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 always ask them what they want so they can't say they didn't like/want it...I give wraps with different fillings, a smoothies, cereal bar and a piece of fruit...if it's a banana i write a little note on it!

Lots of bite sized lunchables!! Mini Sandwiches, Bread sticks with mini pots of hummus and mix the fruit up a bit - grapes and strawberries one day, apple and satsuma another!! Make it colorful!!

I would try to decorate/shape his sandwiches/fruit into his favourite cartoon characters.His friends loved seeing our creations.

Cut things into funny shapes and offer a varied choice of food .

we do wraps and cut up fruit and veg

It is so hard to make a packed lunch more fun and less boring but still healthy. I do things like make pasta salads, cut up crudites and pieces of fruit with things to dip them in. I try not to make sandwiches very often but when I do I make them and then use a food cutter to give them a fun shape.

For my son packed lunch is a novelty as with dinners free until the age of 7 he is having school dinner as much as possible. Then when he does have packed lucnh he loves it whatever it is!

I cut up all the fruit to bite size, separate all the items and vary it day to day...

Use a biscuit cutter in many different shapes to cut out the sandwiches. They, rather alarmingly, will eat the 'head' of an animal shape even if they have previously been fussy about the filling.

My son has one of these infusions every day.

My son loves sausage rolls and chicken satay with a salad.

My eldest usually brings home sandwiches barely touched so now whenever I'm making dinner like chili, bolognese, pesto pasta, curry etc, I save a bit of dinner and then reheat it and put it in a dinky thermos flask for her. Also means she gets the veg mixed in with the dinner rather than a separate pot which she often ignores.

Mine all love cut up fruit and berries at home. But I struggle to find fruit that travels well as most stuff if cut up turns to mush by lunchtime and they won't eat it. A whole kiwi with just the 'lid' cut off and a spoon has gone down well and satsumas are OK. Whole cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks work best on the salad front.

Make the lunch colourful. Different vegetables and fruits are not just nutritious but also fun to look at and eat. My kids both love veg and fruits which make my food preparation easier.

My DC actually hated me messing around with his lunches! He liked a sandwich cut into triangles, a piece of fruit and crisps. Maybe a yoghurt if he was really hungry. I feel super lucky though, not having to spend ages making his lunch look "fun" and "appealing"!!

It's quite easy with Olivia as she loves her fruit & veg. Veggie crisps are a nice alternative & a cocoa orange or cocoa delight Nakd bar for a lovely healthy chocolatey taste made with dates, cashews & raisins

luckily my son loves fruit and vegetable. I always send him with pasta with lots of veg in and a fruit salad. The colourful fruit and veg always makes his lunch look appealing x

I let them add a fun sticker for every week that they all well ! It really does work a treat............

Shaped sandwiches and colourful fruit pots!

Always include a treat on the understanding they eat the main things first. Always try to have different textures of fruit/veg things crisps and yoghurt etc.

I always used to find the best way to get kids to eat healthy and tasty foods, is to put out a choice on the side( of healthy thing) the night before and ask them to put their choices out of the these in their box. Kids always tend to eat what they think they chose.....rather than Mom choosing.
Also different coloured containers, bags etc are another fun addition too. I used to draw a smiley face on their bags too.

School dinners here I'm afraid! We tried packed lunches but no matter how many appealing things we put in or how nicely a sandwich was made it was always soggy and unappealing by lunchtime, and would come home half eaten.

Sandwichs cut into different shapes and a different crisp flavour for different days of the week.

I give my son breadsticks and cheese triangles. He loves to dunk his breadsticks in the cheese at lunchtime :)

Use animal cutters to make more interesting sandwiches. Let them guess each morning which animal you have used.

I use cookie cutters to make the sandwiches into fun shapes - dinosaurs, bunnies and cats are my daughter's faves!

I try & vary contents daily ....quite a feat!
I also use cookie cutters to make fun sandwich shapes