Healthy packed lunch – what belongs in the lunchbox?
EggA healthy packed lunch made from whole-grain products, fresh, juicy fruit, crunchy vegetables and dairy products, that offers a bit of variety every day would be great. Because a boring packed lunch often remains uneaten in the lunchbox. You can consider the following when preparing the packed lunch:
First and second breakfasts should complement each other:If your child can't eat much in the morning, they should take a larger packed lunch to kindergarten or school. If they have already had a substantial breakfast at home, they won't need so much during the break.
Fluids:
Children need relatively a lot of fluids. Therefore giveat least 200 ml of beverage for the breakwith them. The best choice isWater (still or sparkling), unsweetened tea, or diluted fruit juice.
Low-fat:
It's harder to learn on a full stomach.Avoid fatty cold cuts like salamiand prefer topping your bread with poultry. The same applies, of course, to thefat content of cheese, quark, or yogurt.
Fiber:
A topped whole-grain bread or adelicious muesli with oats– depending on whether your child prefers it sweet or savory – provides enough energy until the next meal.
Vitamins:
Fruit and vegetables should not be missing from the packed lunch. You can choose them according to your child's taste and what's in season.
Dairy products:
For growth, children need sufficientcalcium, which they bestget from quark, milk, or cheese.
Small dessert:
In some schools and kindergartens there are specific rules that, for example, ban sweets. You should definitely take these rules into account when planning packed lunch ideas.
With these tips, a little imagination and our ideas you can liven up your child's second breakfast andcreate a really tasty power-packed lunch.
Easy lunchbox recipes for every school day
The lunchbox is prepared by most parents — or for older children by the children themselves — usually in the morning after getting up. It often needs to be quick. For this reason, we have compiled some lunchbox ideascompiled thatcan be prepared quicklyandfit conveniently into any lunchbox:
Melon-apple stars
Wash 1 apple and cut into 1 to 2 cm thick slices.
Cut 1 piece of watermelon into 1 to 2 cm thick slices.
Use a cookie cutter to cut stars (or other favorite shapes) from the apple and melon slices.
Set the apple stars (with the core casing) aside and place the melon stars into the apple slices.
Sausage-tomato skewers
Cut sausages into small pieces
Slice cherry tomatoes
Thread all ingredients alternately onto a toothpick
Whole-grain sandwich
Cut 1 slice of whole-grain bread in half
Spread cream cheese on one half of the bread
Place cucumber slices on the cream cheese and then ½ slice of turkey breast on top
Now place ½ slice of cheese on the turkey breast
Arrange finely sliced carrot rounds on the cheese
Finally garnish with arugula leaves and cover with the second half of the whole-grain bread.
Tips:
To keep the sandwich from falling apart, simply secure it with one or two toothpicks!Important:The toothpicks must be clearly visible so that children can easily remove them before biting in.
Sometimes it's enough to change the shape of the bread to make it more interesting. Bagels with the fun hole in the middle also come in whole-grain versions and can be topped just as well as other breads.
Refreshing drink: lemon-mint water
Fill a water bottle with still or sparkling water.
Cut 1 slice of unwaxed lemon into wedges and add to the bottle.
Add 1 sprig of fresh mint and let steep for about 1 hour.
Nut-and-berry muffins — a different twist
Place 1 paper or silicone muffin cup in the lunchbox.
Now fill it with various nuts or berries; this way nothing will shift and everything stays neat in the lunchbox.
Fruit and vegetable snack
Whether grapes, cherries, or plums... the empty space next to the muffin cup can be perfectly filled with seasonal fruits.
A tasty vegetable snack for break time or in between: cherry tomatoes. Simply wash 5-6 and place them next to the whole-grain sandwich.
Overnight oats as a muesli variant
The evening before, put some oat flakes with the same amount of milk into a small container.
Sweeten to taste and add nuts.
Left overnight, it turns into a creamy break-time snack that can be easily enjoyed with fresh fruit.
Flavored quark — sweet or savory
For the sweet version, stir the quark with a little milk or yogurt into a creamy consistency.
Add fresh pieces of fruit like bananas, strawberries, or peaches and a few drops of honey.
For the savory version, stir fresh herbs, a little salt, and pepper into the creamy quark and pack with a few vegetable sticks in the lunchbox.
