Kids’ lunchboxes on a budget

Feeding children interesting packed lunches can be really costly. If you are a parent, you will understand the pressure of buying your kids the ‘cool’ drinks, or the favoured brand of crisps and yoghurts. This can add up. Sometimes it seems as though the manufacturers know that parents feel pressured into buying these products and so they bump up the prices accordingly!

Here are some tips to help you give your kids a healthy and interesting pack lunch that will not break the bank but still keep them happy.

Instead of buying expensive mini bread rolls, just use bread and make little triangle sandwiches. Kids love them and you will pay a quarter of the price of a small child size bread roll.

Buying in bulk is also a good idea. Buy a big pack of sliced meat or a big block of cheese and then separate it into smaller amounts and store in the fridge and freezer in Tupperware containers.

Give your children fresh fruit instead of pre-packed fruit. One little tub of prepared fruit salad costs the equivalent of a bag of apples! If your child does not like skin or peeling fruit, do it for them and place the fruit in a bag or little tub.

During the hot summer months, give them water instead of juice. Put the bottles in the freezer over- night and in the morning when you pack their lunch, place the frozen water bottle in their lunchbox. At lunch time the water will be cold and as it thawed, it will have kept your child’s lunch nice and cool.

Crisps and sweets can be bought in bulk and as super saver bags. Keep an eye out for multi-buy offers and money off vouchers too. These are items that keep for a long time in the store cupboard so you can get away with buying a bulk amount to save money.

Avoid being pressured into buying the very expensive brands of juice cartons, yoghurts, smoothies and crisps. Your child will be just as happy with a generic brand. Kids who are worried about brands and keeping up withtrends have learned this behaviour from their parents. Instead, startyour children off well - by teaching them to appreciate the value of good quality natural food. Most of these branded are extremely high in sugar and preservatives anyway, so it is better for your child if you stick to the cheaper, natural choices.