Tell Soreen about your healthy snacks that pass lunchbox police scrutiny- £300 to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

Most Mumsnetters are probably familiar with the concept of the lunchbox police - those whose job it is at your child’s school to ensure pupil’s lunchboxes meet a certain standard. The fact is, whether you like them or not, if there are lunchbox police at your DC’s school, you have to make sure your snacks comply with their rules. This being the case, Soreen want to know about your go-to recipes for healthy snacking that get past the beady eyes of even the toughest lunchbox police officer.

Here’s what Soreen have to say about their Lunchbox Loaves: "We know how hard it is to find a snack for school lunchboxes that’s both nutritious and tasty but Soreen Lunchbox Loaves strike that perfect balance. Available in Malt and Banana flavours with a satisfyingly squidgy texture, Lunchbox Loaves are individually wrapped, low in fat, contain only 95 calories and provide a source of fibre.

If that wasn’t enough, Soreen Lunchbox Loaves are also suitable for vegetarians and meet guidelines set by the Children’s Food Trust for ‘School Foods Standards’ - so you should have no problem getting them past the lunchbox police."

To help other Mumsnetters branch out beyond bread sticks and yoghurt, tell us about your best lunch box recipes for the ultimate police-proof snacks. Post on the thread with your healthy alternatives to chocolate, crisps and cakes and you could be in with a chance of winning a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Homemade banana muffins
Veg sticks with hummus
Plain yoghurt with portion of granola to sprinkle on
Homemade flapjacks
Homemade strawberry leather (fruit winders)
Mini blueberry pancakes
Sliced apple to dip into nut butter (if allowed)
Hovis biscuits with cheese slices
Fruit kebabs with honey dip
Cucumbers sliced longways, rolled up around cheese
Banana and peanut butter wraps
Shredded chicken, red pepper, lettuce, mayo wraps
Sliced apple (put a band around apple to hold it together)
Cube pot - everything in cubes - cucumber, cheese, carrots etc
Stick pot - everything cut into sticks - carrots etc
Homemade fruity jelly
Mine loved cold rice pudding with spoonful of jam on top
Hardboiled eggs/golden eggs (shake like crazy then boil)
Sandwiches cut into shapes using a cookie cutter
Mini omelettes/frittatas made in muffin tins
Cucumber cups - melon ball with middles out then stuff with tuna/mayo mix
Falafels/mini potato carrot fritters/mini pancakes

I wouldn't put malt loaf in a child's lunchbox!

AFAIAC Soreen malt loaf is ambrosia, especially buttered, but it's like a Full English: a treat for a very energetic day.

A packed lunch treat for us would be a fruit that they don't often have, like berries or mango, or a piece of home-made cake, or something savoury (olives, for dd ).

home made fruit pots seem to work at our school

Mine love the soreen lunchbox loaves, especially limited edition flavours with frozen characters!

Raisins are always a winner and I generally write or draw on banana to make my kids smile.

I usually put carrot or red pepper sticks in, they always get eaten. Babybel also. I love malt loaf as does of my DC but the others find it a bit chewy. I might try the lunch box loaves this week at work, they sound really nice

Fruit kebabs for my fussy madam always work a treat

DDs school isn't very strict, thankfully.

But I send in grapes, banana, yoghurt and often a Soreen bar.

we don't have school lunch box police (as far as I am aware anyway!). The only rule is No Nuts (easy for me as DS is nut allergic!)... In fact am suprised to see someone mention peanut butter upthread for that reason: aren't all schools nut free then?

DS likes a sandwich or some home made vegan pizza (he's dairy allergic) and then Soreen banana cake (no egg or milk, amazing!) and something like some crackers or similar. He has food phobias due to multiple allergies so I follow his lead and am grateful there are no food police.

Dd (3) has snacks for dance school and loves houmous and bread sticks or cheese and crackers; plus a little tub of chopped fruit and a carton of coconut milk (more allergies!). She does like banana cake but can't open them by herself so i tend not to pack them!

@Cintacmrs the banana Soreen loaves are'dairy free! (I just wish the others were too!)

I am making snacks from fresh and dried fruits and vegetables......cherry tomatoes, cucumber and carrot sticks, grapes and raisins, pineapple and mango chunks. I would bake own scones and square bites with dried fruits or veg.

popcorn is a great alternative to crisps. We make ours in the microwave in 5 minutes without any added fat, salt or sugar and it tastes great and the kids love it too! School-proof as well!

Lots of parents seem to like to send in a wide variety of bits and pieces in their DCs lunch boxes but I always found with my dc that the fewer items the better. So I'd do one sandwich or wrap containing a healthy mixture of veggies and or salad and or protein etc etc AND one other item plus water.

Providing too many little nibbly bits didn't work with my DC

Just a salad and cheese loaded sandwich or they'd eat all the fruit and leave the savoury. I hate lovingly preparing healthy elaborate packed lunches just for half of it to be returned all warm at end of the day. I have learned my lesson.

I don't try and sneak treats in, I just send my kids with a sandwich and fruit

Carrots. DS would live on carrots given half the chance.

I take the mini soreens to work. Now, why don't they make mini Jamaican ginger cake bars too?

My little ones have school dinners but we send in a snack too for break time. I rotate this snack between the following - lunchbox loaves, halved grapes, apples, bananas, raspberries, yoghurt tubes, oatcakes, cucumber sticks, cubes of cheese, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, rice cakes, homemade banana oat cookie bites

I don't think my son's school has a list of banned food per se, they do however have a healthy eating policy and a treat at the end of year for all those bringing in a healthy (basically fruit) snack each day. DS usually has fruit for playtime, then for lunch: a sandwich, juice carton, raisins/cereal bar and mini cheddar/crackers/crisps sometimes. I have to admit I'm not that strict with lunchboxes and will add in a treat once a week .

Bitesize falafel balls with a healthy yoghurty dip always gets past the lunchbox police!

I feel bad that I don't pop anything excited in his lunch box, but he is fussy! His lunch is usually a cheese sandwich, carrot sticks, cucumber, grapes, a yogurt and a small block of cheese to clean his teeth afterwards!

hard boiled egg - the best!

DS's school are not very strict about lunches, thank goodness. All they ask is no nuts for allergy reasons and also no sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks. The no nuts thing is slightly annoying as DS is veggie and loves his peanut butter sandwiches or pot of nuts for a snack but it's easy enough to work around. I wouldn't give him sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks for lunch anyway.
He normally has a sandwich, portion of veggies (cherry tomatoes and/or cucumber mostly), portion of fruit and some kind of treat/snack/extra like a cereal bar or bag of crisps. He quite often eats this at breaktime. He's a good eater generally but has had some teasing about the contents of his lunchbox so I try to keep things simple and healthy and make dinners more exciting and varied.

I always put in hummus with sticks of raw pepper as DD absolutely loves that! Sometimes also with pitta. She will also eat dates, yoghurt, and grated cheese in a pot (not a slice of cheese or chunks of cheese, it has to be grated - obviously! )

I am a school cook and think if the children get jam roly poly then my son can have a biscuit, I think a treat once in a while balances out a good healthy diet, there is always Soreen in our house, all four of us love it, my boys and I just as it comes but my husband piles on some butter, we recently found the toaster rounds which are awesome and I often will pop a raw one in a lunchbox, I'd choose Soreen over chocolate as it's wonderfully gooey and feels decadent and the chic chip Soreen is an ultimate treat x

Silverskin onions and gherkins are a total hit with a picky 5 year old. With cubes of cheese and I am in bliss too.