School lunches are now a topic for us too, because our twins are already school children. Since food is very important to me, and I want my children to consume vitamin-rich food, I immediately started thinking about school snacks. Just having ham or cheese sandwiches all the time can get boring. After some research, I came across a lot of ideas that I would like to summarize here:
What does a healthy snack look like?
What should a school snack for children contain?
- Grains: Whole grain bread, whole grain pastries, muesli (with a spoon!), muesli bars
- Calcium and protein sources: Milk, dairy products (yogurt, buttermilk, or quark cream), be careful with mixed milk drinks and fruit yogurts (pay attention to fat and sugar content!)
- Vitamins: fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables (easy to eat: grapes, apples, blueberries, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, bell peppers)
- Drink: Tap water, still mineral water – if it has to be juice, then only diluted fruit juices, unsweetened fruit or herbal teas (no Fanta, Cola, etc.)
Make sure that the snack is nutritious; a pre-packaged school snack with Nutella and a Fanta is not nutritious food! Even if it is tedious to prepare a snack in the morning, the child will benefit from it!! If it is totally stressful, prepare things the night before, or the child can help with chopping. If you don't want to go shopping all the time, order online and have it delivered conveniently! Billa or Interspar deliver online, or order a healthy Adamah box with organic fruit and vegetables.
It is important for children to learn what is healthy (or actually not just for the children!).
Ideas for school sandwiches
Classic sandwiches
Many children like it plain and simple. A normal bread with just butter is often requested by the little ones as a snack. But experiment every now and then anyway. Give them one half with just butter and the other half with ham or cheese or both together. Also, sneak a slice of cucumber or a tomato into the sandwich once in a while.
One of my children really likes peanut butter in her sandwich. Some children don't even know exactly what they want on their bread and just say butter for simplicity's sake. You can also try out sandwiches for dinner beforehand that the whole family gets. If the child likes it, the bread can also be taken to school in the morning.
Ideas for bread toppings:
- Butter
- Peanut butter
- Sausage/cold cuts: ham, salami, etc.
- Cheese: Gouda, Camembert, mozzarella, etc.
- Cream cheese
- Vegetable slices/strips: bell peppers, radishes, cucumbers, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, carrot slices, etc.
- Herbs: chives, cress, parsley, sprouts, such as cress
Colorful mixed bento boxes
A great idea is to put different foods in the lunch box. In addition to the classic sandwich, various fruits or vegetables can be placed in smaller containers or, for example, silicone muffin molds, without the sandwich suffering.
This way, both tomatoes and grapes can be transported in the muffin molds. Or fruit that is more difficult to transport, such as pieces of pineapple or pre-cut pears, can be taken to school much more easily. Small sticks or toothpicks can be added so that the children can eat it more easily. If you still have time and leisure in the morning, you can cut the fruit or vegetables into nice shapes; children love colorful shapes and colors.
Ideas for snacks for school children
- Toast rolls: Remove the crust from the toast, flatten it with a rolling pin, and then top as desired (cream cheese, ham, etc.), roll up, and cut into small bites.
- Wraps with cheese and ham, tuna, salami, salmon
- Fruit: Pineapple, berries (raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries), apple slices, plums, pear halves, kiwi pieces, physalis, cherries, grapes, tangerines
- Vegetables: Carrot, bell pepper, or cucumber sticks, tomato pieces, radishes
- Crackers, bread chips
- Nuts, trail mix, dried fruit (dates, dried apricots, raisins)
- Cabanossi, cheese sticks
Did I forget something, or do you have any other good ideas for school snacks? I would be very happy if photos of your lunch boxes were posted!
Also read: Fruit cocktail for children
Photos by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at
