Anything you can freeze is going to be great in hot weather and easy to pack. Just grab it out of the freezer in the morning, will have defrosted by the time they’re ready to eat. Muffins of all different types freeze well as do pikelets. Even yogurt can be frozen.

Frozen grapes, work well, as they keep cold and frozen for most of the morning. Crackers and salsa. Muffins or vegemite scrolls etc.

I’ve seen many lunches uneaten in my day & decided not to put too much into their lunch boxes in the warmer months especially. I started freezing homemade savory muffins & just added simple things like cherry tomatoes, cheese sticks, celery & cream cheese sticks carrot sticks & then cut up fruit into pieces & they would eat it!

Do up lots of baking on the weekend and freeze. Then just pull out slices, muffins, mini quiches ect each day. Takes a lot of stress away from doing lunches!

I do 2 ingredient pizza dough (equal parts self raising flour and Greek yoghurt) and make pizza scrolls or cheeseymite scrolls with them – they freeze really well. I also make weetbix slice and Pre sliced banana bread and have them in the freezer. I buy things like sultanas in bulk and then portion a weeks worth onto smaller containers so they’re ready to go. I portion yoghurt into reusable pouches and pop them in the freezer (usually blended with fruit or honey) and they freeze well, defrost in time for lunch and keep the rest of the lu chvox cool. Check out bake play smile for some yummy recipes that are quick and easy and freeze well.

Before school starts I always make a list of sweet and savoury snacks that the kids like, that way I can rotate it regularly so they don’t get sick of having the same. I usually cook up batches of muffins, biscuits etc and freeze them individually in zip tie bags. In the pantry I have baskets containing store bought snacks so they are easier to grab. You can also make bulk sandwiches and freeze them individually. My kids have insulated lunch bags so they can put an ice pack in and their lunches stay cold. I also half fill the drink bottle with water the night before, freeze it and top it up (not right to the top) the next morning. It helps keep their water colder for longer.

Following because my son is extremely fussy and I’m already running out of ideas!

Get the kids involved on a weekend bakeup so that you can do vege slices, scones, muffins (things that freeze and thaw well). And don’t underestimate the power of a good leftover! I feel you, though. Lunchbox prep is a tiring and endless job. Good luck!

You are a busy Mum if you have a school canteen utilize it on these days. School canteens don’t sell junk. A good Idea is to make slices on Sunday as well as Muffins, Then on Wednesday a Canteen order is nice. In winter my kids loved a hot Meat Pie or Sausage Roll. But if that’s not a option you can buy ready made Zucchini Slice my kids loved this cold. Snacks for winter were Apple and strawberry scones, Blueberry scones and Fritters Corn or veggies are packed with nutrition and energy. These fritters went down a treat. I always made sure there were plenty of small size apples and mandarins on hand. (My easy recipe: Grate as many veggie combination as the kids like… zucchini, carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, halloumi, pesto, lemon zest, garlic, plain flour, eggs and sea salt into a large bowl. Mix thoroughly to combine. Heat a large fry pan over low-medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil to grease pan. These keep well in the fridge so make a big batch for snacks.)

great to have some homemade scrolls (Vegemite and cheese, carrot and cheese, apple and cinnamon) in the freezer. Squeezy fruit pouches are great, as it squeezy yoghurt (the lower sugar kind) and little grazing zip lock bags with dried fruit, pretzels, cheerios or other nibble cereal like weetbix bites and nuts if your school allows them.

I don’t do salads anymore either cause they go to waste. I do it a bit more simple now. As mains there’s one day a raison roll with yoghurt, one day a bun with cheeses and vegetarian bacon, one they a burger bun, one day fried egg on a seeded flat bread and one day a bigger pot with yoghurt with granola, vegetarian sausages, boiled egg cheese sticks etc.
As sides they all have there preferences, but there’s always a fruit, raw chocolate nutbars, small fruit muffins or vegetable muffin, roast chick nuts, roast flava beans, coconut flakes, pumpkin crunch, coconut yoghurt, Indian snacks like Buja Sew and Soy grain sticks , papadums, vege chips and some quakes and or roma tomato.

There is a guy on Instagram called school lunch box who has some easy and yummy things kids to eat.
Some things require more prep but things like cut up steak and veg you can take from dinner the night before and spruce it up a bit.