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Are your kids tired of a sandwich every day in their lunchboxes? Do they even eat sandwiches?

Here we give you ten ideas for lunchbox fillers and loads of other snack ideas that can sustain them through the day and are easy to pack.

Some kids struggle with managing multiple containers and utensils, so here are some quick ideas that don’t require too many extras.

Great things to include are leftovers from previous dinners if you have them.

If including meat items, you may wish to add a mini freezer gel pack in a snap lock bag over the hot months to keep the lunchbox cool. The snap lock bag protects the gel pack and stops water from going onto the food.

Top 10 non-sandwich lunchbox ideas:

  1. Sushi or inari pockets with steamed rice and diced cucumber (pictured). Buy the inari pockets in Asian supermarkets
  2. Tuna and corn patties
  3. Felafel – either on their own or in a wrap or pocket bread
  4. Kibbeh or kofta (or your favourite meatballs)
  5. Quesadillas
  6. Pork buns (store-bought)
  7. Ravioli or tortellini (veal or vegetable). Cooked and cooled without sauce
  8. Mountain bread with cream cheese, grated carrot and ham, or hummus, ham and cucumber
  9. Roasted veggie patties (homemade or store-bought)
  10. Savoury muffins


Snacks to include:

  • Muesli bars
  • Banana cake
  • Apple and cinnamon muffins
  • Boiled eggs
  • Popcorn
  • Vegetables (carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes. cucumber sticks, capsicum, corn on the cob, leftover roasted veggies like sweet potato or potato)
  • Sliced ham or salami
  • Dried fruit
  • Fresh fruit (apples, grapes, strawberries, pears, mandarins, nashi, melon, etc.)
  • Savoury scrolls (either store bought or homemade)
  • Cheese cubes (so much cheaper than store-bought cheese sticks)
  • Yoghurt (best for cooler months)
  • Savoury biscuits with butter or favourite savoury spread
  • Homemade biscuits or cookies
  • Chickpeas, four bean mix, or white beans (drained and rinsed).

Get some great recipes for homemade muesli bars, banana cake, apple and cinnamon muffins, savoury muffins and dinner ideas here.

Do you have any other suggestions? Please share in the below comments.

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  • I must admit that I much prefer a salad to an sandwich.

    Reply

  • Great suggestions but I don’t think my family would like them. Just meat and salad suit them.

    Reply

  • Great article and fantastic suggestions too!

    Reply

  • Thank God for wraps. My son has finally embraced them and is happy to take one each day.

    Reply

  • I try to make every day a different lunch. My kids might have one day a bread roll in their lunchbox, but something different the other days.

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  • Such great ideas for lunchboxes. thanks for sharing

    Reply

  • Thankfully my boys are both good eaters (so far) so I can pretty much pack anything in their lunch box and they will eat it, but I still remember the lunchtime boredom with sandwiches every day from when I was at school and I dont want my boys to feel that way so I try to mix up their lunches a bit and there are some really great ideas here.

    Reply

  • some great ideas pity my biggest kids are not very adventurous! (there is still hope for the little ones though!)

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  • These are some really delicious ideas! I get *so* sick of making sandwiches

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  • Love all these suggestions. My kids aren’t school age but will be using these ideas for hubby’s lunch (he gets sick of sandwiches every day!)

    Reply

  • My little girl has a wheat allergy and many of the gluten free breads are not nice made as sandwiches. We do things like cold rice paper rolls, gluten free noodle salad, garden salad, little containers of baked beans, savoury pikelets or fritters spread with cream cheese. Always looking for new ideas though as she loves lots of variety.

    Reply

  • My daughter loves stuffed potato skins or rice salad for a change from boring sambos. Even pikelets (sweet or savoury) make a nice treat.

    Reply

  • Thanks for the tips. My daughter hates sandwiches unless they are toasted.

    Reply

  • I often add roasted chickpeas and coconut chips to my daughter’s lunchbox.
    Thanks for all the tips!!

    Reply

  • Very useful

    Reply

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