Kids Snack Lunchbox Ideas
Need some inspiration for your kids packed lunches? We have gathered together the very best advice (from the community) to give you some quick and easy ideas when tackling the same boring task week in week out.
Creating a variety of food items in a lunchbox on a weekly basis can be so so difficult. Not all children like sandwiches so it can be hard to find interesting, healthy alternatives. Doing the same old lunches over and over can be hard, so we have tried to gather all the amazing ideas from the community right here so you have a quick go-to list when you need a little inspiration. These are all low or no prep so hopefully will be quick and easy.
We have split these into food groups, so you can pick and choose from each group to create the perfect variety. we have also given you an idea of cost, so you don't need to spend a fortune*. It is generally cheaper/easier to pick an option from each group and run with it for a week then switch it up the following. So yes they will eat the same thing for a week but at least it will change fairly frequently!
Meat
Items per lunch (suggested) | Pack price | Cost per lunch | How many lunches? | |
Sausage rolls | 1 | £0.95 | 11p | 8 |
Cocktail Sausages | 6 | £2.15 | 43p | 5 |
Rolled up ham | 2 | £3.00 | 37p | 8 |
Ham in a wrap | 1 ham, 1 wrap | £3.00+£2 | 31p | 16 |
Cold cooked chicken | 1/2 breast sliced (approx. 60g) | £5.00 (for ready cooked) | 62p (41p for uncooked fillets) | 8 |
Cold chicken nuggets | 5 | £0.99 | 25p | 4 |
Sushi | 2 (usually has a short shelf life so watch this!) | £3.00 | 60p | 5 |
Mini pork pie | 1 | £2.40 | 40p | 6 |
Melba toast with pate | 40g pate with a few toasts | £0.65+£1.00 | 41p | 4 |
Protein (vegetarian friendly)
| Items per lunch (suggested) | Pack price | Cost per lunch | How many lunches? |
Boiled eggs | 1 large | £2.30 | 19p | 12 |
Cold baked beans | 1/2 tin | £0.40 | 20p | 2 |
Cubes of cheese | Matchbox size (approx 30g) | £2.85 (400g) | 21p | 13 |
Bean salad (don't forget a spoon/fork) | 1/2 tin | £0.80 | 40p | 2 |
Quinoa bites | 3 | £2.50 | 50p | 5 |
Falafel | 2 | £2.65 | 66p | 4 |
Hummus with pitta | 1/3 tub + 2 pitta | £1.50+£0.55 | 68p | 3 |
Vegetable
| Items per lunch (suggested) | Pack price | Cost per lunch | How many lunches? |
Carrot sticks | 1 carrot cut into sticks | £0.05 | 5p | 1 per carrot |
Grated carrot (add dressing, nuts seeds or raisins) | 1 carrot grated, dash of oil/lemon/whatever you have in the cupboard | £0.05+£0.05 | 10p | 1 per carrot |
Cooked broccoli | 100g | £0.59 (375g) | 14p | 4 |
Baby cucumbers | 1 | £1.00 | 16p | 6 |
Cherry tomatoes | 1/4 pack (250g pack) | £0.69 | 17p | 4 |
Cucumber sticks | 1/3 cucumber cut into sticks | £0.59 | 19p | 3 per cucumber |
Pepper sticks | 1/2 pepper | £1.20 | 20p | 6 |
Sugar snap peas | 1/4 pack (160g pack) | £1.05 | 26p | 4 |
Cauliflower rice | 1/2 pack | £2.10 (x4 packs) | 26p | 8 |
Fruit
| Items per lunch (suggested) | Pack price | Cost per lunch | How many lunches? |
Grapes | 100g (1/5 of a punnet) | £1.27 | 25p | 5 |
Apple | 1 | £1.70 | 28p | 6 |
Melon (honeydew) | 1/6 of a melon cut into sticks or cubes | £1.49 | 24p | 6 |
Satsuma | 1 | £1.30 | 13p | 10 |
Kiwi | 1 | £0.85 | 14p | 6 |
Blueberries | 1/2 pack - or a few added to other cut fruit | £0.89 | 44p | 2 |
Strawberries | 1/4 punnet (300g punnet) | £2.00 | 50p | 4 |
Pears | 1 | £0.95 | 15p | 6 |
Fruit can be expensive but you can find ways to add these to their lunches without breaking the bank. You could mix in some of the more expensive fruits (strawbs) with cheaper ones (satsuma). Try your local market if you have one, and try and buy seasonally as strawberries in the winter are more expensive to come by. In the Autumn, loads of people give apples away as those with trees usually have way more than they can eat! So look out for baskets outside peoples houses (especially if you live in more rural areas). Blackberries are usually growing wildly so you could go foraging for these. In some places children get free fruit at school, so worth finding out if they do and picking an alternative. Frozen fruit is also a way to go - you could experiment with some fruit mixes, defrost and add a little fruit juice to make a fruit salad.
Carbs
| Items per lunch (suggested) | Pack price | Cost per lunch | How many lunches? |
Wheat crackers | 4 | £0.90 | 11p | 8 |
Ritz crackers | 6 | £1.20 | 17p | 7 |
Bread roll | 1 | £0.49 | 8p | 6 |
Cooked pasta | 50g | £0.32 (500g penne) | 3p | 10 |
Wrap (add filling of choice) | 1 | £1.10 (8 wholemeal) | 13p | 8 |
Rice cakes | 2 | £1 | 11p | 9 |
Bread sticks | 2 | £0.55 | 6p | 10 |
Cous cous | 1/2 pack (140g) | £0.55 (roasted vegetable) | 27p | 2 |
For some of these options you may want to add spread cream cheese, ham or marmite. We haven't included these in the costs so make sure you take that into account!
Extras
Some of these items would be considered 'treat' items so it is worth checking what your school policy is on treats. Some school will allow one treat item per lunch, some none at all so be careful you don't get into trouble!
Soreen slices or bars (slices buttered can be even nicer!)
Yoghurts - tube or sachet sucky style can be a hit (but are more expensive)
Cereal bars (remember - no nuts)
Cake bars
Muffins - mini muffins are good for smaller kids and they go a lot further!
Chocolate rice crispie or cornflake cakes (homemade are super easy)
Flapjacks (easy to make super healthy if you make your own with seeds, dried fruit etc.)
Pretzels - sweet or savoury options available!
*All the prices are based on Tesco basic range prices Sept 2022.
We hope you find this useful, and if you have any other lunch snack tips, we’d love to hear about them in our Facebook group community, FAMILY LOWDOWN TIPS & IDEAS!
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