Need some lunchbox inspiration?

With kids going back to school this week, I thought it might be a good time to share a brand new lunchbox inspo post.

I’ve put together 5 different bento-style school lunchboxes, suitable for primary school-aged children, using my usual lunchbox formula:

- protein

- wholegrains

- fruit and vegetables

- a healthy snack or treat

Just to keep it real, these posts are for inspiration only. If you’re short on time, don’t love cooking or have kids who are picky eaters, a simple sandwich with a decent protein filling is a great place to start.

I only have one child at school this year and he doesn’t tend to eat much during the day, so I just do my best to get some nutritious food into him and call that a win! If this sounds like your child, and lunchboxes often come home half-eaten, a nourishing afternoon tea can be a helpful way to make sure they’re still getting what they need nutritionally.

Here is a breakdown of each day’s lunchbox:

Monday

• Homemade pizza scrolls

• Hard-boiled egg and cherry tomatoes

• Cinnamon banana muffin

• Pineapple and blueberries

• Table of Plenty Mini Rice Cakes

Tuesday

• Zucchini slice, cucumber and cherry tomatoes

• Fruit salad

• Ceres Organic Seaweed Snacks and pretzels

• Greek yogurt with passionfruit and honey

• Homemade choc-chip muesli bar

Wednesday

• Homemade chicken and vegetable sausage rolls

• Celery sticks with cream cheese

• Nut-free caramel crunch bliss balls

• Carrot and capsicum sticks with hummus

• Watermelon, strawberries and blueberries

Thursday

• Egg and lettuce sandwiches on wholemeal protein bread

• Greek yogurt with honey and blueberries

• Popcorn

• Gut-healing gummies - green (Plant Based Life Impressed Green Supreme Juice), red (cranberry juice)

• Nectarine, grapes and strawberries

Friday

• Chopped up sausage with salsa

• Brown rice crackers with cheddar cheese

• Chocolate-coated chickpeas

• Grapes and strawberries

• Hard-boiled egg, carrot sticks, cucumber and cherry tomatoes

A quick reminder - for younger children, grapes and cherry tomatoes should be cut in half to reduce the risk of choking.

Wishing your children all the best in their first week back at school!

For more lunchbox inspiration, check out my other posts:

• Stuck for lunchbox ideas?

• Non-sandwich gluten-free lunchbox ideas

• Which foods are best for my child’s lunchbox?