'In Bento Hell' 6 Lunchbox Filling Hacks For Mums With Kids Starting School

I don’t know if you’re like some of the women in the One Fine Baby team right now. I certainly hope not, because they’re shaking like a leaf over something I’ve buried my head in the sand about until it’s my time.

PACKING LUNCH BOXES.

*Takes a second to thank daycare centres for having an in-house cook.*

You see, apparently this is a BIG DEAL. And even though they were designed to make it easier, the arrival of the incredibly practical Bento Box to the scene has meant mums and dads are now ripping their hair out trying to fill them with something delicious, healthy and fun! Whilst following all the rules around wrappers and foods you can’t send to school. 

I mean, I’d forgive you for throwing in two bread rolls, a Granny Smith apple and a dollop of whipped cream and calling it a day!

It’s okay, no need to stress. We’ve broken this thing down into the six steps you need to get ahead of the lunchbox game before it gets ahead of YOU.

1. Start with good choices, via @supermarket.swap

If you haven’t seen this on Instagram - where have you been?!

This account shows you the items you thought were typically healthy, pulls up their ingredients and then puts it next to a comparable product that IS actually healthy, to show you the difference. Making just a few of these simple swaps in my house has meant I feel roughly 87% less guilty about feeding my kids chicken nuggets for dinner.

The instagram account is a great place to start, as they often post a product, like say, the humble muesli bar, and show you (based on ingredients) which ones in the supermarket are good and which aren’t so good. I’m shocked a good 57% of the time. However the app is even more in-depth, and you can search particular products to discover what you should be buying!

2. Get the right equipment

Yes Bento Boxes can bring on a bit of anxiety, I hear you. Suddenly the humble ham sandwich needs to be surrounded with all sorts of bells and whistles, but it legitimately doesn’t have to be hard graft. First, choose a great quality, leak-proof bento Box (we’ve listed the top 10, with reviews - here!), and then something jazzy, like an apple spiraliser, a zig zag cutting knife or cookie cutters for your sandwiches.

3. Get ahead when you can

Got a spare 15 minutes on a sunday night? Brilliant. Get out your meats, cheeses and spreads. Make five slightly varying sandwiches. Freeze them all except for one. Pop that one in the fridge. The night before each new school day, take a sandwich out of the freezer and let it defrost in the fridge overnight and then pop it in their lunchbox in the morning.

Likewise, peel three carrots and cut one into sticks, use the zig zag cutter on one and use the peeler to create long shavings. Think that way about your tomatoes, cucumber and other veggies.

4. Peruse the aisles for fun new things

Ditch your regular loaf of bread and swap it out for dinner rolls, tortillas, pita bread pockets or croissants! Find a cheap piece of meat and stick it in the slow cooker for a week’s worth of melt-in-your mouth filling for said bread-vessels. The health food aisle in your supermarket actually has a HEAP of fun, yummy and new things, like faava beans, bliss balls and veggie chips.

5. Get your inspo sorted and then make a list or vision board with the best ideas

If you don’t follow George from @schoollunchbox on Instagram you’re missing a massive trick. Ttis guy has lunchboxes all figured out. He takes a humble piece of bread, some grated cheese and leftover BBQ chicken and makes a sandwich-dumpling fusion in literally 10 seconds.

Everything he comes up with is no fuss, and can be done using things you probably have in your pantry and fridge RIGHT. NOW.

He’ll pop in a deconstructed taco, or sandwich sushi, or bao buns with three ingredients. The guy in a genius, and is a classic example of what any of us can achieve with the right guidance!

6. Utilise your air fryer

George from @schoollunchbox is also a massive fan of the air fryer. He even has a book just with Airfryer Recipes - I know! He’ll make mini pizza scrolls, cupcakes, sausage rolls - the works! Air fryers are generally a lot easier than ovens as they’re faster and there’s no pre-heating! So do a little digging and pre-make a few bite-sized goodies for the kids and then pour yourself a wine and put your feet up!