Nude food in the school lunchbox

Nude Food in the lunchbox made simple

The perennial problem for many families is how to make healthy and appealing school lunches quickly and easily without adding to the plastic pollution problem.

Nude_lunchbox

Many schools have been encouraging children to bring “nude food”. That is, food that doesn’t involve cling wrap, zip lock bags or pre-packed individually wrapped food. This includes many lunch box staples like packets of chips, packets of biscuits or mini chocolate bars. Removing this type of fast “food??” is better for your child’s health and better for the planet. The aim of nude food is to reduce the amount of 'stuff' that needs to go in bins that are sent to landfill.

Durable, reusable containers are a great way to bring nude food, as they have a long life – potentially lasting from pre-school through to high school and beyond if cared for
– providing both financial savings and environmental benefits.

Here are some nude food suggestions using stainless steel stackable lunch boxes that my children take to school each day and that my family loves using for their ease.

In the bottom compartment:
• pasta (left over from pesto pasta dinner the night before) or
• a sandwich or a couple of rice cakes filled with cheese and avocado or
• a tossed salad.

In the top compartment;
• crackers and cheese
• nuts for nibbling
• pieces of fruit
• vegie sticks or other snacks.

This makes it quick and easy for children who want to gobble and go to maximise their playtime with friends.

You can even turn the top section into a bento box by adding two more little containers such as the Green Essentials tiny tins. (see the photo below)

Bento box lunchbox

For work lunches I like to use glass or pottery containers with a salad or left overs from dinner. Simply cover this with a beeswax wrap and using the heat from your hands, mould the beeswax wrap firmly around the container for a good seal. It's sooo easy.

To help you on your nude food quest this year, the images below provide direct links to sustainable, plastic free products mentioned above and more.

And now for some easy and delicious healthy school lunch box recipes:
Gluten Free Banana Bread
Cheesie Puffs
Nori Snacks
Gluten Free Pancakes

And because we all like a treat, we've included a fun and healthy gingerbread cookie recipe for you to enjoy with a cuppa or to pop into lunch boxes. The dough freezes well so you can make a huge batch and freeze it in smaller batches for easy baking.

Sue and Nikki