Recipes Cooked, Photographed and Written by Praveena
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Kids Lunch Boxes…I pack lunch boxes for my 3 children everyday, with freshly, homemade meals. Henceforth, I shall share few of them that I packed on different days. This box which I pack, is only for lunch. Not for snack time / break time.
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LINK FOR LUNCH BOX:
We started using these steel lunch boxes since past 3 or 4 years.You can find similar model in Amazon if you wish to buy one.Search for : Stainless Steel Ecolunchbox Three-In-One (Bento Style Lunchbox) shown below.
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MY KIDS ‘LUNCH BOX’ COLLECTION:
Till date, this page has 24 lunch boxes that I packed on different days!
- In this lunch box, one side I packed long slices of fresh mango fruit. On the other side I packed Sweet Corn Rice, which is full of carbs & protein, & does not need any major prep. (Recipe link⇒ Sweet Corn & Cashew Rice ). I made it early morning with leftover rice. But did not add any cashew nuts. I gave tips, for making this rice recipe, Wfpb / without oil.
Carbs & Protein Rich ‘Sweet Corn Rice’ and slices of fresh Mango fruit. - Lunch box below has, On the right it has Musk Melon pieces & on the left a quick tummy filling Spiced Baby Potatoes (Recipe link⇒ Coriander Baby Potatoes ). I pressure cooked the baby potatoes within 5 mins, and then spiced it up. I cut the musk melon the previous night and stored it in fridge.The top layer has green raisins / dry kishmish.
Coriander Baby Potatoes on the left, pieces of musk melon on the right and dry kishmish / green raisins on the top. - Below box has, ‘make your own tacos’ type of lunch. On the left it has Avocado & Mango salsa & on the right homemade whole wheat tortillas (Recipe link⇒ Avocado – Mango Salsa & Tacos ( No Oil)). I prepared the tortillas previous night, wrapped them in kitchen towel and stored in air-tight container. But made the salsa in the morning. The top layer has whole wheat dry cereal.
Make your own tacos type lunch box, with Avocado-Mango Salsa on the left, whole wheat tortillas on the right, whole wheat dry cereal on the top. - In this lunch box, I have packed non-fried savoury lentil balls, called as Ponganalu / Appe / Paniyaram, filled with veggies. (Recipe link⇒ Vada Ponganalu / NonFried Lentil Fritters). I prepared the batter previous night, but made the ponganaalu / lentil balls in the morning within 15 mins for 3 boxes.Fresh lettuce leaves as salad,and strawberries for fruit. Also gave, Tomato ketchup sachet as a dip.
Non-fried savoury lentil balls / ponganalu filled with veggies on the left side with tomato ketchup sachet as dip. Fresh strawberries for fruit and Lettuce leaves for salad. - Here I have packed, Segments of Mandarin Orange on the right. Cherry-Banana Cake slice for dessert.(Recipe Link⇒ Cherry-Banana Bread (Eggless)). Whole Ragi Idlis / Finger Millets Steamed Patties (Recipe Link⇒ Whole Ragi Idli ) on the left side. Topped with chutney powder (Recipe Link⇒ Menthaku / Methi Leaves Chutney Powder). I prepared the idli batter previous night, but steamed the idli(s) in the morning.
Whole Ragi Idli / Finger Millets Steamed Patties topped with methi podi / fenugreek leaves chutney powder. Mandarin Orange segments on the right. Cherry-Banana Cake slice for dessert. - Here, I have packed, Black-eyed beans nuggets (Recipe Link⇒ Black-eyed beans Nuggets / Alasanda Vada (Air-Fryer & Stove-top)) as main. Tomato sauce as condiment. Mixed Green Salad topped with roasted sesame seeds powder. Diced Pineapple & Red Currant Strings for fruit. I made the batter for nuggets the previous night, but fried them in the morning.
Black-eyed beans nuggets / alasanda vada as main. Mixed Green Salad topped with tossed sesame seeds powder. Diced Pineapple & Red Currant strings for fruit. - This lunch box, has strawberry pieces on a bed of romaine lettuce. Herbed croutons on the top side. Right side are Grilled sandwiches made with whole meal seeded bread. (Recipe link⇒ Sweet Potato & Spring Onion Sandwich ). Made the stuffing, the before night and stored it in an air-tight container in fridge. Made the sandwiches using sandwich maker, in the morning. I let them cool a bit and then packed.
Grilled Whole Wheat Sandwich with a filling made of sweet potato & spring onions. Strawberry pieces on a bed of lettuce. And herbed croutons. - Here I packed, Apple wedges for fruit. Steamed white rice mixed with, Potato & Red Capsicum stir fry. (Recipe link⇒ Potato-Capsicum Dry Curry / Aloo-Shimla Mirchi Sukhi Sabzi ). Also has homemade spicy trail mix (Recipe link⇒ Spicy Cereal Trail Mix /Oil Free Snack in 5 mins / Spicy Cereal Mixture ). I cooked the rice in pressure cooker within 10 mins. Made the curry in small quantity. Then mixed them both. Excluded nuts in the trail mix as my kids go to a nut-free school.
Potato-Red Capsicum curried steamed white rice as Main. Fresh Apple wedges for fruit and Spicy cereal trail mix as side. Lollipop as a treat. - This lunch box has pieces of Pear fruit on the right. On left side, Instant Idli / Steamed Patties made instantly with NO soaking, NO grinding, NO fermentation batter. (Recipe Link⇒ Instant Rava Idli / Steamed Semolina Patties ). I made the batter previous night, but steamed idli(s) in the morning. Chutney Recipe Link⇒ Coconut & Almond Chutney / Kobbari & Badam Pachadi
Instant Rava Idli / Semolina Steamed Patties with cococnut chutney as condiment. Pear fruit pieces on the right. - In this lunch box below, I had packed Grilled whole wheat bread sandwiches made with Protein rich Chickpeas sprouts. (Recipe Link⇒ Chana / Chickpea Sprouts & Basil Sandwich ). I made the stuffing for the sandwiches, the before night and stored in fridge. In the morning, I grilled the sandwiches using sandwich maker. Fruit pieces are pineapple, green apple and whole strawberries.
Grilled Whole Wheat Sandwich made with chickpea sprouts & potato filling. Fruit pieces on the right. - This lunch box has,Tomato Raita (Recipe Link⇒ Tomato Raita / Tomato-Yogurt Dip) as a Dip for ‘Cheese Stuffed Roti / Tortilla ( Recipe Link⇒ Roti / Tortilla with Beeroot Greens & Stalk ) . I prepared the dough the previous night, made the roti / tortilla the next day morning. Added cheese over the roti/tortilla , folded & then cut. Or else, You can make the roti / tortilla, wrap them with cling film, store them in the freezer, re-heat and serve.
Cheese stuffed tortilla / roti made ONLY with beetroot greens & stalk , with tomato raita / dip as a condiment. Slices of Carrot & Cucumber. - Here, I packed Pav-Bhaji ( Recipe link⇒ Pav – Bhaji) which I prepared for our dinner the previous night. The next morning, I packed the same bhaji (curry). Just smeared lots of butter on dinner rolls / pav and pan fried them. This is perfectly enough for kids lunch as per cals and nutrition. You can add a fruit too.
Pav (buns) smeared with butter accompanied with Bhaji (curry). - Here I made mini triangle shaped sandwiches, using seeded whole meal bread filled with butter & jam. The other side is salad with Red Kidney Beans and Sweet Corn. (Recipe link⇒ Sprouted Red Beans – Potato Salad / Chat )
Red Kidney Beans / Rajma Salad on the left. and Jam sandwiches made with Whole wheat bread. - In this lunch box, one side I packed fresh green grapes. On the other side I packed Sweetened Lentil Rice. I made it early morning with leftover rice. But did not add any nuts.(Recipe link⇒ Chakkera Pongali / Sweetened Rice)
Lentil based Sweetened Rice along with fresh green grapes. - Here I packed, Orange segments for fruit. Steamed white rice mixed with Okra/Bhindi Stir fry. (Recipe link⇒ Bendakaya Thalimpu / Bhindi Tadka/ Okra Stir Fry) . I cooked both rice and curry separately. Also has mini sandwiches with seeded whole wheat bread slice, smeared with butter, tomato sauce and cucumber pieces.
Simple sandwiches with butter & cucumber pieces. Orange segments. Okra Curried Rice as main. - In this lunch box, I have packed tiny pieces of watermelon and Veggie Wraps. I did not add cheese, as the wrap might turn gooey by lunch time. So check how I made them using this Recipe Link⇒ Curried Green Wrap / Indian Curry Wrap.
Curried green wraps for main accompanied with watermelon pieces for fruit. - Here I have Cherry Tomatoes and Green Cucumber pieces on one side. And on the other I prepared Rava Upma/Semolina Savoury Porridge ( Recipe link⇒ Rava Upma / Semolina Savoury Porridge ) garnished with chopped coriander leaves. I prepared this in the morning and removed the nuts before packing the lunches (My kids go to a Nut-free school).
Fresh Red Cherry Tomatoes and cucumber pieces for salad. Rava Upma / Semolina savoury porridge on the right as main. - This lunch box has BellPepper-Sesame Curry (Recipe link⇒ Capsicum-Nuvvula Koora / Bell Pepper-Sesame Curry / Shimla Mirch-Til Sabzi) mixed with steamed rice. Both curry and rice are cooked separately, mixed and then topped with homemade ghee or butter. On the side I put clementine cuties. If your kids would not prefer spicy food then, you can reduce/eliminate the spice in the curry. Vegans can just eliminate the butter/ghee topping.
Clementine cuties for fruit. Steamed hot rice mixed with Capsicum – Sesame Seeds curry / Shimla Mirch – Til ki Sabzi and smeared with homemade ghee / butter. - This lunch box has Capsicum – Lentil Fritters/ Bhajiya/ Punugulu (Recipe link⇒ Bell Pepper – Lentil Fritters / Capsicum Punugulu ) served with an Oil-Free healthy dip (Recipe link⇒ Mango Dip (Oil free) ) . Accompanied with cucumber slices and chopped iceberg lettuce. I prepared the batter previous night and fried them in the morning to pack.
Capsicum – Lentil fritters / Punugulu with oil-free dip. Along with cucumber slices and lettuce. - This lunch has Dosa/Crepe (Link⇒ Oil Free – Healthy Dosa / Without Oil Dosa) as the main with a chutney/dip (Link⇒ Beerapottu Pachchadi / RidgeGourd Peel Chutney) along with Baby carrots for salad. I prepared the batter previous night and made the Dosa/Crepe in the morning to pack.
Oil-Free healthy dosa /savoury Indian pancakes with chutney. Baby carrots for salad. - In this lunch box, the Main is Tamarind Rice (Link is here : Chinthapandu Pulihora / Tamarind Rice ) , Orange segments for fruit and for Vegan dessert (Link is here: Rava Kesari / Kesari Bath/ Semolina Pudding (without milk) ) The recipes have nuts, but removed them before packing the lunches (My kids go to a Nut-free school).
Tamarind rice / Pulihora as main. Orange segments for fruit. Rava Kesari / Semolina pudding (without milk) for dessert. - Mini Burgers with Veggies as main in the below lunch box. And has SweetCorn-Pomegranate Salad / Kosambari salad as a side. Click the link for the salad recipe. My kids loved this yummy salad and of course the Veggie Burgers. 🙂
Simple burger bun filled with cheese slice, lettuce & cucumber. Sweetcorn & Pomegranate salad on the right. - Couscous Upma / Savoury Meal as the main, half of an apple and Indian savoury/ murukulu. Click the link given, for the Couscous Upma/ Meal recipe. My kids loved this upma with the savoury & fruit.
Couscous with veggies meal / upma as main. Apple wedges for fruit. Indian style savoury snack. - Potato Mash Curry /Aloo Tadka / Bangaladumpa Koora as a side for Poori/ Puffed Indian bread. And mixed raisins for fruit. Click the link for the curry recipe. My kids loved this mild in spice Aloo/Potato Curry. I prepared the dough for Poori/Puffed Indian bread, previous night and fried them in the morning to pack.
Poori / Indian puffed bread on the right side with aloo sabzi / potato mash curry. Colourful mixed raisins for fruit.
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Hey Praveena, Quick question for you. How do you keep the fruits from turning black since the pictures show that you cut them.
Hi Malathi, The lunch box itself is an air-tight one. And I cut the fruit just before locking the lunch box