9 back-to-school lunch box ideas

Lunch boxes provide children with at least a third of their daily intake of energy for the day, as well as the energy required for school activities in the classroom and on the sports field. A healthy diet not only protects children from diseases and illness but boosts their cognitive abilities too.

Here are some lunch box ideas for your children brought to you by the RSA Group, South Africa’s largest market agency who sell fresh produce at fresh produce markets across the country on behalf of their producers.

Check out the following ideas to improve the quality of your child’s lunch box:

1. An apple, orange or banana, either whole or cut into pieces to get them started on the journey of nutrition.
2. Oranges or watermelon cut into pieces and frozen.
3. Slices of pineapple or mango, some litchis or a bunch of grapes for an interesting snack that will satisfy the sweetest tooth without the added preservatives.
4. Kiwi fruit with the top cut off, which can be eaten with a teaspoon.
5. A container of mixed berries made up of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
6. Peaches, nectarines or plums either whole or cut into pieces.
7. Any of the above-mentioned fruits added to some yoghurt can serve as an encouragement for those children not keen on eating fruit.
8. Low-fat salad dressing or hummus is the perfect pairing for raw veggies like carrots, sweet peppers, cucumber, celery, mushrooms, speciality/baby tomatoes (Romanitas or similar).
9. Avocado as an alternative spread to the traditional peanut butter and jam.

“To avoid uneaten lunches, it is wise not to make sudden and drastic changes but rather start with adding a serving of a fresh fruit or vegetables to the rest of their lunch.”

Once your children have adapted to having less junk food in their lunch box, you have a variety of nutritional meals that you can pack for them with limited push back.