Healthy muffins and treats for school lunches

[Anywhereelse]

DS(7) will start taking a packed lunch occasionally to school and I am looking for some recipes/ideas for healthy fruit/vege-based muffins or other baked items to put in the lunch sometimes please.

I don’t want anything with loads of added sugar but equally need to balance this with the food tasting good otherwise he won’t eat it (very fussy). We’ve found the recipes that mainly use rolled oats and bananas as binders and a sweetener not nice at all (stodgy and bland etc).

I really like these:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/breakfast-muffins/amp

They do contain mashed bananas but I didn't find them bland. I made them for a breakfast-time long train journey, but I think they'd work at lunchtime too.

I asked about savoury muffins a while ago and got some super recommendations. The thread is here…

www.mumsnet.com/talk/food_and_recipes/4408958-Savoury-muffins

Probably unhelpful, but most 'healthy' baked goods are pretty dire and not worth the time and effort that goes into making them. I'd rather have a smaller amount of something actually nice less frequently. I'm not sure muffins are the best bet, because you'll quickly run into textural issues when trying to replace sugar and fats with fruit and vegetables. A flapjack type thing with some of the syrup stripped out and some dried fruit added might be more forgiving. Would those fruit winder type things be an option as a treat item?

@toastofthetown yes, I agree most of the ‘healthy’ muffin recipes we have tried have been pretty awful (despite the inevitable blog that goes with them declaring them absolutely delicious…).

DS does like the Bear dried fruit wheels and it’s a good idea to look at modifying a flapjack recipe.

@PurpleDaisies thanks for the link - I have earmarked quite a few links

@MotherofPearl thanks for the recipe, I think I’ll like those too

Sweet or savoury carrot flapjacks
Sausage rolls

I have a couple of recipes at home that I'm placemarking so that I'll remember to find them for you, including a chocolate muffin recipe that is a lot better for a child than any chocolate cupcake recipe and that goes down well over here (we ice them sometimes and I tell the DC they ARE chocolate cupcakes).

I also have a carrot muffin recipe made with wholewheat flour that is a bit of a hassle to make but that freezes extremely well so I tend to make double batches and then just pop a single one in DS' lunch box.

This one I found in my electronic records - I'm almost positive I did do it and that yes, it was good: www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cinnamon_banana_and_80291

Not hugely healthy but how about cheese scones or cheese biscuits?