NOW CLOSED: Walkers Baked Stars would love you to share your top tips for tasty lunchbox fillers and snacks - you could win a £100 Amazon voucher

[TheOtherHelenMumsnet]

Launched earlier this year, Walkers Baked Stars were designed with lunchboxes in mind and ?are baked for 70% less fat than potato crisps on average, contain 94 calories a pack and are a source of fibre. Available in 3 great tasting flavours: Cheese & Onion, Salt & Vinegar and Mild Sweet Chilli.?

Now those friendly folk from Walkers are keen to know your top tips for making up great kids lunchboxes which make sure they get eaten! What makes a great packed lunch for your family? How do you keep it interesting and appealing?

We're thinking ahead to back to school and MN are putting together the annual emails which go out to provide tips and advice for parents whose children are moving up school or starting for the first time. Please think about the advice you think would be useful to those parents for lunchboxes and snacks during or after school. Tips posted on this thread may well be used in those emails (MN name will not be used).

We would also love to know what your general advice on snacks for children would be. For example, do you stock up on snacks? Do you let your children choose what they have? What's most popular? What's least popular?

Share your tips and advice here and you would win a £100 Amazon voucher. Everyone who adds a comment will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win!

Thanks
MNHQ

[BellaVida]

I have 4 different ages, so snack and lunch boxes vary. They all love fresh fruit and veg, especially melon, strawberries, grapes, blueberries etc, which are easy slice into mini tuppaware pots. Wraps are very popular too especially with tuna and salad, as are breadsticks with something to dip. They like to take slices of quorn ham and cheese and roll them up together to eat them! For special days I use cookie cutters to cut out sandwiches- last time was jungle animals! On Fridays they have a treat, which is usually a large cookie, cake or muffin. They do sometimes have crisps too, but only if they are baked or something like mini cheddars.

For snacks, they have free access to the fruit bowl, but have to ask permission for anything else. They will munch endlessly on corn cakes and pull chunks of bread off a fresh baguette when I get them. They get through loads of yoghurt and yoghurt drinks and even more milk.

[Bunnyjo]

Sorry if I'm relisting other suggestions, have not read the thread

DD eats school lunches as they are freshly cooked by a fab cook (tiny school of 55 kids, they get spoilt!). But, I have had to do packed lunches for days away or when she was at nursery. I'm half Greek Cypriot, so a lot of my culinary experience is inspired by this. I have done homemade dolmades, homemade tzatziki/hummous and chopped pitta breads, sheftalias, halloumi and chorizo (should be loukanika, but cannot source that where I live) sandwiches, spanakopita (which I make for an evening dinner and we all have packed lunches with the left overs) etc. Have also done things like cheese pieces and cocktail sausages, cold pasta salad and roast chicken pittas. WRT to desserts, DD is fussy. She only eats plain yoghurt, but M&S do mini plain Greek yoghurts now which saves on the tupperwares splitting at the most inopportune time. We all love watermelon, which is easy to send a slice in for afters and I sometimes pack a fruit salad of seasonal fruits like cherries, berries, grapes etc. Other fab snacks my odd DD likes are: pitted black olives, parma ham, salami, feta cheese, homemade flapjack and cream cheese and breadsticks.

[StellaMarie]

Packed lunches for us are varied as fortunately the DCs will eat anything. Couscous, tabbouleh or pasta are quick and easy and can be bulked out with whatever is in the fridge/cupboards. Add to that a roasted drumstick/thigh and plenty of herbs to make it look colourful.
Homemade pies or sausage rolls are also quick and can be made with a multitude of different fillings.
Cheese scones with crudites and a tub of hummus are also popular in this house.
Sugar snap peas, mangetout and babycorns also work well in the lunch box.

Colour and variety are important

Snacks in this house are fruit and there is always carrot & celery sticks, cucumber chunks and radishes prepared in the fridge. Crisps and biscuits are more of a treat (plus it stops me snacking on them if I don't but them)!!

Top tip - having been a lunch time assistant for a while, please make sure that you child can get into their lunch box and close it again. There were several children where I worked who were upset because they couldn't get their box open to eat their lunch!! The same applies for any drinks container.
Frozen yoghurt pouches help to keep the lunchbox cool and keep the yoghurt fresh until it is eaten.

[InMySpareTime]

My DCs have been snacking me out of house and home this school holidays.
I have a strict time policy, no eating within an hour of a meal, and ask before eating, otherwise they don't eat proper meals, and I go to prepare meals to find all the ingredients are gone.
Mine like snacking on:
Bread and honey
Apple sauce biscuit parcels (they invented these)
Home made popcorn (plain, salty or honey)
Yoghurt (or soya yoghurt for DS)
Something from their treat boxes (whenever they have more sweets than the can reasonably eat, some go in a box for a different time - DDs is so full it won't close!)

[costumequeen]

My dd is only 20 months, but loves a 'deconstructed' sandwich. Buttered bread cut into fingers, sticks of cucumber or pepper, sticks of cheese or ham roll ups and a couple of cherry tomatoes. she can eat what she wants either separately or together. Also a small pot of berries never goes amiss!

[Sugarkane]

I give my children a choice of 2-3 items they can include, I then ask them to help with the preperation. My daughter used to be a fusy eater and I found involving her in the food making process ensures she will eat it. I think she likes to have a little more control than her siblings and it came out in the form of fussy eating.

[MrsWeasley]

It very much depends on the child DS1 likes the same thing everyday but DD likes a variety.

She usually goes for pasta, couscous salad or a wrap and for snacks, popcorn, homemade cake or cookie. Maybe cheese and mini tomatoes too.

[jimmenycricket]

I pop a foil covered chocolate coin right at the bottom for them to find when they have eaten all the right stuff. It's 26 calories, but it seems to make sure the sandwiches actually get eaten. Note, takes training, if food is left in lunchboxes the next day the pirates don't hide anything.

[skyberry]

My son loves to dip. Sandwiches, bread sticks, crackers and raw veg etc all get dipped in to anything from a creamy dip/tomato salsa/hummous (home made dips are best).
Sandwiches cut into shapes work well with cutters as they are a bit more interesting.
My son also likes to make faces with food. We used to do this at home when he was very little. Cucumber for eyes, cherry tomato for a nose, ham for hair, a bread stick for a mouth etc. He likes to do it on the lunch box lid apparently so therefore insisted he has a round lunch box.

[Helium123]

General rule of thumb for us for lunch is sandwich or quiche, fruuit, carot and celery sticks, yoghurt and a pack of crisps or biscuit every now and then.

We allow a biscuit for snack time every so often and crisps are a treat if we are out and need food!

[cherryjellow]

When Ive done packed lunches and snacks for kids I have often decided myself what to pack because of time. However, Ive tried to put in lots of choice, so if they don't fancy something one day they still wont go hungry. raisens, peaches yoghurts and anything sweet are winners. carrot sticks aren't popular.

[cheryl59]

cherry tomatoes and "special" fruit that we don't get often like blueberries and raspberries always get a good reception. Using cookie cutters to make funny-shaped sandwiches always goes down well too, and can be used to make cheese or ham shapes

[BoerWarKids]

Toasted pitta bread cut into 'soldiers', with hummous and grated carrot is a real winner!

[AnnMumsnet]

Thanks for all the yummy tips and suggestions - much appreciated
Am pleased to say boomdecker wins the £100 Amazon voucher. Well done.