Let’s talk school packed lunches with Twinings Kids Cold In‘fuse

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From wacky lunchboxes to inventive snacks designed to get your kids to eat well, school packed lunches are a key part of the back to school preparation. It can take a lot of trial and error to make nutritious packed lunches that are also fun and appealing, and anything that makes life easier in this department is often welcomed.

Here’s what Twining’s have to say:
“We all know how difficult it can be to get children to eat well without compromising on fun or filling their lunch boxes with boring meals! That’s why we’ve produced our new Kids Cold In’fuse range, made by using natural ingredients only. Developed in partnership with children, the product offers a fun way to encourage kids to consume more water and is a sugar free alternative to fruit juices and cordials, which can have a high sugar content. By simply adding the infusion bags to their water bottles and giving it a quick shake, children can enhance their water with delicious flavours including; Strawberry Lemonade, Mango & Orange and Blackcurrant & Apple. Not only that, but all the products in the range have been specially developed to ensure that the acidity level is safe for children’s tooth enamel.

As part of the launch, we are supporting Public Health England’s Change4Life campaign, which encourages families to cut back on sugar by making a few simple swaps to everyday food and drink. With children heading back to school this September, we encourage everyone to make the simple swap in their packed lunches and let us know what you think!”

What is your child’s favourite part of their packed lunch? Have you created a fun twist on an otherwise boring snack? Maybe you put a fun note into their lunchbox every so often as a surprise?

Share the fun ways you make your children’s packed lunches appealing on the post below and all who do so will be entered into a prize draw where 1 MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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I used to try and make my DS sandwiches interesting and tasty, different meats, cheeses, breads. I obviously did too good a job as I eventually found out that his best friend was paying him a pound each day if he’d swap sandwiches with him as he thought they were so much better than his! Only found this out about a year later!!

I put 'build it yourself' foods in to make it more fun! I cut cheese into heart shapes (I know I know!) and ham into stars and then round or square crackers! Sometimes I do the cheese in the child's initial which goes down a treat!

Kids love the little touches and it doesn't take long to show some love 💕

Another cutting up fruit & veg to make it more appealing here! We've also managed to cut out cake & crisps... apart from special occasions (like if I've forgotten to prepare said fruit & veg!)

My 10 year old daughter is really difficult to cater for as she is sooooo fussy! Hence I don’t give her a packed lunch very often. If she does have it, she likes wraps & I sometimes give her plain Greek yogurt with honey swirled in.

I take biting sandwiches like ham or cheese and use cookie cutters to make them into fun shapes like hearts or stars.

Them seem to enjoy it more even though it's the same sandwich (and obviously I snack on the excess bits

I've been know to put googly eyes on fruits (when the children are older), gives them a bit of a giggle

I use shape cutters to make my daughter sandwiches in her favourite characters. I buy her jelly with glitter in it and making happy faces with fruit x

I like to use shaped cutters to make there sandwiches different shapes, they love them and will eat them as all there mates want them like that x

The bottles were all sold out in my local asda today. I would have bought one too.

I'm stealing the idea above to cut a wrap into mini-discs!

DD likes assemble-your-own type lunches so small pieces of bread or toast that she can eat with cheese, salami & tomatoes, or shredded chicken & sweetcorn.
Leftover pizza or tomato
Houmous & veg dips are always a hit too as are cold chicken nuggets with mayonaise!

I’ve been making my daughter mixed pasta salad with chilli tomato sauce, chicken and sweetcorn as she’s just started an A level course at college and I know that this kept her going when she was doing her GCSE exams, she also takes grapes and a smoothie.
We are going to practice making wraps at the weekend so she can take next week filled with some sort of protein and different salads.

For my eldest daughter, who can lack confidence with her peers, we will often put a joke or a quote from her favourite films in her lunchbox, which she can then share with her friends. Occasionally it will be a simple ‘we love you’ but this isn’t cool apparently 😝
Look forward to trying the cold infuse range.

When you have the worlds fussiest eater it’s really hard to make lunchboxes exciting! I can’t wait for my youngest to start school so I can give him some more exciting foods!
I usually don’t tell my son what’s in his lunch box especially if it’s a treat like homemade cake. Then it’s a bit more exciting than the usual!
I plan to give my youngest lots of chopped up fruit and veg, pasta, couscous, houmous, for dipping- everything I’d like to get if a lunch box was made for me!

My children love a build your own wrap lunch. Two brown wraps, then little pots with cheese, salad, sliced chicken etc. it's always their favourite lunch.

I let DD have a say in what she has and she is involved in the preparation. She likes to chop her own vegetables - carrots, pepper celery, cucumber and sometimes does a few days worth at a time.

I think variety is important
e.g Instead of sandwiches, chunks of cheese, Branston in a small pot and crackers
Hot food in food flask - mainly leftovers
Cold sausages or bacon, cold pizza
Had a phase of wanting cold chicken nuggets and chips
Always chopped veg

Mine loves crackers and cheese! Also I always pack fruit and carrot sticks. Must admit I struggle to vary it so I love posts like this where I can steal ideas

I started out being inventive: adding in some veg sticks, roasted sweet potato wedges, hummus, salads, etc but half of it just got wasted and I was running around like an idiot trying to think of new ideas.

Then I calmed down, realised he is happy with a ham or chicken sandwich with a flapjack and fruit every day so stuck to that. Dinner and weekend can be for the creative meals .

My children like hot fun so I. The past we have used flasks that allow me to place hit food inside which will still feel hot/warm at lunch time. They have had; ravioli, pasta rice and vegetables, sausage & cous cous, tomato twists, soup etc. Then I just pack a piece of fruit and a homemade cake and they are happy. In the summer they like pizza pitta bread, hot dogs, West Indian patties or a simple sandwich as all those items taste good cold. Mango is their favourite fruit or veggie sticks and hummus then homemade chocolate muffins for desert.

After 17 years of dodging packed lunches my youngest child now requires them because he can’t have school meals for logistical reasons. I’m not looking forward to it because he doesn’t eat chicken or cheese and I try to minimise preserved meats including ham - so I’m taking notes from this thread.

Oatcakes and carrot sticks will feature heavily.

I like the idea of the infusions - I will look out for them.

My children are happy with a standard packed lunch, they like to get involved in what they are going to have. We got for a ham/ cheese roll, yoghurt, babybel and fruit. I try not to make it too complicated!

Ds3 (13) is entitled to free school meals but, regrettably, we’ve just had to change to packed lunches as he finds the number of people in the dinner queues and dining area unbearable. He mostly has a wrap with a different filling each day and a drink. I always pop in something nice like a chocolate finger, a mini Milky Way or a bit of home baking to cheer it up!

My girls aren’t keen on sandwiches apparently, but a warburton’s sandwich thin, a bagel or a wrap are just fine...! Fillings-wise, it’s either ham, cooked chicken or marmite. Mornings are such a rush, very little effort goes into making lunch, it’s grab and go.

I’ve always tried to make my kids packed lunches varied and exciting but inspiration is hard at 7am when preparing them!
My children’s school say no to anything chocolate so I’ll make a batch of scones or fruit muffins for a sweet treat. Also a little pot of fruit - chopped and mixed up depending on what’s in season. Their school have water on their tables so we’re not allowed to add a drink unless it’s a school trip - then it gets exciting!
Wraps are a favourite with my boys - ham and cheese or hummus and chicken!

my 7 year old prefers boring, mostly!
but if he has an apple he'd much rather have it cut up than whole - even if it's gone a bit brown which I personally would find very offputting!