Emily Latham, 39, tells us how she makes a packed lunch on the cheap…
When my son Zevi, seven, first told me he wanted to take a packed lunch to school, I groaned. School dinners were so much easier.
‘But my friends are all taking their lunch in, and I want to sit with them,’ he said.
‘Fair enough,’ I said. ‘But we have to have some rules.’
I’d heard stories from friends whose children had come home with their lunch untouched because they’d gone off what was inside.
I didn’t want that to happen, so, wanting Zevi to be involved, we sat down, and we wrote a list of all his favourite foods.
Then I made a two-week meal plan mixing things up, so every day was different.
Meal planning means you will get the most out of the things you buy for your lunches, reducing the amount you spend and the amount you throw away.
It’s no secret how much food growing kids can eat and sometimes it feels like you'll go broke because of it, but the key to kids staying full for longer at school is to ensure it is balanced.
When writing the plan, I made sure it had one thing from each of the food categories - protein, grain, dairy (or alternative), vegetables, fruit and a little treat for balance.
We're all told that fresh is best when it comes to the food, we feed our kids but when you're short on time or energy, spending hours in the kitchen just isn’t on our agenda.
But there is no need to reach for those processed foods that come in individual packets - they might be convenient, but they are so expensive.
This is where your freezer comes in - cook once and feed your kids for up to 12 lunches! Plus buying frozen fruit means it will last for longer too as is just as many nutrients as if you brought fresh.
I brought Zevi a Bento box. They’re great for laying all our kids’ food out in front of them, which makes it more tempting for them to eat it.
The other advantage is that they don’t require individually wrapped foods. For example, you don’t need a pot of yoghurt. Instead, you can save money decanting it into the lunchbox daily rather than needing individual pots.
And instead of buying pots of jelly, I buy a packet for a £1 and that can make at least a week’s worth of jelly. I also add it a handful of frozen blue berries which cost just pennies.
Buying a small packet of kernels and making home popped popcorn is another money saver and a real treat.
Also, don’t forget dried fruits - big bags of raisins, banana chips, apricots and apple slices can be decanted in portions and travel really well.
I also put in some pasta with sweetcorn and a jam sandwich with some carrot sticks.
Nothing is complicated – and because I buy in bulk and plan ahead, I must only spend about 20p a day on Zevi’s lunch.
And most importantly, he comes home full and loves it!
