Ditching the sweet stuff can be unsettling in the beginning. Coping with cravings, cooking from scratch and getting your kids to enjoy sugar-free food can be tough. We get it!
So to help you manage your new low-sugar life, the I Quit Sugar Ask an Ambassador series answers all your curly questions. In this instalment, I’ve pulled together a collection from our Ambassadors’ best tips on how they master a healthy, low-sugar lunchbox for their kids (that they’ll actually eat!).
With around 1400 school lunches to create – and that’s just in primary school – it’s easy to understand why it can feel overwhelming to provide lunchboxes that tick all the boxes: quick, tasty AND nutritious! Fortunately, it can be simpler (and cheaper!) to create whole food lunches that are low in sugar and processed foods.
Preparation is key.
Keep a list of simple lunchbox ideas inside the pantry door for quick reference and to assist in grocery shopping. My list includes sandwich and wrap fillings, simple proteins, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and other snacks.
Chopped raw and roasted vegetables, stored in a container in the fridge, make for quick and easy additions to the lunchbox. Keep a freezer stash of corn on the cob, frozen peas (my 6 year old loves these!) and low-sugar baked goods for the occasional treat. I often mix together a combo of tuna, grated carrot and grated cheese, which lasts a couple of days in the fridge and can be quickly added to a wrap.
Provide variety.
Variety is the spice of life, even for our little ones, so a selection of fresh whole foods adds a rainbow of colour and provides a sneaky opportunity to introduce something new to the mix for the kids to try. Sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, roasted sweet potato, corn, snow peas, green beans and crunchy cos lettuce are all tasty options. Yulianna mixes things up with savoury muffins, veggie sticks, seasonal fruit with yoghurt and a good old sandwich – and the lunchboxes always come home empty!
Get the kids involved.
Jenny uses school lunchbox preparation as an opportunity to educate her daughter about healthy food. Providing healthy choices also empowers them to make their own decisions. Try asking, “which two vegetables do you want in your lunchbox today?” I use a bento-style lunchbox and my son enjoys deciding how he’s going to fill the different compartments.
Make it fun.
Peer pressure to provide “what the other kids eat” can be a battle. But lunchboxes can be made more appealing by including plain popcorn instead of chips or yoghurt mixed with pureed raspberries to make it pink. Claire uses cookie cutters to make fun sandwiches, makes colourful kebabs with grilled veggies and includes a small sugar-free dip too. A little love note is also often appreciated (unless it’s too embarrassing!).
Some other tasty ideas to try:
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Rice paper rolls or homemade sushi
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Mini pizzas – Claire makes a batch of pizza dough and pizza sauce for the month, and freezes each into mini-pizza portions, for easy defrosting and cooking.
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Sausage rolls, meatballs or chipolatas
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Hard-boiled eggs
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Cheese cubes
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Plain yoghurt sweetened with fruit
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