Healthy Lunch Box Ideas for Mums (#mumbox)

 

 

 

Are you too busy sending your kids to school with healthy lunchboxes, that you often forget about your own special #mumbox?

 

Are your lunches convenient, but lacking nutrition?

 

Dietitians Anna and Alex from The Biting Truth are here to help!

 

Remember, it’s not about creating super-fancy lunches or sticking to a strict diet. In this article, Anna & Alex want to provide you with quick and healthy balanced #mumbox options that will help boost your energy levels throughout the day and support you be your healthiest self!

 

what is a balanced #mumbox?

 

 

When it comes to building a healthy #mumbox (i.e. one that includes lunch and a couple of snacks), there are 4 key components you’ll want to include:

 

grains

 

It probably won’t come as a surprise that grains, specifically wholegrains, are essential when building a balanced #mumbox. Incorporating wholegrains in your lunchtime diet will not only help keep you fuller for longer, but they are also jam packed with essential vitamins and fibre to feed your gut microbes. Making the swap to wholegrains is simple – just check out some of these options:

 

• - Swap white bread for wholegrain bread
• - Swap white wraps for wholegrain wraps
• - Swap white rice for brown rice
• - Swap plain or flavoured rice crackers for brown rice crackers
• - Swap white crackers for wholegrain crackers

 

 

protein

 

Another important component of your #mumbox is having a good quality protein. From building healthy hair and skin cells to promoting muscle recovery, protein is involved in almost every bodily function and is important for health and wellbeing. Like wholegrains, protein also plays an important role in helping you feel full, meaning you’ll be less likely to continually graze all day. Some of our favourite mumbox-friendly options include:

 

• - Boiled eggs
• - Hummus
• - Canned legumes
• - Yoghurt
• - Roast chicken
• - Beef
• - Canned fish
• - Tofu
• - Unsalted nuts

 

 

fruit

 

Fruits are rich in fibre, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. The sweet and refreshing taste makes a piece of fruit an excellent choice mid-afternoon when the sweet cravings might hit. For a satisfying #mumbox snack, pair your fruit with some plain Greek yoghurt.

 

 

veggies

 

Whilst we may all know that vegetables are healthy, most of us aren’t eating enough of them. Relying on getting your veggies in at dinner only, is not enough and will leave you falling short of your daily requirements. To ensure you’re meeting your quota, get some veggies in your #mumbox. It doesn’t just have to be vegetables on your sandwich either - there are many ways to mix it up. Try veggie sticks or a vegetable-based dip (e.g. Guacamole).

 

Some tips when it comes to making healthy #mumboxes

 

 

 

Staying on top of healthy lunches throughout the week is no easy feat. Here are some tips to help remove some of the stress when it comes to lunches:

 

• - Do some weekly meal planning
• - Pack your lunch the night before or prepare food on the weekend
• - When cooking dinner, make enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day.
• - Keep long shelf-life products on hand e.g. canned tuna, microwave rice, wholegrain crackers, frozen veggies as these can be made into a number of different lunch ideas.

  

Some simple lunch ideas

• - Toasties
• - Wraps
• - Tuna + rice + veggies
• - Wholegrain crackers + toppings (include a source of protein and veggies)
• - Cook a yummy batch of soup for the week
• - Leftovers

  

Check out these balanced lunch salad recipes that are perfect for the lunchbox:

• - Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Salad
• - Turmeric Rice Bowl
• - Asian Tofu Bowl
• - Pulse Pasta Nourish Bowl
• - Tuna Freekah Power Bowl

 

Anna Debenham & Alex Parker. The smiling dietitian duo behind The Biting Truth, are leading Australian health and wellbeing experts. Throughout their years of experience in the industry, the duo have a passion for providing no-nonsense, science-based nutrition advice and support to families. Their website, (thebitingtruth.com) and Instagram (@thebitingtruthkids) is packed with practical advice, healthy recipes and tips and tricks for parents to help raise healthy eaters!