We used Empire Pastry Puff Pastry Sheet, The Farm House Honey Cured Free-Range Bacon and The Kitchen 2 Kitchen Shredded Cheddar Cheese from the Dinner Twist Marketplace.
Fruit and Yoghurt Gummies
- 250g pre-cooked beetroot
- 250g blueberries (fresh or thawed out frozen)
- 300g yoghurt
- 2 tbsp gelatine powder
- Line an oven dish or container with baking paper or plastic wrap.
- Blend beetroot and blueberries to a smooth consistency.
- Add yoghurt to a large bowl along with blended beetroot and blueberries. Mix to combine.
- Add 1/4 cup water and gelatin powder to a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk consistently until gelatin is melted.
- Pour gelatin mix into bowl and whisk all ingredients until well combined. Pour into prepared container. Place in fridge for 2-3 hours until set to firm.
- Once gummies are set, use shaped cutters to cut out gummies or cut into small cubes. Keep refrigerated and add to lunch boxes or afternoon snack plates!
- You can switch up the fruits and vegetables in this recipe. Some other combinations include mango and softened carrot, kiwi fruit and cucumber, apple and spinach or watermelon and celery.
- If you know your child (or you!) has a sweet tooth, you can change the ratios to increase the amount of fruit and decrease the amount of vegetables to make the gummies more enticing.
- Omit yoghurt for a dairy-free option.
Want to make this at home? We used Love Beets Baby Beetroot and Brownes Greek Natural Yoghurt. You can easily use anything from our Seasonal Fruit bag, available from the Dinner Twist Marketplace.
Chicken Teriyaki Sushi Balls
-
300g sushi rice
-
250g pre-cooked chicken breast
-
2 Lebanese cucumbers
-
2 tbsp teriyaki marinade
-
optional: nori sushi sheets
- Rinse sushi rice. Place in a saucepan with 450ml water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat immediately to low. Cook, semi-covered, for 20 minutes until rice is tender and water is absorbed. Remove from heat to cool.
- Roughly chop or tear chicken. Dice cucumbers. Add to a bowl with teriyaki marinade and mix to coat.
- To assemble place a bowl of water on the bench to wet your hands. Place 1/4 cup rice in the palm of your hand. Press the rice flat into your hand. Place 1 tbsp chicken mixture in the middle of the rice. Cover chicken with rice and press the tightly into a ball. Repeat with remaining rice and filling.
- Optional: cut nori sushi sheets into strips and wrap strips around sushi balls, or cover balls fully with sushi sheets.
- Fill sushi balls with your favourite sushi fillings: tuna and mayonnaise, avocado, cooked salmon or switch chicken for beef mince and make teriyaki beef.
Want to make this at home? We used Sushi Rice, The Ugly Mug Teriyaki Marinade and Obento Yaki Nori Sushi Sheets from the Dinner Twist Marketplace.
Pikelets with Nut-Free Chocolate Spread
- 400g tinned chickpeas
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 240g white spelt flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp bi-carb
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- Drain and rinse chickpeas. Add to a blender or food processor along with remaining ingredients. Blend on high speed until completely combined. Store refrigerated in an air-tight container.
- Whisk together dry ingredients. Crack in egg and pour in milk. Whisk to combine.
- Heat a frypan with butter over medium-high heat. Pour even amounts of batter (roughly 2 tablespoonfuls for pikelets or 1/3 cupfuls for pancakes) into pan. When bubbles form, flip and cook until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve pikelets with nut-free chocolate spread.
- You can switch up the quiche fillings to suit your family or what you have in the fridge! Ham, bacon, cheese, grated zucchini, tomato, baby spinach and mushrooms will all work well!
- These can be made and frozen. Thaw out and reheat in an oven preheated to 220ºC until warm.
- For more quiche cooking tips you can read our blog post.
Want to make this at home? We used Spelt Pancake Mix, Ceres Organics Organic Chickpeas and Raw Food Factory Organic Maple Syrup from the Dinner Twist Marketplace.
Pizza Scrolls
- 250g wholemeal spelt flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 170ml natural yoghurt
- 50g tomato paste
- 100g grated cheddar cheese
- 1 green capsicum
- 1 shallot
- 1 tomato
- Set oven to 180ºC. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, yoghurt and 1 tbsp water in a mixing bowl. Use hands to knead the mixture until well combined.
- Place dough ball on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a square (roughly 5mm thick). Spread pizza paste on top.
- Dice tomato, capsicum and shallot. Arrange an even amount of veggies and cheese on top, leaving a 2cm gap on one edge.
- Firmly roll pizza to form a log shape, ending with the gap edge. Slice into 4cm thick rounds and arrange on a lined oven tray (2-3cm apart). Top with any extra cheese and toppings. Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
Want to make this at home? We used Kitchen 2 Kitchen Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Brownes Greek Natural Yoghurt and Tomatoes from the Dinner Twist Marketplace.
