Ideas for lunchbox food that is delicious, healthy and, erm, flat...

[Skegness]

I have done a foolish thing. I bought my sons one of these each to replace their tatty old lunchbags, thinking we would all be in compartmentalised lunchbox heaven. They are rather snazzy looking in bright blue and green and the little drink bottles nestling in their special spaces made us all coo with delight (yes, we are saddos). However, the boys and I soon saw the fatal flaw- the sections are v v shallow. Can I fit a normal sized apple in any of them? No. Can I fit the smallest apples in the world ever sourced especially for the job inside? Heck, no. I did manage to squeeze in a slightly flattened apricot... It would make sense to go back to the old lunchbags, really.

But unfortunately when the new boxes arrived my partner inspected them and saw the downside immediately. He smirked slightly and gave an affectionate yet patronising look which clearly said "Trust Skegness to go and blow £5.99 on useless lunchboxes with compartments." So in a fit of piqued bravado, I threw the old lunchbags away and pronounced the new ones the finest under the sun. And now I need to make them work! What on earth can I fill them with? Any ideas for nutritious and delicious dainties that are under 2.5cm in height?

Falafels? Mini sausage rolls? Could you make flat little sandwich-type things out of pitta breads or folded tortillas?

Trying to think of small fruit... How about kiwis? Or satsumas or grapes?

I've been in small flat lunchbox hell and believe me, it's not worth it. Not even for the sake of your pride. Be the better person and acknowledge you've misjudged it .

Can you take them back on the basis that they're rubbish?

jam sandwiches would fit.

frittata? mini pizzas? veggie quiche? apple slices? small home-made mini samosas or pakoras? (pakora = dead easy to make btw. though poss to much grease to be strictly 'healthy'?)

and I'd be getting hold of a good book on bars and slices - let their sweets be full of oats, sunflower seeds, dried fruit etc and cut into handy little squares.

funnily enough I picked these very boxes up in the shop the other day, saw flaw, put them down again. you do have my sympathy, of course there is no way you can change them now

cut up fruit ("fruit salad") instead of a whole apple?

crackers?
cheese chunk (a flat one!)

Crudite and those little pots of houmous you get in M&S?

Tray bake heaven for puds - flapjacks or rocky road on a friday.

Squeezy yogurt pouches or the long ones.

Smoothies in ouches or the long ones.

WHat ever you normally give them just chop into smaller flatter slices.

As for the apples - you can get dried apple crisps that are just as yummy and less faff to eat.

meat/veggie flan!

Betcha can fit dippers and cheese strings in there!

I'm with hassled.

Eat some humble pie. They will piss you off every day.

Or.............say you meant to buy them as storage for art stuff/gogos/whatever

Houmous sandwiches. Omelette sandwiches. Cold fish fingers (I kid you not - my dc love this). Cherry tomatoes, raw mangetout/sugarsnap beans, grapes, dried fruit. Slice of homemade cake baked in a loaf tin.

Thanks for the sympathy and ideas! I must get cooking. My sons would love little frittatas and pizzas and falafels, I think. Apple crisps sound most yummy too. And I'd forgotten cheese strings! They're pretty flat, aren't they? And 100% cheese, surprisingly. Dippers do not fit, sadly.

I do very much fear you are right, Hassled but think I will try flat cuisine for a few weeks at least. I bought them online, so didn't realise their limitations until after they arrived. I'm on maternity leave atm so have a bit more time than average to indulge my stubborn streak try and work round the problem. As soon as I'm back to work and zooming out the house at 100 mph panicking I suspect they will be quietly retired! (Are there any good durable practical cool lunchboxes out there, I wonder? My sons are nearly 11 so not really into the character ones any more. My last effort- the ones now binned- were wipe clean bag affairs which started fraying and looking sticky and becrumbed almost instantly. Sigh. I can see why Mr Skegness is not impressed with my lunchbox selecting skills.)

ooo- taffetacat! We are rather low on gogo storage. That could be a cunning plan.

Fish fingers would be the perfect thickness, it must be said.

Everything everyone has already said and raisins, carrot sticks, nuts, breadsticks, fruit kebabs and an apple in their pocket!

I've been eyeing those lunch boxes. We do flat and squishable food anyway. Savoury pancakes. Pasta and noodle salads. Sushi. And none of my children would eat rotund fruits anyway.

lol@rotund fruits.

I'm afraid I can't recommend following me down this path even if your children are sushi lovers though, UptoapointLordCopper. I think you would have to make super slender nigiri and lie it on its side! Sashimi might be better...