Packed Lunch (GF, DF, EF, NF)

Three-week packed school lunch menu

Eating well is one of my priorities. Feeding my child well is on top of my list. Lots of parents often ask - after they learn that we maintain a not-so-standard diet - what does my child eat and what do I pack for lunch to take to school. A little planning and forward thinking is all I need to provide a varied diet. It is a journey, a journey to better health with adventures and experiments, and there is always room for improvement.

My child's diet is built around plant-based meals supplemented with animal protein like fish, chicken or lamb. No dairy, no eggs, and no gluten/wheat on the menu at the moment. Packed lunches are the same, a portion of animal protein with at least 3 different kinds of veg (cooked and raw), plus a portion of fruit for snack and dessert. On Fridays I like to pack something special, a piece of home-baked dessert for example. The school has a NO NUT policy so nut milk and nut based snacks and desserts are off the menu, unfortunately (it would add variety but need to be compliant).

I try to be seasonal but as we need to avoid certain foods, and since Britain's growing season is very limited, I do not have a huge range of options to choose from. I vary carrots, courgettes and broccoli with chicken and lamb for school lunches (there is fish for breakfast - salmon, haddock, cod or mackerel -, steamed). Packing 3 different veg is easy. One comes from dinner, I put some pieces aside for next day lunch (hello autumn, various roasted squashed are on the menu these days, we love them). The second veg (cooked or steamed) comes from breakfast, an extra portion put aside. The third type of veg is raw, something crunchy for texture.

The meat is either fresh from dinner or frozen from last batch cooking. At the beginning of school terms I stuff the freezer with ready to go meat. I roast a whole chicken and put individual portions into the freezer. When needed I take a portion out the night before and gently defrost it in the fridge overnight for next day lunch. I also cook a decent size of lamb's leg, and there is a big batch of oven-cooked meatballs at the beginning of each term. I prefer to keep the meatballs in one or two resealable zip bags, they freeze well in one batch and do not stick together, no need to freeze them in portions. When there is no meat left from dinner, let’s say it was chicken liver or fish, then the freezer supplies the animal protein for lunch.

In the past 3 weeks I took photographs of what I packed for lunch. I hope the visual helps and these pics will leave you with some ideas on what can be packed for school. Feel free to share your ideas in the comment, please.

Week 1 - MONDAY

An apple for snack. Cooked lamb (dinner), pan-fried courgette (breakfast), roasted onion squash (dinner), grated carrots.

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Week 1 -TUESDAY

An apple for snack. Lamb and chicken meatballs (freezer), steamed broccoli (breakfast), roasted sweet potato (dinner), cucumber sticks. Blueberries for dessert.

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Week 1 -WEDNESDAY

An apple for snack. Cooked chicken leg (dinner), pan-fried courgette (breakfast), carrot and cucumber sticks with hummus and plantain chips. Grapes for dessert.

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Week 1 -THURSDAY

An apple for snack. Cooked lamb cutlet (dinner), steamed broccoli (breakfast), roasted onion squash (dinner), purple carrot sticks.

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Week 1 -FRIDAY

A pear for snack. Roasted chicken (freezer), pan-fried courgette (breakfast), cucumber sticks and purple carrot sticks. Spoon cake for dessert.

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Week 2 - MONDAY

A pear for snack. Lamb and chicken meatballs (freezer), pan-fried carrots (breakfast), roasted sweet potato (dinner), cucumber sticks and radish slices. Grapes for dessert.

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Week 2 - TUESDAY

An apple for snack. Cooked lamb (freezer), pan-fried courgette (breakfast), cucumber sticks and purple carrot sticks. A baby banana for dessert.

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Week 2 - WEDNESDAY

A pear for snack. Cooked chicken leg (dinner), steamed broccoli (breakfast), roasted delicata squash (dinner), grated carrots. Blueberries for dessert.

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Week 2 - THURSDAY

An apple for snack. Cooked lamb (freezer), pan-fried carrots (breakfast), roasted kabocha squash (dinner), cucumber sticks. Grapes for dessert.

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Week 2 - FRIDAY

An apple for snack. Roasted chicken (freezer), pan-fried carrots (breakfast), roasted delicata squash (dinner), cucumber sticks. Crunchy pineapple for dessert.

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Week 3 - MONDAY

An apple for snack. Roasted chicken (dinner), pan-fried courgette (breakfast), roasted delicata squash (dinner), kale chips. A baby banana for dessert.

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Week 3 - TUESDAY

An apple for snack. Tuna (in spring water, drained, drizzled with olive oil), pan-fried carrots (breakfast), roasted crown prince squash (dinner), grated carrots and cucumber slices. Grapes for dessert.

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Week 3 - WEDNESDAY

An apple for snack. Lamb and chicken meatballs (freezer), pan-fried courgette (breakfast), cooked beetroot chunks (dinner), cucumber sticks. Blueberries for dessert.

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Week 3 - THURSDAY

An apple for snack. Cooked chicken leg (dinner), steamed broccoli (breakfast), roasted kabocha squash (dinner), grated purple carrots, bone broth jelly. Grapes for dessert.

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Week 3 - FRIDAY

An apple for snack. Cooked lamb (freezer), pan-fried courgette (breakfast), cucumber sticks, purple carrot slices. Black berries and carob cupcake for dessert.