Share your best lunchbox recipes for children with Lidl - chance to win one of five Lidl £50 vouchers NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

As part of their #LidlSurprises campaign, Lidl would like to find out about your best lunchbox recipes or tips to make the humble packed lunch more of a surprise for your children.

So what recipes/ combinations do you use for your children's packed lunches that mean they always come back empty? What's your most successful lunchtime creation?
Do you ever add a little surprise for your child which makes them (or just you) smile?
Do you have a tried and tested sandwich or wrap filling?
How - if at all - do your children get involved with lunchbox creations? Does everyone make their own or do you juggle numerous boxes in a production line fashion?

Everyone who shares their lunchbox ideas, inspiration and recipes on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to where 5 MNers will each win £50 of Lidl vouchers.

Please note your comments may be included on Lidl's pages on MN, their social media channels, and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you're comfortable with this.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

[GarminGirl]

I buy wholemeal tortilla wraps. Mix a can of mixed beans (drained) with a quarter of finely chopped red onion and a handful or grated cheese with a few teaspoons of sweet chilli sauce. Open wrap and put in fresh lettuce with a little Mayo and few spoonfuls of bean mixture. Wrap and pack!

[WowOoo]

My son always eats pitta bread with chicken in it. It seems to be his favourite. Leftover roast chicken is the best apparently, but this is not often possible during the week!

[TheyGotTheMustardOut]

I always pack fruit salad in my son's lunch and I like to make a smiley face out of blueberries on the top so that when he opens it he smiles and knows I did it just for him.

[purplepandas]

Mini pizzas. Half a muffin toasted with cheese and tomato on top etc (grilled!)

[badgerknowsbest]

My daughter loves bagels, tortilla wraps and pitta bread - think it makes a change from sandwiches. Leftover pork or chicken from a roast goes down well. As she is nearly 3 any involvement from her in making or packing her lunchbox well always result in her eating more!

[CMOTDibbler]

I make my ds write a shopping list on Sundays for what he wants in his lunchbox that week - protein, carbs, veg (2 a day), fruit (2 a day) and a treat.
He then picks off the list each day, though I do police portion sizes. He likes wraps or sandwich thins more than bread.

[idontknowmyusernameanymore]

Make homemade biscuits or treats to go in, they love baking and eating their own work. Or I do things like wrap a bagel up in greaseproof paper like it would come if you bought it from a naice deli, it feels like a luxury. Or put sandwiches in old paper bags, feels very retro!

[CopperPan]

DS loves yoghurt treats. I mix toasted oats with fresh raspberries and greek yoghurt for a lunchtime dessert. Banana cake always goes down well as well.

[Bonkerz]

Ds age 15 likes cous cous with fresh pepper/red onion/grated carrot. He also likes quinoa with sweet corn and chicken.
Dd age 9 loves hummus with veg sticks and breadsticks.

[purpleaura]

Ham and houmous rolled up into a wrap, then chopped into little bitsize pinwheels. He loves it!

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

(Full fat) Cream cheese bagel sandwiches go down well here but I only use half a bagel because they are chewy and ds likes to go out to play. I have more success with a variety of food rather than big sandwich or similar.

Yoghurt pouches are good for fast protein and minimal mess and I try to buy ones without added sugars and sweenteners.

Weaning pots are good for bits of chopped pepper, carrot and/or cucumber and also fruit. I find if I put a whole pear or apple in that it either gets left or knawed round the middle with lots of waste and mess so I chop it up and put slices in for a lunch box.

For a treat I might add a packet of mini cheddars, a couple of plain digestives (he likes them - they're not my idea of a treat!) or a pot of jelly with fruit in (not low sugar jelly). He also really likes dried mango and homemade cake.

I try to make sure there is lots of protein, a good helping of carbs and at least one fruit and vegetable. Carton or pouch drinks are essential both from a mess perspective and because I know ds is getting some fluids (given the choice he would go without rather than water). Flavoured water is good but I don't like artificial sweeteners and prefer they are sweetened with some juice. Incidentally Lidl's version of a Capri Sun (Plein Sud??) is too tricky for my 6 yo to open but he can do Capri Suns.

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

I do ask ds what he would like but it makes no difference to what he actually eats so I've stopped but just try to keep it varied.

[newlark]

Ds likes lots of little bits and pieces and will ignore anything vaguely healthy - he has gone off to an activity today with 1/2 a wrap spread thinly with jam, a little pot with a slice of Lidl proscuitto and a few dried apricots, a cheesestring, a frozen smoothie tube and frozen yoghurt tube (which help keep everything else cold and should still be cold at lunchtime), a carton of juice, a packet of crisps, some raisins and a cereal bar. Dd has similar with the addition of a pot with some cherry tomatoes, cucumber and red pepper.

I sometimes ask for input but it usually takes too long - I only put things I know they reliably eat in though.

[MovingStress]

Pasta salad usually goes down a treat - especially with chicken in (& olives for DS, but def not for DD!)

[AmnesiaSocks]

Cold toasted sandwich with cheese, chicken, roasted veg. Tasty and some sneaky veg. Also homemade soup BNS being a favorite.

[Kathderoet]

A sandwich with bacon kept warm with tinfoil for day trips is always popular, also a flask of soup or hot chocolate.

[Emrob86]

Wholemeal Swedish style wrap with philadelphia, spinach, cheddar cheese, cucumber and red onion chutney! So delicious for kids and adults. :)

[PinPon]

I use an apple cutter to cut almost all the way down the fruit. This then goes in a lunch box and for some reason, the wedges are much more likely to be eaten than a whole apple.

[kierie]

Always cheese sandwiches. Any day of the week!
I like to give ds apple wedges, carrot and cucumber sticks, berries, grapes etc in weaning pots so they don't get too beaten up and mushy on the way to school.

[YerTiz]

My DS eats cheese and pickle sandwiches for lunch. Every day.

I try to mix it up a bit by using different bread/bagels/tortillas.

He's also a fruit bat so that's good - a piece of fruit or some fruit salad. Carrot/cucumber sticks.

Sometimes a homemade oaty bar, which he can help with.

His school encourage ahem them to eat their sandwiches first, which helps, but I've never forced him to eat all his plate.

Sometimes I leave a little note in his lunchbox, or cut his food into a shape, especially if he's been anxious about something.

[YerTiz]

Oh and we've just discovered mini bagels, which are a better size for DS.

[chairmeoh]

Wholemeal wraps spread with a tiny bit of mayo and then filled with ham and grated cheese.
DD loves melon, I sometimes buy the ready to eat pots and decant into smaller portions. and she loves it when I put the little plastic fork in for her to use.
She enjoys making sausage rolls or cheese straws that then go in the lunchbox.
I try to put a small portion of loads of different items, to keep it interesting.

[itsnothingoriginal]

I use any leftover pastry to make mini pizza pinwheels which the kids like in their lunchbox. I just spread the pastry with pesto mixed with a squirt of tomato ketchup and top with cheese, olives, ham or whatever and bake with the main meal.

Is a nice alternative to boring sandwiches (well I get bored of making them anyway!)...

[HappyEgg]

My DD likes a handful of pistachios in a pot in her lunchbox. Also a boiled egg in its shell. I think she just likes de-shelling things!

[Eva50]

Ds3 likes quiche or mini sausages in his lunch box and he loves wraps with mayonnaise and ham/tuna/cheese etc. He's not fussy and is a bottomless pit eats most things. I have often thought of including a treat or a note but he is so easily distracted that it's best to keep things simple. He rarely leaves anything!