Schools Back lunch time

Here we are that time of the year again children are looking for that something special in their lunch box. I know my daughter gets tired of sandwiches all the time so here are some ideas that I have found. I thought I would share them with you as all children don't eat the same things.

To my right is a pic of Pita bread that has turkey and spinach in it rolled and cut into pinwheels. If your child doesn't like any of these ingredients you can use lettuce, carrot, cheese, ham, chicken, beef and tuna.

Sometimes my daughter doesn't like taking the prepacked food like muesli bars or jellies, lcms or sultanas. I won't let her take nutella because some children suffer with allergies so here are some alternatives that I have found.

Some other things I do to make the lunch box interesting is make pasta salads. My daughter takes these in her lunch box. There are two that she really likes here are the recipes.

As you can see to you right there are a lot of different pastas so I never use the same one. The first recipe is a creamy salad.

I sometimes use bows for this one . I cook the pasta and let cool a little. Then I chop up some ham, onion and add to the pasta . In a separate bowl I mix some cream and mayonnaise, then add that with some peas to the pasta mix. Mix well and put in an airtight container to insure no spills. I sometimes for a change add curry to the cream and mayonnaise mix if you like.

The second recipe is a bit different I use any of the spirals pastas for this one. Cook pasta and let cool , but I want a little bit of heat left so the pasta can absorb some of the ingredients. I chop some onion, salami, tomato place that in with the pasta . Add some peas and corn to the pasta mix then for the dressing I use a french dressing. Pour that over while pasta is still a bit warm and mix. The salami and french dressing will absorb into the pasta so the flavour is there when you are eating it. Kids love it and sometimes they don't realise they are eating vegetables as well.

I often send her with fresh fruit and vegetables sliced . I use what ever is in season at the time. She has only just started to eat raw carrot so that is a bonus in salads. I bowl an egg and she take that. Yogurt and cheese she loves , so she takes them for a change and a lot of water. She has never wanted to take cordial which is great for her health. Sometimes in the hotter months I freeze the fruit so that is a cool treat for her as well.

I also every now and then use a cookie cutter and cut shapes in the watermelon or rock melon for a surprise because they never know what animal they are going to get. You can do that with their sandwiches as well.

I hope that some of my ideas will help you with lunches at this time of the year. As we all know that children can be fussy and not always want what you give them.

I sometimes let my daughter help me with her lunch so she would have fun making it as well as eating it.