School lunchboxes... we certainly don't miss these during the holidays do we! But packing a kids school lunch doesn’t have to be a chore, nor does it need to be expensive. With a bit of organisation and savvy know-how, we can turn the dreaded morning lunchbox routine into a casual organised breeze...
Coming up with winning ways to fill your kids' lunchboxes can prove tricky and it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. The trick to a good lunchbox is to find the right combination of foods that are healthy and what the kids will actually eat. It also needs to be affordable!
Kids enjoy a variety of familiar foods, and us parents try to make sure they are tasty and delicious…without having to spend a load of time preparing or spend a load of money in purchasing the lunchbox foods in the first place.
You can purchase many lunchbox items from the supermarket. Lots of 'lunchbox' shop bought items are produced to provide parents with 'convenience'. These lunchbox items are often pre-packaged into individual portions, many contain single use packaging and they are often quite expensive.
Now don't get us wrong.... we're all for convenience but there are so many more 'less expensive' ways to make packing a lunchbox quick, easy and on budget! Read our SuperSavvy lunchbox tips and ideas below. Our tips are aimed at lunchbox ideas for all the family... not just the kids!
Here's our Super Savvy Money Saving Lunchbox Tips...
Lunchbox Tip #1 - Buy a Large Bag instead of Individuals!
Probably an obvious one, but so many people still buy individual packs of pre-packed items out of sheer convenience. But honestly... it's so much cheaper buying a large pack (or a large fruit) and investing in a couple of small reusable pots.
For instance, a bag of 14 snack boxes of raisins totalling 196g costs £2.64, that's 19p each. A 500g bag of raisins costs £2.10, that equates to 35 x 14g portions at just 6p each. Less waste on the packaging too! It's a no brainer! 😍
You can do this with a variety of foods such as dried fruits and yoghurt coated raisins, seeds, pretzels, crackers, biscuits, cheese portions, chicken bites, sausages, popcorn, crisps, etc... all of which are available in larger quantities. Simply decant from the larger pack into your own individual re-usable pot.
Invest in some little pots to portion out from larger bags. We found these small lunchbox pots on Amazon which are perfect! Reasonably priced too at just £10 for 15 pots! 🥳
Cheese - NEVER buy grated cheese! Buy a large block of cheese (Iceland is currently the cheapest at £5 for 730g) and grate your own cheese, it's much cheaper!
Fruit - Apples, pears, bananas, oranges... all come in varying sizes - make sure you buy the right size for your child. You don't want to be buying large apples if half of it is going to be wasted!
Lunchbox Tip #2 - Buy when on Offer at the Supermarket!
If you're going to buy convenience lunchbox items such as single packs of raisins, individual portions of cheese, mini packs of biscuits etc... wait for the items to come on offer then stock up! Many stores offer such items within their offers and deals. For instance you can often find mini cheddars, Babybels, Soreen bars, cheese strings, pepperami sticks, club biscuits and penguins, yoghurt tubes and loads of other lunchbox snacks on special offer around the time kids are due to go back to school, so keep an eye out for the in-store offers and deals and stock up whilst you can!
Channel Island Co-operative - the Co-op often run offers and deals on kids lunchbox items. They have recently partnered with the Guernsey Health Improvement Commission to develop lunchbox ideas which can be found on their website - Lunchbox Heroes. The Co-op have also recently introduced 'members prices'. You can check their prices online before heading into a store. Worthwhile if you need to make a special trip! Here's the link - Co-op Guernsey Online Shop. Also, whilst shopping in-store at the Co-op, children can take a FREE piece of fresh fruit to munch on whilst you're shopping, just ask at customer services.
💡 TIP! Try not to use too many individually packed 'convenience' items all in one lunchbox as they can be quite pricey (even when on special offer) and the cost can soon mount up. Try mixing the 'convenient' items in with some homemade items and your own individually portioned items - see Lunchbox Tips #1 and #4.
Lunchbox Tip #3 - Shop Around for your Lunchbox Items!
Gone are the days when we can go to one store to buy everything we need. When it comes to getting the best prices, you need to shop around. The price of groceries can vary greatly between stores, so if you've always done your shopping at the same store, it's probably time to visit somewhere else! And actually, you might be very surprised at the price you've always paid to the price you can pay at another store.
Price Comparisons - Be sure to keep an eye on our local supermarket Price Comparisons to keep you in the know, especially on lunchbox essentials items such as bread, butter, cheese, pasta, carrots, jam, etc...
SuperSavvySavers Recommendation of Where to Buy...
Prices correct as at October 2024.
The cheapest local supermarket for a loaf of bread is Marks and Spencer where you can pick up a loaf for 85p. It's good quality bread too and stays fresh for ages! If you can, buy two loaves and pop one in the freezer so you always have spare bread.
You can pick up an 'honest value' tub of butter spread at the Co-op for just £1.05, or a Sainsbury's own brand (Stamford Street Co) at Alliance is only £1.45. The Co-op also have an 'honest value' tub of soft cheese at £1.10. Alliance also offer a 450g tub of natural yoghurt (Stamford Street Co) at 85p.
A 730g block of cheddar cheese is £5 at Iceland. You can also pick up packs of ham, salami and other meats in the 3 for £5 deals at Iceland. If you buy 3 packs, just freeze what you're not going to use straight away. The tortilla wraps at Iceland are also worth a try, you can buy a pack of 8 wraps for £1.85. They're not actually the cheapest wraps we've found, but they're a decent size and they stay fresh for ages.
Morrisons 'savers' 500g bag of penne pasta is priced at 69p and Waitrose Essential penne, fusilli and spaghetti is all priced at £1.54 for a 1kg bag (83p for 500g). Waitrose also have own brand jars of red or green pesto at £1.49 a jar.
Carrots are cheapest from Marks and Spencer. Buy loose rather than bagged at 65p per 1kg which is slightly cheaper than buying the 1kg bag. Buying loose means you get to choose the size of your carrots too 👍
Half a dozen eggs are only £1.43 at Waitrose (mixed size white eggs) or just £1.45 at M&S and Alliance (mixed size boxes).
Fruit prices vary as do pack sizes, so you'll need to shop around to find the best prices to suit your needs. You can get a bag of 8 small apples from the Co-op at £1.75 or pick up a pineapple from M&S for £1.15. Waitrose also offer good deals on fruits including a 2 for £4 deal on packs of grapes.
A jar of Sainsbury's own brand jam is just £1 at Alliance or £1.15 at M&S and you really can't go wrong with the biscuit prices at M&S and Waitrose 🤩
Lunchbox Tip #4 - Homemade is Best!
The best way to save money is to make things yourself! You'll obviously need to spend a little time on the prep and cooking, but if you can allocate some time in an evening or at the weekend, you'll save yourself a load of money.
Lunchbox items you can make ahead include the likes of brunch bars, savoury muffins, pastas, banana breads, rice crispie cakes, veggie sticks, salads, sandwiches, wraps, yoghurts, smoothies, not to mention all the homemade hot meals you can also batch cook in advance - see Lunchbox Tip #12.
Make Your Own Yoghurt Pouches - Instead of buying Choobs and Frubes, you can make your own yoghurt pouches or smoothies! You can purchase re-usable food pouches which are perfect for storing and transporting yoghurt or smoothies in lunchboxes. We found these re-usable pouches on Amazon which are freezer and dishwasher safe.
You can simply use up any ripe fruit or frozen berries by blending or mashing it to create your own homemade fruit puree, then swirl into plain yogurt for a quick and easy alternative to expensive fruit flavoured yoghurts. Simply pop your homemade yoghurt into re-usable pouches, use them right away or pop them in your freezer.
Homemade Lunchbox Muffins are a great lunchbox item you can batch cook and they come in lots of variations including savoury muffins such as courgette, carrot, spinach or egg as well as the sweet varieties. They are easy to make and the kids can get involved too!
Here are some fabulous budget friendly lunchbox muffin recipes -
Budget Muffins - https://www.bestrecipes.com.au/budget/galleries/38-budget-friendly-muffin-recipes-sweet-savoury/sbjs069t
Taste - https://www.taste.com.au/healthy/galleries/healthier-muffin-recipes-perfect-lunchbox/9ptb467f
Lovely Lunchbox - https://mylovelylittlelunchbox.com/2019/08/05/16-freezer-friendly-lunch-box-muffins/
Cook your own Chicken - might be an obvious one, but instead of buying packs of cooked chicken for sandwiches and salads, you can buy a whole chicken for the same (or less) than a pack of chicken and you'll get LOADS more meat for your money. Have a roast chicken dinner one night and use the leftover chicken for lunchbox meals. Or buy a cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket - Waitrose do them (often go half price before the store closes - if there's any left of course!)
Homemade Lunchbox Recipes - Here are a few links to some great websites offering homemade lunchbox recipe ideas...
You're kids will be the envy of their friends and your new best friend if you put a slice of homemade banana bread in their lunchbox! Great for using up any ripe bananas.
Lunchbox Tip #5 - Frozen Sandwiches Anyone?! ❄️
Have you ever tried FREEZING your sandwiches? No? Well don't knock it 'til you've tried it!
It kinda happened by mistake when I had loads of ham and cheese subs leftover after a kids party. We'd all eaten a load already and I didn't want to just throw them out, so I put them in the freezer. After defrosting a couple a few days later for my own lunch, I couldn't believe how fresh they tasted. They actually tasted fresher than they had on the day! They were so moist after defrosting which inspired me to make 2 weeks worth of kids lunch sandwiches and pop them in the freezer!
Now I've never tried freezing sandwiches with sliced bread, I've only used these mini subs from M&S. They do the larger subs too which I'm sure will freeze just as well and would be great for older kids who need a larger portion. These bread rolls / subs can often be found reduced so grab 'em whilst you can, whip up a few mixed flavour sandwiches and pop them in the freezer 👍
By the way, these bread subs are also available in wholemeal which my kids actually prefer to the white. I tend to go with whatever is reduced but if wholemeal is available, we usually opt for that as it's not only healthier, it's tastier too!
I've only ever frozen cheese and ham flavours, I would probably avoid anything too 'wet' such as egg or tuna mayo and I wouldn't put cucumber on there either as the bread may go soggy, but go ahead and experiment and let us know how you get on!
Freezing sandwiches (or subs) saves so much time doing lunchboxes in the morning… we just pop the frozen sub in the lunchbox and it’s defrosted by lunchtime! Or better still, do your lunchbox the night before and leave in the fridge overnight... the sandwiches will have defrosted overnight in the fridge.
Lunchbox Tip #6 - Use Your Freezer!
Following on from the subject of freezing... your freezer is a great place to store lunchbox items - especially any bits you can find in the reduced section at the supermarket! Think cocktail sausages, chicken pieces, picnic eggs, mini sausage rolls, quiche.... any yellow sticker items or offers you can find reduced that is 'freezable' that your kids will enjoy in a lunchbox!
Rather than throwing everything into your freezer all in the packs they were purchased in... unpack them and wrap individually or pot up into tubs ready to pop into the lunchbox. Keep a bag or tub of lunchbox items in your freezer so you always have it to hand rather than having to rummage around to find things. This of course applies to any homemade lunchbox items you can freeze - store all your lunchbox items together in the freezer.
Freeze Fruit - You can pick up a whole fresh pineapple for as little as £1.15 at M&S. Cut the pineapple into individual chunks and pot them up. You can get around 9 or 10 tubs just from one pineapple. Great for using in recipes and pizza too! You can also purchase packs of frozen fruit chunks, try Waitrose Essential Mango Chunks, £2.35 for 450g, they're great for lunchboxes 👍
Yoghurt tubes - (think Choobs and Frubes) freeze really well - throw one in the lunchbox in the morning and not only will it have defrosted by lunchtime, it will help to keep the other lunchbox items chilled through the morning. You can sometimes find yoghurt tubes in the reduced aisle.... which is great if you're going to freeze them anyway! Or make your own yoghurt pouches and freeze them - see Lunchbox Tip #4.
Lunchbox Tip #7 - Organise Your Stash!
It’s all about being organised! And you can do this really easily. Keep all your lunchbox items together in one convenient place. All refrigerated bits in one tub in the fridge, all dry bits in one (or two!) tubs in the cupboard. Get the kids to pack their own lunchbox! You’ll also be able to see when you’re running low 👍
Keep all your frozen items together in the freezer too, so you'll never have to go rummaging around to find things.
💡TIP! Try not to use too many individually packed 'convenience' items. Try mixing them in with homemade items and your own individually portioned items - see Lunchbox Tips #1 and #4.
Lunchbox Tip #8 - Prep Ahead & Save Time!
Prepare the night before - most people prepare the kids lunchbox in the morning. I've always found this odd. If you prep the night before, whilst you're waiting for the dinner to cook, you can give yourself a head start. Unless it's something like a tuna mayo and cucumber sandwich which may go soggy overnight, I really see no good reason to stress yourself out in the morning. The food isn't going to spoil overnight. Give yourself a break and get organised!
Wash Your Fruit - Instead of placing your fruit straight into your fridge when unpacking the shopping, unwrap and wash your fruit and tub it up in the fridge ready to take as required. You are more likely to use it if it's already washed and ready to eat. Grapes, blueberries and strawberries are all great to have to hand and you can use them for breakfast in cereals and yoghurts and the kids can snack on them too.
Veggie Sticks - You can prepare veggie sticks in advance. Just submerge them in water in a container in the fridge. You can store celery for up to 2 weeks and carrots should last for up to a month.
Cooked Pasta - Cook off a pan of pasta and rinse under a cold tap to cool quickly. Store in an air-tight container in your fridge for up to 5 days.
There's a fab blog by What Lisa Cooks - she prepares her kids lunchboxes up to 3 days in advance! She has loads of tips which you can read here - Lisa's Make Ahead School Lunches
Lunchbox Tip #9 - Use a Yoghurt 'Split Pot'!
These individual yoghurt 'split pots' are a lunchbox game changer! Because they're something a little bit different to what a child is used to using, the novelty factor kicks in and we found that the kids 'want' to eat what's in the pot just so they can use the pots! Genius!! Ideal for picky or fussy eaters. Whoever came up with these needs an award 🏆
Make Your Own Muller Corners!
Most kids love a 'Muller Corner' yoghurt, where you get yoghurt in the main pot and a few 'treats' in the little corner pot that you tip in and mix together. Although Muller Corner can be a great way for kids to enjoy yoghurt, they can be quite expensive. So, instead of buying the expensive Muller Corners, invest in these yoghurt split pots and make your own 'Homemade Corners' at a fraction of the price!! 🤩
Simply purchase a large tub of yoghurt and put a couple of spoonfuls into one of the pots. Add your 'corner' of choice into the other pot for example fruit or granola, and boom - you got yourself a Homemade Muller Corner!
We found our Yoghurt Split Pots on Amazon - they're available in a pack of two (£9.99) or a pack of four (£13.70). The four pack is much better value for money! Here's the link - Yoghurt Pots
Try yoghurt in one and fruit pieces in the other, or yoghurt with granola. And just because they're called 'yoghurt' pots doesn't mean you have to put yoghurt in them! Try pasta in one and veggies in the other, or crackers in one and cheese pieces and raisins in the other.
These are also great for creating your own Dairylea Dunkers - see our Lunchbox Tip #11 below. Or try making your own jelly pots - homemade jelly in one pot, custard in the other! Limitless really.... just experiment and let us know your favourite combination!
Here's a few ideas of combinations...
Sweet Ideas - Yoghurt & Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt & Granola, Yogurt & Cocopops, Yoghurt & Maltesers, Jelly & Custard, Yoghurt & Frozen Fruit (defrosts by lunchtime).
Savoury Ideas - Pasta & Veggie Sticks, Veggie Sticks & Humous, Breadsticks & Dairylea or Soft Cheese, Cheese & Crackers, Pasta & Tomato Sauce, Salad & Dressing/Sauce.
And you don't need to buy expensive yoghurts... just buy the cheaper natural yoghurt (Sainsbury's brand at Alliance is 85p). If you want to jazz it up a bit try a squirt of honey, spoonful of jam or your own homemade fruit puree 👍
Lunchbox Tip #10 - Use a 'Bento Box'!
A Bento Box is basically a lunchbox but with lots of compartments to hold a variety of different foods. Bento boxes can make lunchtime more fun! They are especially good for picky and fussy eaters as you can get lots of variety in there but in small portions.
Here's some ideas of items you might like to include in a Bento Box -
Veggie sticks e.g. carrots, cucumber, peppers, celery, cherry tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, melon, raisins, satsuma pieces, dried fruits, pineapple, mango chunks, baby oranges, granola, cheerios, pretzels, popcorn, cheese pieces, ham slices, chicken pieces, sausages, prawns, pasta, breadsticks, biscuits, dips such as humous, soft cheese, fruit purees, picnic items such as picnic eggs, cocktail sausages, mini pizza, spring rolls, mini quiche, hash browns, hard boiled egg, boiled rice, flatbreads, pitta bread, scotch pancakes, cream crackers, homemade savoury muffins, sausage rolls, wraps sliced into pinwheels, slice of homemade banana bread.
Make It Fun with Sandwich Cutters & Sealers!
You can make bento boxes fun, especially great for the picky eater! Fussy eaters are more likely to pick up and eat a funky shaped sandwich or star shaped melon pieces. Sandwich cutters and sealers are really cool and make lunchtime fun! Or try using mini cookie cutters or food punchers to create fun things with fruit and vegetables.
We also like to include little notes in our kids lunchboxes to remind them what to eat first and to eat the biscuit last! 😆
We found this great Bento Box on Amazon. It has 4 compartments and also comes with 4 silicone muffin cases you can use to further segregate food items.
Link - https://amzn.to/3NeIrKM
Check out these great websites packed with Bento Box ideas -
Lunchbox Tip #11 - Make Your Own Dairylea Dunkers & Lunchers!
You've seen them in the supermarkets... individual single use plastic tubs of Dairylea Lunchers (previously called Lunchables) and Dairylea Dunkers. They're not cheap either! So instead of buying these expensive single use plastic pots, make your own homemade version instead using your own re-usable tubs!
Make your own Dunkers - Purchase a large pack of breadsticks and a tub of Dairylea spread (or shops own brand soft cheese) . Spoon some cheese into a small pot and put a handful of breadsticks into the lunchbox that you child can 'dunk' into the cheese. Done!
Make your own Lunchers - Purchase a box of Ritz crackers and slice some cheese, ham or chicken and put into the lunchbox. Bento boxes with the different compartments are great for this.
Lunchbox Tip #12 - Pack a Hot Meal!
Many children just don't like or won't eat a sandwich, wrap or whatever other 'cold' items you want to try to put in a lunchbox. Some kids just want a hot meal! And why the heck not!
Taking a hot meal to school can often be cheaper than preparing a cold picnic type lunchbox as the options are limitless. You can use leftovers from dinner the night before, batch cook a load of meals to have ready to go in the freezer, use up leftover veggies in soups, stews and casseroles... there's just so much choice!
If you're planning to send your kids to school with a hot meal, they're going to need a food thermos. It's basically the same as a regular drink thermos but with a wider neck. There are lots of options available, here's some that we found on Amazon.
Preparing your kids hot lunch - You will need to prepare your food thermos by filling it with boiling water. Leave it for about 5 minutes so it warms the inside. Cook or reheat your food to a temperature slightly hotter than you would normally serve. Empty the water from the food thermos and pop in your hot food.
Hot meal ideas you might like to try - roast dinners, pasta dishes (mac n cheese, lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, tuna pasta bake, spaghetti and meatballs...), rice dishes, jacket potatoes, chicken wings or chicken drumsticks, soups, casseroles, noodles, stews, ramen, stir fry, chilli, curries, omelette, sausage and mash, baked beans and sausages, meatballs, fish fingers, fish cakes, scrambled egg, leftover dinners.
Learn to Cook! - Anyone has the potential to cook up a meal - it's really easy with a few simple tips and a little savvy know-how. Kids can cook too! In fact one of the best life skills you can give a child, is to teach them to cook 🧑🍳
There are some fabulous tutorials and recipes in a FREE e-cookbook called Cook with Jack. The book also includes links to the 'how-to' video tutorials and follow-along recipes on YouTube. This resource is super useful for adults and children alike! You can read the free online e-book here - Cook with Jack.
Lunchbox Tip #13 - Where to Find Food for Less (or for Free!)
There are often bargains to be found at the supermarkets. All supermarkets here in Guernsey use the yellow sticker system, where by items that are due to go past their sell by date are reduced in price.
Some supermarkets tend to reduce early on in the day, then discount again early evening e.g. Waitrose. That said, we've seen half price chickens at Waitrose at 9am, so it really is pot luck. Other supermarkets discount at different times of the day, Marks & Spenser for instance will sometimes discount early in the day, but other times just after lunch. It really depends on stock quantities and how much they need to shift.
Follow Us on Facebook! We try to announce on our Facebook page when we've spotted yellow stickers whilst out and about. So if you Follow our Facebook page, you'll get a notification when we post.
Find Food for Free! - You can also often find some food items for free! There are several ways you can find Free Food...
Friends & Neighbours - Share food items with your friends and neighbours! Whether this is cooked meals, freezer sharing, or buying in bulk. Lots of people grow, bake or produce fresh produce (eggs) and will happily share or swap their produce. Or bulk buy items from the internet and share with your family and friends - especially good if there's a 'minimum spend' in order to get free delivery.
Olio Guernsey - Olio is a Free App you can download to your phone. Olio connects neighbours with each other and with local businesses so surplus food (and other items) can be shared, not thrown away. Volunteers known as Food Waste Heroes collect items from supermarkets, often in the evenings, then photograph the items they have collected and post them to the App. You can 'Request' any items you like direct from the App but it's important to note that you will need to collect these items, so ideally try to find a volunteer in your area. Please also note that most items will need collecting in the evenings, but if you're happy to do that, it is definitely worthwhile as all items you collect are FREE.
More info on how to use Olio is available here on our How to Use Olio blog.
There is also an Olio Guernsey Facebook community page where I'm sure local volunteers will happily answer any questions you may have.
Guernsey Welfare Best Before Baskets - Guernsey Welfare have BB baskets on their premises at The Caves in Town. The baskets are often laden with fruit and veg that supermarkets have kindly donated. The food items are free to take.
Food Banks - The Guernsey Welfare Service and the Shiloh Church offer a food bank facility. You need to register at the Welfare Service but anyone can use Shiloh Church. That said, the food banks can get quite low so there's no guarantee you'll receive anything at all, but always try!
Mill Street Community Cafe - kids can eat for free during the school summer holidays at Mill Street Community Cafe. Supported by Waitrose, we love that they can do this 💖
Channel Island Co-operative - Free fruit for children whilst you shop in-store at the Grande Marche St Martins (not sure if they do this at other stores?). Ask at customer services.
SuperSavvySavers Recommended Buys...
Our recommendations may contain affiliate links whereby we receive a small commission from any sales. These commissions help us to maintain the SuperSavvySavers website!
Small Lunchbox Pots - invest in some little pots to portion out from larger bags. We found these small lunchbox pots on Amazon which are perfect! Reasonably priced too at just £10 for 15 pots! 🥳
Link - https://amzn.to/4gRk1EB
Yoghurt Split Pots - We found our Yoghurt Split Pots on Amazon - they're available in a pack of two (£9.99) or a pack of four (£13.70). The four pack is much better value for money!
Link - https://amzn.to/3NfTSSo
Small Plastic Pots - we also found these small plastic pots which are great for lunchboxes or fridge storage. They're great for salad dressings, dips and sauces and a bargain at £6.24 for 50 pots!
Link - https://amzn.to/3Y9ZHa6
Bento Box - we found this great Bento Box on Amazon. It has 4 compartments and also comes with 4 silicone muffin cases you can use to further segregate food items.
Link - https://amzn.to/3NeIrKM
Sandwich Cutters & Sealers - these are great for funking up your kids lunchbox! Make lunchtimes more fun with these sandwich cutters and sealers. We found a great 8 piece sandwich cutter and sealer for just £11.66 on Amazon!
Link - https://amzn.to/4gN7ceF
Food Thermos - a food thermos is essential for packing your kids off to school with a hot meal. There are lots of options available, this one is 800ml, leak-proof and keeps food warm for up to 12 hours.
Link - https://amzn.to/3zJmXT7
More Lunchbox Tips and Ideas we've found online -
Check out all these other great lunchbox ideas we've found online...
Enjoy packing those Lunchboxes!
Comments