My top 10 quality protein ideas for school (or work) lunch boxes!
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With the start of a new school year I’m now dusting off the cobwebs that have accumulated over 2 glorious months of sleep ins and reacclimatising to the rude shock of alarms and all that the school system entails. School lunch prep can become a Groundhog Day experience for the best us and trying to keep it fresh with variety can be challenging and exhausting. Here’s a little shopping list cheat sheet from me to you to make that morning rush hour (or night before prep) a little more enticing and less mundane (but no less nutritious).
My top 10 quality protein ideas
Wild smoked salmon from The Canadian Way sold at Broth Bar & Larder. Make sure the salmon that you buy is truly wild and NOT farmed – we don’t want to be ingesting a slew of antibiotics, soy pellets, and colour dyes that are fed to farmed salmon, and nor do we want to support industries that farm fish in cramped and crowded conditions that breed illness and disease (which then spread to the wild fish population).
Grass-fed preservative-free beef jerky from Kooee! Snacks and Chief Biltong, both sold at Broth Bar & Larder.
Preservative-free and pastured Little French Ham (similar to prosciutto) sold at Broth Bar & Larder.
Activated nuts and seeds (if permitted) sold at sold at Broth Bar & Larder. If some grades are strictly nut-free then seeds are typically permitted. The higher grades are less strict than the early grades.
Hard-boiled pastured eggs such as Mountain Pride eggs sold at Broth Bar & Larder. Or leftover omelette.
Gruyere and Reggio raw milk cheeses sold by weight at Broth Bar & Larder. Any organic cheese (even if pasteurised) is ok (if dairy is tolerated) so long as it’s full fat and not marinated in vegetable oils/ seed oils.
Preservative-free, pastured, and naturally fermented salami from De Palma Salumi sold at Broth Bar & Larder.
Tinned wild fish (e.g. salmon) in brine or olive oil (not vegetable oils/ seed oils!). BPA-free tins can be bought online from Vital Choice.
Yogurt (dairy or coconut) made by Mungalli and Bondi Yogurt sold at Broth Bar & Larder.
Leftover meat from dinner eg keftethes (meat balls) - recipe here on my website. Add up to 200g of sneaky livers in there 😜
The above protein sources also conveniently come with built-in healthy fats that are needed for optimal brain function, strong immunity and optimal growth and development. Fats and protein will naturally come together in nature but you can add in extra healthy fats such as some olives (in brine only!), avocados (add a good squeeze of lemon juice to prevent oxidation), dips and be sure to dress salads with olive oil and vinegar either from home or in a little dispenser that kids can dress before eating.
And for carbohydrates?
A balanced lunch box (and all meals for that matter) should have a good balance of fats, protein and carbohydrates. Aim for approximately ¼ of the lunch box to constitute the fat/protein source (as noted above these typically come together in nature) and ¾ of the lunch box to be carbohydrates.
In terms of what carbohydrates, these should mostly come from VEGETABLES! Both above ground (e.g. cucumbers, tomatoes, capsicum, celery, salad greens), and root veggies (e.g. carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes - left over roast root veg is a great idea). Newsflash: despite their ubiquity, humans are not designed to eat much, if any, grains!!! If you must, do so occasionally and opt for properly prepared organic grains like sourdough bread (I love Iggys which we sell at Broth Bar & Larder) or sprouted gluten-free soy-free bread (and don’t forget to slather on the butter and other nutrient dense toppings like avocado or the protein sources listed above).
Vegetables can also come from the sea….so throw in some single ingredient nori sheets for mineral rich some sea vegetables. I often give them the whole packet with the zip lock top and they can take as many sheet as they like and keep it in their bag for days when they have eaten all their lunch and still feel hungry. Be sure that the nori you buy isn’t bathed in vegetable oils / industrial seed oils. These toxic oils are now sneaking into everything so READ THE LABLES!! The smaller sized nori sheets now all seem to be bathed in seed oils whereas you can find single ingredient nori in the larger sheets. A reputable single ingredient brand is Honest Sea.
Vegetables can be pickled (e.g. McLures Pickles sugar free pickles sold at Broth Bar & Larder) or fermented (e.g. our sauerkraut through into a salad).
Add a small piece of fruit if desired for an additional carbohydrate source. Always team fruit with quality fats and proteins and not alone so as to avoid an insulin spike and crash (the fats slow down the release of blood sugars) and to ensure that the vitamins and minerals in the fruit are properly absorbed (as they are fat soluble). For example the English have strawberries and cream, the Italians have rockmelon with prosciutto and the Cypriots have watermelon with haloumi cheese. Such wisdom in ancestral diets!
Treats (free of refined sugars and other artificial ingredients), should be kept to an occasional offering and not a daily staple due to the sugar content (even natural concentrated sweeteners should be consumed sparingly!). At Broth Bar & Larder we sell a range of nutrient-dense treats including bliss balls, power bars, carob bears (sweetener free!!), gummies, and raw dark chocolate. These are all infused with loads of healthy fats such as raw cacao butter, coconut oils, or activated nuts.
Other ideas – if wanting to bake something try my banana date walnut loaf and other recipes in the recipes section of my website.
Containers, water bottles, soft pack eskis etc.
Lunch boxes - opt for stainless steel if possible in various sizes and shapes.. Square ones with the removable divider are handy if you want to compartmentalise their lunch and then simply remove the divider when making a salad or sandwich. insulated containers to keep food cold (e.g. yogurt) or hot (soup, casserole) are also a great idea.
Water bottles – opt for stainless steel and not plastic. There are numerous brands sold at various homeware, health food and organic stores. I use Klean Kanteen.
Soft pack eskis – these have built in icepacks so simply pop their lunch boxes in there to keep cold. Once again there are numerous brands sold at various homeware, health food and organic stores. Howards Storage World has a good variety.
Happy lunch box prepping! I hope the first few weeks of school are kind on kids and mamas alike.
Love Soulla x
