Lunchboxes

A friend of mine posted on Facebook recently that she wanted to put making the kids' lunchboxes into Room 101! I chuckled, firstly because I had forgotten about Room 101 and how much we used to enjoy watching it, and secondly because lunchbox making in our house is not a favourite part of the day.

I get really stuck with what to put in them, knowing if I try anything too adventurous it may come back uneaten (and they will be hungry) but if I keep giving them the same things, eventually they get bored and refuse to eat it anymore.

Combine this with our drive to reduce our reliance on plastic and packaging and 3 lunchboxes = hard work! We have, after some trial and error, got the packaging sorted. We bought some fabulous LunchBots lunch boxes, some of which have inbuilt dividers meaning that often no wrapping at all is required. If some wrap is needed, we use either greaseproof paper or a small paper bag. This has been successful and we no longer use cling film at all. My next step is to invest in washable sandwich wrap and food bags. The LunchBots then go in an insulated Zoo Lunchie (for the younger ones) or straight in a ruck sack (too cool for a lunch bag at 12!) The kids all have a Klean Kanteen for their water, so no waste there either.

Our main problem is the 'sandwich' part of the lunchbox. We have tried them all...wraps, muffins, bagels, crackers but our eldest has started taking one bite and leaving the remainder, then eating the fruit, yogurt and chocolate biscuit. After several warnings he is now on a 'sandwich and fruit only' lunch regime until he starts eating the sandwiches again.

Lunchbox ideas we have tried with success include:

• pasta, they all like this but get bored if they have it too often and it wipes out pasta as an option for dinner!

• soup, well received in Winter but not too often or they start to moan

• mini quiches, love them occasionally, lots of work, not a quick fix!

• veggies and dips/hoummus, well received but not that filling

If anyone has any good ideas not mentioned above please let me know, my husband (who nearly always makes the lunch boxes) will be most grateful!!