Childrens Lunch Box & Picnic Ideas For The NEW Yumbox.

Children are now back at school after a busy Summer! We've created a new and exciting little pack of goodies that are simple and easy to prepare for your children's packed lunch boxes. 

You'll find recipes for Homemade No Nut, Chocolate Spread and Healthy Homemade Granola along with jigsaw sandwiches! I'm sure you agree that each food group looks way more appealing served up in this super Yumbox with six clever compartments!

My son has never been a lover of sandwiches but occasionally, sandwiches are just the quickest way to go when you're a busy parent juggling everything life throws at you. So, I decided to try and make his sandwich a little more fun and my very simple idea (I know its nothing out of this world!!) was to use a jigsaw puzzle cutter as he is a big fan of jigsaw puzzles. My idea worked! He ate all his sandwiches without complaining once. Result!

Strawberries and chocolates are a perfect duo so we decided to combine the two and we have created our own healthy homemade no nut chocolate spread, the perfect dip for sliced strawberries and a few skinny bread sticks and much healthier than the shop bought alternatives. I have yet to find a child who refuses fruit and chocolate, or an adult come to think of it!! 

There is also a mini parcel ready to be opened which is packed full of oats, seeds and dried fruits plus we've used natural ingredients to combine it all together, the result; a delicious 'Healthy Homemade Granola Bar'. YUM!

To make our lunch box extra special we simply got a little crafty! Our granola bar was carefully wrapped in greaseproof paper and secured with a little cotton bakers twine looped around a mini rustic leaf shaped tag. We wrote a short note on the tag too, making it personal to the person receiving our lovingly prepared lunch.

The cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches were cut with a neat little jigsaw puzzle cutter. The best thing about this cutter is the fact it interlocks so there isn't much waste from a slice of bread, in fact you just loose the crusts which many little ones fuss over anyway. Plus, it fits perfectly in our yumbox and creates a sandwich that is the ideal size for little hands.

We bought our cutter from the cookware company for less than £2 inc delivery. The cotton twine and mini tags were purchased on Amazon, they're so easy to find and are available in plenty of colour options. These extra touches make a real difference to the final result and the beaming smile on your children's faces when they open their lunch boxes and see what you have prepared for them will be worth the extra effort.

Try making your own delicious Healthy Homemade Granola  and Homemade No Nuts Chocolate Spread. Both recipes are very easy to make, we're very confident that they will prove to be a big hit and you will be asked to make them again and again!  

Homemade No Nuts, Chocolate  Spread.

Ingredients;

• 250g Roasted Sunflower Seeds (You can roast your own sunflowers seeds by spreading raw seeds on a baking sheet and baking for 8 minutes at 180°C until slightly golden. You must turn the seeds regularly to avoid burning.)
• 2-3 Tbsp Light Flavoured Oil
• 20g Dark Good Quality Chocolate
• 2 Tbsp Cacao Powder
• 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup or Honey
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• Pinch Sea Salt

Method;

1. Place the sunflower seeds in a powerful food processor until it begins to form a flour like consistency.
2. Gradually add 2-3 tablespoons of light oil and continue to blitz until a smooth paste forms.
3. Add dark chocolate, cacao powder, maple syrup or honey, vanilla essence and salt continue to blitz until fully combined and smooth.
4. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Author Notes;

Substitute the sunflower seeds and light oil with 250g sunflower butter. We love Meridian Sunflower Seed Butter, it tastes lovely and takes less time to blend to the desired consistency. Simply add all the ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth.

For a nutty alternative try using peanut or almond butter. This is not suitable for school lunch boxes due to nut allergy policies in schools but a tasty option that is great for keeping at home as a weekend treat!

Yumbox launched a new range of colours earlier this year and my eldest son now has a new Yumbox! With avocado green, liberty blue, Malibu purple and gramercy pink amongst the colour options you will certainly find one to suit everyone. My son chose the Panino Style Yumbox in Brooklyn green, it's fabulous!

The Yumbox Panino features a removable, funky tray with 4 compartments which is ideal now he's wanting slighting bigger portions! Like the Classic Yumbox a molded silicone lid engages with the tray to create a leakproof lunch box. This unique lid allows you to store dips, sauces and yoghurt (not water!) without the risk of leaking, no one enjoys a soggy sandwich!!

The leakproof lid makes it the perfect lunch box for parents to use when weaning babies. You can create homemade purees and pack rice cakes or healthy nibbles together, safe in the knowledge that everything remains in one place whilst you're 'on the go'! Yumboxes fit inside a standard cool bag with space for an icepack to keep contents cool during the warmer months. The airtight compartments keep food fresh and separate from other items meaning you can prepare a packed lunch without using cling film to separate items and retain the freshness of the food inside. This creates less plastic waste meaning the Yumbox is an environmentally friendly option too! Most importantly, we love the fact the Yumbox enables you to educate children about different food groups, portion control and the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet.

The Yumbox really is an excellent lunch box. Available in a variety of sizes it is a great choice for weaning babies, children and adults alike. It is quite expensive with prices starting at £18.50 for the mini snack box. Don't be put off by the price tag, it's worth spending that little extra, these lunch boxes are exceptional quality and will not disappoint. 

The Yumbox is sturdy, practical, BPA-free and dishwasher safe too. We've been using our classic Yumbox for over two years now and it is still going strong, the boys still genuinely get excited about opening their Yumbox and eating their lunch. There's nothing we don't like about it, the Yumbox is most definitely a 5 star product.

Happy Lunch Prep Everyone!