Lunch box ideas that pack a nutritious punch

If the same old sandwiches keep getting returned uneaten in your child’s school lunchbox it could be time to switch things up. We know our kids can be resistant to trying new things, but we think these recipes below not only fit the bill of being nutritious and healthy but they’re also super-kid friendly and yummy too!

Butternut mac & cheese

Soft, cheesy and comforting – tried and tested kid favourite and is a great lunch option if your child has a thermos to keep things warm and tasty. You can give this a nutritional boost of Vitamins A and C and fibre with the simple addition of butternut squash.

Ingredients

3 cups of Dairy Farmers A2 Goodness + prebiotic milk

1/2 a butternut squash, peeled and cubed (buy this pre-done if you want to make life a bit easier!)

1.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

250g of macaroni pasta (or your child’s favourite shape)

Salt & pepper to taste

To make

Drizzle a little oil over the butternut and bake in the oven until soft

While the butternut is baking, boil the pasta 

Blend together the butternut, cheeses, milk and season with salt and pepper.

Stir the sauce into the pasta

Banana pikelets

These little winners are perfect lunch box fare. Simple to make and you can make a whole batch to freeze ahead for busy mornings!

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour

1 ripe banana, mashed

½ tsp baking powder

1 tbsp melted butter

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup of sugar

¾ cup Dairy Farmers A2 Goodness + prebiotic milk

1 egg beaten

Oil or butter for frying

To make

Sift the flour baking powder and salt together into a bowl

Add the sugar, egg, butter and milk and whisk until smooth

Add the mashed banana and mix well

Heat oil or butter in a frying pan and make small circles of batter mix

Cook the pikelets until they’re bubbling on top then turn and cook the other side. 

—

Savoury Muffins

This recipe uses ham, cheese and capsicum but you can include whatever you want according to your child’s tastes. Try to sneak in as much veg as you can to up the vitamin and mineral quota to the goodness of the dairy ingredients! The quantities listed here will enable you to make a batch and freeze ready to pull out when you need them.

Ingredients

12 eggs

3/4 cup of Dairy Farmers A2 Goodness + prebiotic milk

Chopped ham

Shredded cheese

Chopped capsicum

Salt

Pepper

To make:

Whisk together the eggs with milk, salt and pepper.

Add in your ham, cheese or other ingredients of choice.

Divide mixture into greased muffin tin or lined with silicon liners.

Cook in 190c oven for around 20-25 minutes.

Pre-biotics – Did you Know?

Prebiotics can have a positive impact on your child’s health as they can help to replenish and restore the good gut bugs that help keep their microbiome healthy.  Increasing the good gut bugs in the bowels, helps keep your child’s bowels moving and regular, and stools soft and easy to pass. Supporting your gut microbiome will support the immune system, as the majority of your immune cells live in your gut, to defend against unhealthy and destructive bacteria.

Proudly brought to you by Source Kids and Dairy Farmers A2 Goodness + prebiotic milk – a super easy way to get prebiotics into your kids’ diet is through the milk they drink. With milk containing only the A2 protein plus added prebiotics, Dairy Farmers A2 Goodness + prebiotic milk is goodness from free roaming, pasture raised cows. Dairy Farmers. Here’s to good.