Packed lunch ideas for tweens
“How can I make sure my tween actually eats their lunch?”
Your tween will likely have firm favourites when it comes to packed lunches, but the good news is they might be open to exploring new flavours and ideas. They may be influenced by what their friends have in their lunchboxes, but if you can keep theirs exciting, food envy won’t hang around for long! Here are a few ideas:
- Variety is the spice of lunch: Throw in some new additions every so often to keep things interesting. For example, if they enjoy a wrap, try swapping the tortilla for an omelette roll-up, or try these "sushi" wraps for something fun yet familiar.
- Keep food in separate containers or use a Bento-style box to make lunch fun to eat.
- Ask your child what they want in their packed lunch – see our Involve your tween in lunch planning section, below.
“How do I pack a balanced lunch – what are some healthy lunch ideas for tweens?”
A balanced lunch is a mix of foods that provides energy as well as essential nutrients, and should ideally include:
- A main made up of a wholegrain carbohydrate and lean protein such as chicken, tuna or cream cheese. This could be a sandwich, pasta salad or couscous salad.
- Fruit and veg – try some carrot and cucumber sticks and a piece of fruit – you could chop up fruit to make it easier to eat.
- Dairy or a dairy alternative such as cubes of cheese or yogurt – go for natural yogurt or Greek yogurt where possible.
- A treat is fine to include. Swap chocolate and sweets for teacakes and malt loaf, or why not bake your own muffins?
- Swap crisps for popcorn or rice cakes*.
- To drink, stick to water if possible, or diluted fruit juice**.
Remember variety keeps things interesting but also ensures your child eats a wide range of nutrients.
“What are some quick and easy lunch ideas for busy mornings?”
Preparing packed lunches the night before is the best way to get organised and keep mornings calmer, but if that’s not possible, here are some easy ways to bring a packed lunch together in a flash on busy mornings:
- Go for make-ahead sandwich fillings that you can keep in the fridge like this Coronation egg mayo. Make a batch of pasta or couscous salad for the fridge that you can portion up in seconds.
- As a tasty and quick alternative to sandwiches, try a mini cold quiche or slice of pizza – we’ve a delicious Greek yogurt-based pizza.
- Try a speedy ‘snacky’ lunch – pack wholewheat crackers, some lean meat such as turkey slices, a cream cheese ‘dip’, pitted olives and chopped veggies.
- Keep boxes of chopped fruit and veg in the fridge ready to go.
- Don’t feel pressure to have everything homemade – do what works for you, balance is key.
Healthy lunch ideas for tweens – at home
When you’re cooking for tweens at home, you have more flexibility including hot lunches and reheating leftovers, but there often can be a little pressure from children to give them something exciting to eat. Sound familiar? The good news is you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen to create something interesting and balanced. Here are a few easy ideas:
- Try theming lunch – taco Tuesday or picnic Friday. An indoor picnic is a super-easy way to bring some excitement to a regular lunch – all you need is a blanket – and you can prep healthy picky bits as sides such as chopped veg with houmous or a dip.
- Create a healthy ‘sandwich bar’ where your kids can help themselves to wholemeal rolls or wraps, fillings and ready-chopped veg. By tween age (you may be wondering what is a tween? It’s typically 8-12 years), they should be able to make their own sandwich, just expect a little mess! It’s fun and builds their confidence around food.
- Pick a country a week and cook a dish inspired by its cuisine – it’s a great way to explore new flavours. Have a go at making these Spanish-inspired prawn paella cakes, which are low in saturates and high in vitamin B12. Or cook up this Japanese-style miso squash ramen, which is low in fat and provides 1 of their 5-a-day.
- Bring out a healthy, made-ahead dessert like a slice of watermelon pizza, which is 1 of their 5-a-day, or try this 4-ingredient frozen blueberry yogurt bark – so delicious!
“What are some hot lunch ideas that are quick to make at home?”
The quickest hot lunches are ones you’ve prepped ahead and just reheat. These are particularly useful for busy weekends and school holidays when you might be juggling work and childcare. They’re also great for teens who can prep or reheat meals themselves.
Here are some fail-safe hot lunches for tweens:
- Pasta is always popular; ring the changes with new pasta shapes and sauces – try quick-cook gnocchi or filled tortelloni skewers. If tomato sauce is their go-to, this big-batch, freezable recipe is ideal with a touch of spice that’s just enough for tween palates.
- Batch-cook soup that can be reheated in minutes – it’s a chance to include lots of veg and you can make healthy, homemade croutons with wholemeal rolls or pitta.
- Jacket potatoes are versatile and budget-friendly – the topping options are endless. If your tween loves baked beans, try one of these tasty twists.
- You can’t go wrong with toasties – ring the changes with these Mexican-inspired quesadillas, ready in just 10 minutes.
- Microwave rice, instant noodles and wholewheat couscous are filling, speedy and kid-friendly. Stir in some chopped veggies alongside tinned fish and pulses or chopped ham and boiled eggs. Try making quick fritters with wholewheat couscous – so tasty!
Fakeaway lunch ideas for tweens
There are times when only a burger or pizza will do, and it’s possible to give your tween all the fun and flavour of their favourite takeaway, without the cost and potential additives. We’ve got plenty of kid-friendly fakeaway lunches (or dinners) that are delicious and balanced too, here are some favourites:
- Burger and chips – this cheeseburger recipe is made with lean beef mince and served with sweet potato fries.
- Pizza – these colourful pizzettes are loaded with kid-friendly veg and are on the table in 35 minutes.
- Chicken nuggets – our top-rated chicken nuggets are made with cornflakes, plus they’re freezable so you can keep some in stock.
- Fish fingers – our freezable fish fingers are also made with cornflakes, here we’ve served them with fries made from four different veg.
Healthy snacks for tweens
Any parent of a tween (or teen) knows that they need tasty snacks – and plenty of them! Whether that’s snacks for home or on-the-go, you want fuel that’s going to sustain them but also taste great. Here are some ideas:
- A homemade dip is ideal to keep in the fridge to feed hungry tweens. Serve with flatbread and chopped veggies to boost their 5-a-day.
- Fruit is fun to eat as a kebab: This recipe features grilled fruit and a maple yogurt drizzle, so it also makes a great dessert.
- This homemade trail mix is exciting to eat with lots of interesting flavours and textures. You can store it for up to one week.
“What are healthy snack options I can include in a packed lunch?”
Packed lunch snacks need to travel well and be easy to eat, so sweet or savoury muffins with added fruit and veg are particularly good. Another option is dried fruit – a 30g portion counts as 1 of your 5-a-day but should be consumed with a packed lunch (not as a between-meal snack) to help reduce the risk of tooth decay. You could try making your own ginger banana chips.
Involve your tween in lunch planning
You’ve no doubt asked your tween what they want for lunch, but if you really involve them in lunch plans, they’ll be more likely to eat their food and enjoy it. This also applies to teens who will be becoming more independent with their food choices and preparing their own meals.
Encourage your child to write down their favourite lunches or draw their lunch ideas (and even name them if they want to get super-creative!). They could help you to write a shopping list and check the cupboards for what’s already at home. Why not set aside time to do this weekly and make it a fun ritual?
How can I get my tween involved in making their own lunch?”
Tween-age children can certainly help in the kitchen, prepping simple lunches*** or packing their own lunchboxes. This will give them confidence around preparing food and can be enjoyable. We’ve a range of how-to video recipes that kids and grown-ups can cook together.
Allergy-friendly lunches for tweens
“How can I make allergy-friendly lunches that my tween will actually eat?”
If you’re preparing lunches for dairy-free, gluten-free or nut-free diets, you will likely already have some favourite recipes up your sleeve, but here are some other simple ideas for allergy-friendly**** tween lunches:
Dairy-free lunches
There are so many delicious dairy-free sandwich and wrap fillings, just check your mayo and bread/wrap is dairy-free. We love lean meat with guacamole and salad or rustle up quick ‘pizzas’ with tortilla wraps, houmous and roasted chicken.
- Falafel with houmous, veggies and pitta is a great introduction to new flavours and you can use readymade or make your own. Try serving it with dairy-free Greek-style yogurt instead of tzatziki.
- If your tween is a pesto pasta fan, go for a dairy-free readymade pesto or try this delicious homemade recipe.
- Egg fried rice is a simple, speedy dairy-free option to keep your tween satisfied (and it’s a great way to sneak in some extra veggies too!).
Gluten-free lunches
If you’re preparing lunches for dairy-free, gluten-free or nut-free diets, you will likely already have some favourite recipes up your sleeve, but here are some other simple ideas for allergy-friendly tween lunches:
- Many pasta recipes can be made with gluten-free pasta. Let your tween choose some veggies such as beetroot, grated carrot and sweetcorn alongside cubes of cheese to create a rainbow pasta salad.
- Rice salads make ideal gluten-free lunches, but you can also make simple sushi balls or a sushi sandwich that’s tasty and portable for packed lunches. Quinoa and buckwheat are interesting gluten-free grain options and the perfect base for filling salads.
- Taco shells and wraps made from chickpea (gram) flour make fun gluten-free meals – let tweens load them up with their favourite fillings
- Sweet potatoes are a tasty, gluten-free carb that will keep your tween energised all afternoon. They can pile on their chosen toppings, like cheese and beans or buffalo chicken, for a fun ‘customisable’ lunch.
Nut-free lunches
If your tween follows a nut-free diet, you’ll know it involves careful checking of food labels particularly with common nut-containing foods like cereal bars, pesto and sauces. Here are a few of our top-rated nut-free bakes that could become new lunchtime highlights:
With a few clever tricks and fresh recipe ideas, tweens lunches can be both balanced and delicious for them – and stress-free (even enjoyable!) for you. Planning together makes it even better – have fun!
*https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes/#tips
**Fruit juice contains free sugars that can damage teeth, so limit these drinks to a combined total of 150ml a day.
***Children should always be supervised in the kitchen, especially when using heat sources or sharp tools.
****If your child has an allergy, please always check food labels carefully to ensure ingredients meet their dietary requirements, particularly allergen information such as ‘may contain’ messages.