This post is in collaboration with Woolworths
It’s back to school time, and that means a year of lunch boxes ahead. This year, ditch the plastic wrapping and start creating nude food lunch boxes instead. It’s easier than you think.
Invest in a bento style lunch box, follow the great tips below and start getting creative with nude lunch boxes that the kids are sure to love.
Lunch box items to create nude food lunches
All you need to get started is a good sized lunch box.
Choose a lunch box that has separate compartments for the main lunch lunch item, whether it be a sandwich, wrap or salad. Be sure it has space for fruit, vegetables and even dips.
If your chosen lunch box doesn’t feature individual compartments, or you prefer to use what you already have at home, try using silicone cupcake cases. They make the perfect colourful lunch box dividers, and can be washed and reused.
Keeping food cool is extremely important over the warmer months, so use lunch box sized ice packs, and find an insulated bag or cover that fits the lunch box.
If you have room in your freezer, try keeping the insulated lunch box bag or cover in the freezer overnight. It will help keep lunch boxes even cooler during hot weather.
If you want to step up your lunch box game, there are plenty of other items that can be used to keep food fresh and cool (or warm) until lunch rolls around. Small thermos containers are perfect for keeping salads cool or soups and pastas warm. There are also containers that can be frozen the night before, ready to keep yoghurt cool the next day.
If packing a salad or warm thermos lunches, be sure to keep a stash of reusable cutlery on hand. Label the cutlery so it can make its way back home if it goes missing at school.
Don’t forget to also include water.
What to put in a nude food lunch box
The idea behind nude lunch boxes is that nothing inside the lunch box is wrapped in individual packaging. So anything not in packaging works, that’s all there is to it!
The wonderful thing about eliminating packaging from lunch boxes is that it gets you thinking about whole food alternatives, which makes for a healthier lunch box. Not everything has to be whole food based, but the more the better.
I find it’s still best to include a main lunch item, whether it be a wrap, sandwich or salad in my kids lunch boxes. Use wholegrain or wholemeal bread, wraps and pasta, and their lunch will not only be healthier, but also keep them full for longer.
Plenty of colour and variety in lunch boxes helps make them so much more appealing to kids.
There are endless ideas out there when it comes to nude lunch boxes, but the below list of ideas is a great starting point:
Wholemeal or wholegrain wrap, sandwich or a salad
Hummus, for dipping vegetables
Carrot sticks
Celery sticks
Capsicum sticks
Dried fruit
Homemade bliss balls
Raspberries
Blackberries
Watermelon cubes
I make the Woolworths fresh produce department my starting point when planning my kids lunch boxes, and stock up on a good variety of in season fruit and vegetables. In season produce is usually cheaper than out of season varieties, which helps keep the grocery budget in check.
Tips for making nude lunch boxes easier
Nude lunch boxes don’t have to be time consuming and complicated. A little forward planning will make school mornings so much quicker and easier.
As soon as you bring the groceries home, take a few minutes to cut any fresh produce that is to go in lunch boxes. Invest in a few containers and keep the cut produce in the fridge, ready to grab what you need each day as you prepare the lunch boxes. Having vegetables already cut in the fridge encourages healthy snacking at home too!
To make the next school day easier, wash the lunch boxes as soon as your arrive home at the end of the school day. You can then spend a few minutes with your kids preparing the lunch box for the next day, and pop it in the fridge to keep it cool overnight.
Having lunch boxes already prepared makes school mornings that much smoother.
