When I was growing up my lunch box had a sandwich, a couple of pieces of fruit and a plain biscuit or a home made slice/cake. That’s it! The worst thing in it was a bit of sugar. Now lunch boxes are filled with processed packaged foods.

Did you know an average lunch box contains about 57 additives? And that the average person consumes 5kg of additives per year? Can you imagine how much stress that is putting on your body?

Personally , I would like to see a lot less packaging in lunch boxes. Both from an environmental and health viewpoint – less waste to landfill and reducing the amount of additives kids consume.

We are fortunate that we have cool bags and ice bricks to keep our food cool and stop it from spoiling, so we have a choice of whether or not we put more healthy items in the lunchboxes. Below is a small list of snacks you may consider for lunch boxes, and also a couple of recipes that are quick and easy for a treat.

If you want to make your ‘treat’ healthier you can change the quality of the ingredients.

• For example instead of using white flour that has been bleached and stripped of all its goodness or use wholegrain or wholemeal Spelt flour.
• Exchange refined white sugar for rapadura sugar or organic raw sugar.
• Try recipes that use rolled oats and add preservative free sultanas or sunflower seeds.

Processed and packaged foods are very convenient but is it really worth the price we will pay in the future for our health? Remember chemicals in your food become chemicals in your body.

Banana Muffins

Dry Ingredients

¾ cup plain flour (I use spelt flour)
¼ cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
¼ cup rapadura sugar
1 tsp baking powder

Wet Ingredients

¼ cup milk
¼ cup macadamia oil (or good quality vegetable oil, don’t use extra virgin olive oil as the flavour is too strong)
¼ cup apple juice/concentrate
1 egg

And 1 mashed banana

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix together.
Add mashed banana to mixture.
Place mixture into muffin trays and bake at 180 degrees for approx 15 mins.
Muffins should spring back when cooked.

Big Anzacs (courtesy of Sue Dengate’s Failsafe Cookbook)

1 cup plain flour
2 cups rolled oats
¾ cup sugar (I use rapadura sugar only)
125g pure butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 tsp bicarb soda
2 tbsp boiling water

Mix together flour, oats and sugar.
Melt butter and golden syrup together.
Mix bicarbonate with boiling water and add to butter mixture.
Pour into blended dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Place large spoonfuls of mixture onto greased oven tray, leaving room to spread.
Bake at 160degreesC for 20 minutes.

Cashew and basil pesto dip (courtesy of Rachel Hopper)

My kids love this dip served with plain rice crackers and carrot sticks.

½ cup raw cashews
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup of firmly packed basil leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Chop cashew nuts in food processor then add parmesan cheese and basil and blend to your desired texture.
With motor running drizzle in olive oil and lemon juice until you have the consistency you like.

Some snack foods for school and home.

Fruit is always offered as a snack in our house.

Dried apricots (preservative free, available at health food stores)

Hummus or pesto dip with dippers: carrot and celery sticks, plain rice crackers.

Popcorn made in popcorn maker only (not microwave popcorn)

Raw nuts: cashews, pecans, almonds (not for school lunches as some school don’t allow nuts)

Organic plain yogurt with some honey drizzled over it and chopped fruit

Plain corn thins with Avocado or nut butter.

Boiled eggs.

Celery and peanut butter (only peanut butter that has no added salt, sugar or oil)

Instead of ice blocks that are full of colours as a treat make your own using fresh juice and water and pour into ice block moulds. Great for hot days after school.

(Image by Fran Flores)