Making school lunches is always a bit of a dhallenge.
There are so many products out there that are targeted at this away-from-home meal: brightly coloured, creamy textured snacks in plastic and foil individual packets. These over-packaged, over-priced, nutritionless 'foods' make their way into trolleys and then into lunch boxes.
I find it a challenge to get the balance just right between nutritious, appealing food and something that doesn't make the other kids say, "What it that!" There is nothing worse than a child being too embarrassed to open their lunchbox for fear of peer comments.
Making food from scratch is the way I manage to get that balance. Homemade ANZACs or cakes, where I know exactly what has gone into, are options that work for me.
I have always found the tubs of fruit in juice a strange addition to school lunches. Pieces of fruit, swimming in juice (apparently) served in a plastic and foil container. Have you watched many children open these successfully? Make sure you don't forget the spoon. What's wrong with a piece of fruit. Bananas and apples seem to fit perfectly well into lunch boxes and rather then adding to landfill, the scraps are great for compost.
There are so many other products (cheese, yoghurt...) that I could rant about but I'll stop there and head to where I was going with this.
I found a great little recipe for making the most devine lunchbox sized bread rolls. We are now onto the third 16-roll batch.
These do contain yeast as the kiddies are taking a little while to acquire the taste for sourdough.
As there are no preservatives, I have been freezing these and they freeze beautifully.
I know that a roll or a sandwich is nothing original or exciting for a lunch-time snack, but I feel better knowing exactly what is being eaten, and how and when each of the things were made.
I'm sure these rolls would go wonderfully well with a hearty warming soup.
Take care
Yes indeedy. I could rant for quite some time on the garbage that a lot of kids get given in their lunch box. So much packaging, and if that is every single day of their lunch box career, that is a HUGE amount of packaging that a a little person has built up before they have even become an adult.
ReplyDeleteMy Monkeys wrinkled their noses up at sourdough when I first made it too, they saw the light though (thankfully). They still don't like rye, but I'm working on it :-)
I agree whatever happened to healthy home made lunches. so much cheaper. I don't get it, I guess everyone is so busy there's no time. Visiting from Down To Earth. TFS
ReplyDeleteLunch from home is perfect, when it comes from thinking sources. Well done.
ReplyDeleteLunch is a challenge here too but I agree much prefer to bake and put in a bickie or cake and know exactly whats in there!! Fruit not a problem here, apples are the staple. The rolls look fantastic!!
ReplyDeleteSchool lunches are as you say a dhallenge (perhaps code for damn challenge). I prefer to have home made stuff without all the nasty packaging and preservatives too, we also have a rule if you don't eat your fruit nothing sweet the next day. Most of the time they're pretty keen on their fruit though. Loving the holidays when you can heat some leftovers, cook an egg, or make some quick pasta. My daughter laughed at me last week when I was fretting about something nasty that had made its way into her lunch box after a party, this chocolate bar is nothing mum, you should see what the other kids get. I have made cheese rolls with great success but like the look of your little ones.
ReplyDeleteSchool lunches have always been a challenge for me, trying to keep it interesting is the hardest bit. Now days you can buy kits that cut out shapes to encourage children to eat what is put in their lunch boxes. Perhaps getting the children to help with prepare the lunch boxes would help :)
ReplyDeleteYour rolls look yummy!
Visiting you from Down to Earth blog.
CHFG, packaging is one of my pet peeves. I get sick of walking around schools and playgrounds and seeing these areas covered in junk-food rubbish. I really makes me cringe when I look at the types of foods these have come from. So many of these foods are nutrition-less and full of chemicals. I don't understand how mqny of these are allowed to be sold.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll get down off my soapbox.
Chris, homemade lunches aree certainly a way of keeping the food bills down. I don't think lack of time can really be an excuse. Sandwiches and fruit aren't too tricky. Thanks for heading over from DTE. : )
Thanks, Rose. It is such a shame that feeding our children (and ourselves) is something that we need to think about and make choices about. Our parents and grandparents didn't need to be as conscious about making food choices as the 'convenience' foods of today didn't exist. My Mum lived on a farm with an orchard so picked some fruit straight from the tree on her way to school. Yum.
Jen, the rolls were delicious and super easy. You should try them. We took some on a picnic yesterday and by lunchtime they had defrosted and were ready for filling.
I am loving being able to send bananas. Are they still super expensive in Australia?
Kirsty, I know what you mean about other kids' lunches. I sm always amazed when parents think that a small packet of over-salted chips as a morning tea snack can be beneficial for a morning of learning.
School holidays are great for bigger lunches. Baked beans is a bit of a favourite for one onf mine.
Tania, it certainly is a challenge. I am lucky that my kiddies are creatures of habit so don't like too much change.
School lunches are always on my mind...Healthy choices for my kids plays a big part of our lives. And the kids, though still young at 3 and 5, are very aware that we make these choices on a daily basis. I love the fact that my son thinks having white bread is a treat at other people's homes!
ReplyDeleteWith my son back to school next week, I'm getting ready for it. I freeze bread, homemade muffins and cakes etc. all the time. I'm going to check out your recipe for rolls. What a great idea. Thanks.
Sonia, it is so good to get kids thinking about what they are eating.
ReplyDeleteFor littlies, I would suggest making 16 rolls from the dough. I use digital scales to weigh the dough and divide by 16 so each of the rolls is the same size to cook evenly. I put half white flour and half wholemeal.
Happy baking.