SCHOOL is on in full swing and, chances are, you’ve been utilising the school canteen for your child’s lunches because you just haven’t quite got the hang of the lunch thing yet. Sure, you want to keep your child healthy and know exactly what they’re eating at school, especially if you don’t get a weekly menu from the canteen, but you also don’t want to send food in the lunch box and then have them tell you that its “icky”.

The compromise is in both dialoguing with the teacher to see if and what they’re actually eating, and coming up with ideas for how to make mealtimes fun. Because sure, school lunches are convenient, but they can also get quite expensive if not included as part of your school fees.

Here are some great ideas for lunches that have been tried and tested by moms over the last few weeks of school.

The first thing you need to do is get a food thermos to keep the food warm or cold, so your little one can still enjoy if the school doesn’t have a microwave, or teacher doesn’t have time to heat lunches up for you.

Wraps

Tortilla wraps are a good, filling lunch that can be customised to your child’s tastes. All you need is a pack of large wholewheat wraps, shredded cheese, pasta sauce and your choice of meat for the filling.

Ingredients

Tortilla wrap

Salami or ham slice

Scrambled egg (optional)

Lettuce(optional)

Spoonful of pasta sauce

Butter

Method

Place buttered tortilla wrap on oven tray. Spoon on the pasta sauce in swirls. Add the salami (you can fry beforehand), and sprinkle with cheese. Toast in the oven for 5-8 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Remove from oven and add egg and lettuce, and start wrapping. If you want it to hold, wrap the way you would swaddle a baby, tuck the top ends in, then cut in two with a slant. Place in your thermos and it’s off to school!

Pasta with marinara sauce

Ingredients

Penne pasta

Pasta sauce

Deli meat of choice, or cut-up franks

Veggies your kid likes

Method

Boil and drain pasta. If using veggies like broccoli or cauliflower or carrots, boil these with the pasta.

Add sauce, veggies, meat, and season with your choice of herbs and spices.

Place the serving in your thermos and it’s off to school.

Fried rice

If you have meat left over from dinner the night before, fried rice for lunch the next day is a quick, easy and filling lunch.

Ingredients

Shredded cooked protein

Scrambled egg

Cooked rice

Veggies

Soy sauce

Seasonings

Method

Cook your rice as usual, in one pot. In a sauté pan, sauté your protein, veggies and seasonings like tomatoes, sweet pepper, onion, and you can even add in some shredded cabbage or pak choi, or cooked sliced pumpkin.

Add your rice to this mixture, season, and add egg and soy sauce.

Let simmer covered a bit, then serve.

Grilled cheese with tuna

Ingredients

Multigrain bread

Flaked tuna in water

Butter

Cheese

Method

Butter bread, add cheese, and place on oven grill for a few minutes until cheese melts. Alternately, you can make this in a saucepan after making a cheese sandwich, flipping the sandwich as each side cooks.

Remove from oven and add tuna, which would have been prepared and mixed with mayo or ketchup.

Top off the sandwich with an extra slice of bread, and place in oven again for two minutes.

Slice sandwich in strips and send off to school in the warming thermos.