5 Ways to Make School Lunches Fun

School lunches are the bane of my existence. Yes, it really is that dramatic.  I see the lunch box as some sort of evil monster.  I even wrote about it last year for Coles. (Here it is: The Lunch Box Monster).   I’m always (desperately) looking for ways to feed the rotten creature…and then I met Cath. Cath has the most inspiring lunch box ideas. So inspiring in fact, I’m tempted to think of the lunch box as a cute pet that needs love and care rather than a horrid monster! I never would have believed it to be true…but I dare you to look at the Lunch Boxes with Love website and tell me you don’t feel the same!  {awwww, cute lil’ thing} Are you sure it doesn’t bite Cath?

I’m so glad to have Cath here today to share her tips on how to make lunch boxes FUN!

Guest Post from Cath from Lunch Boxes with Love

Hey, my name is Cath and I’m a Mum to two gorgeous little people: Little Miss Crow Bird who is five and Mr Smiley who just turned one.

I have created a business called Lunch Boxes With Love as I am passionate about providing my kids with delicious and varied lunches which are fun and practical too. We offer a range of products including gorgeous lunchboxes, funky boiled egg molds, sandwich shapers and much more.

We can help turn any boring old school lunch into a work of art with no extra effort required.

I have put together a few little tips, tricks and recipes I use to help make my children’s lunches fun, healthy, eco friendly and irresistible.

1. Food Picks

We all sometimes struggle to get our little ones to eat vegetables, and we want to show our children how much fun food is. With gorgeous food picks it’s easy to make vegetables fun; and the kids can help!

I  use whatever vegetables I have available, poke them with a food pick and that is it! As you can see, they are adorable. Pictured below, I used leaf food picks with cherry tomatoes, and have filled a little dip cup with some avocado. There you go: an  easy, cute and fun snack!

{click the picture for more food picks}

2. Sandwich Stamps

It’s easy to make a plain sandwich hard to resist with sandwich stamps. Simply make your child’s sandwich, push down on the cutter to cut the shapes out, then take the cute animal out of the top and push down to stamp the bread…GORGEOUS! I used the old trusty vegemite on the sandwiches pictured below.

{click the picture to see more sandwich shapers}

3.  Boiled Egg Molds

Boiled Eggs are a fabulous and healthy snack for the lunchbox. Many parents tell me their children now eat eggs (when they never did before) because of the molds. To be organised, I boil a couple of eggs on Sunday night and mold them ready for the next few day’s lunches.

To mold a boiled egg like the one pictured below follow these instructions:

1. Boil the egg as usual

2. While the egg is still hot, take the shell off under running water (so you don’t burn your fingers)

3. Put the egg into the boiled egg mold and put the mold in a bowl of cold water for 5 mins

4. Open the mold and you will have a gorgeous healthy snack that no child can resist!

{click the picture to see more egg mold shapes}

4. Toasted Sandwich Pops

Not many people like to eat the same thing everyday for weeks on end. So to help make things fun for the kids, I recently made these Toasted Sandwich Pops.

Toasted Sandwich Pops Recipe

What you need:

Lolly pop sticks (available from Spotlight)

Bread

Ham & Cheese

Animal Cutter Set

What to do:

1. Turn on your café grill.

2. Butter one side of each piece of bread.

3. Place a slice of ham and lots of cheese (this acts like glue) on the bottom piece of bread.

4. Pop the other piece of bread on top and let it cook.

5. Once the bread is ready, take the sandwich out and cut it with the animal cutter set.

6. Stick the lollypop stick in between the bread and let it cool.

All done! A cute looking sandwich with a difference for the lunchbox.

5. Lunch Boxes Inspiration

Lunch Boxes With Love have a blog filled with inspiring lunch box ideas. Whether this be for a special occasion or just to get you out of a lunch box rut. Look at the creative ideas below:

{click picture to look at the Lunch Boxes With Love Blog}

1. Valentine’s Day    2. St Patrick’s Day

3. Teddy Bear Picnic   4. Christmas

Other Fun Food Ideas

The Lunch Box Monster

Five Afternoon Tea Ideas

Pink Lemonade and Pink Pasta Please

Make Lunch Fun for Little Ones

Cornflour Goop

Strawberry Hearts

Environmentally Friendly Back to School Range