I want to share some of my favourite hacks that I use when packing a lunch box. These little tricks make packing the school lunch much easier! From keeping food fresh to preventing bruising, I hope you will find a clever tip that you can use in your own school routine.
Food Hack 1: How to prevent an apple from turning brown.
Apples are such a yummy and healthy snack to pack. Yet, when they are sliced, they go brown so quickly! This can instantly put some children off. To prevent this, simply slice the apple and bind it back together with a rubber band. This stops the apple reacting with the oxygen in the air, and turning brown.
Food Hack 2: Stopping a banana from turning brown
Like apples, bananas also have a tendency to go brown. Many children are very visual, and the sight of this will discourage them from trying the fruit. A fantastic way of delaying this browning process is to cover the top or "crown" of the bunch of bananas with cling film. If you are removing a banana from the group, be sure to arrange the cling film on top again. This can keep your bananas nice and yellow for another three days.
Food Hack 3: Hull your strawberries with a straw
Looking for a quick and easy way to hull a punnet of strawberries at once? Here's a super simple solution that only requires a drinking straw! All you have to do is place your straw at the bottom of the strawberry and gently push through aiming of the green leaves at the top. Once the straw has pushed through, the leaves and stalk should pop out in one push. We recommend using paper straws to keep your plastic consumption to a minimum.
Food Hack 4: Keep your herbs fresh for longer
Herbs are wonderful for enhancing the taste of a dish, and they have a wealth of health benefits. However, it can sometimes feel like a race against time to use them while they are fresh. I always put mine in the freezer. I pop them into a portion pot and label whatever herb it is to avoid confusion. Then I can use them whenever they are needed!
Food Hack 4: Defrost Food in the Fridge overnight
I always encourage batch cooking and using leftovers, especially when planning the school lunch. This involves a lot of storing and freezing of foods. When defrosting a meal for the school lunch, the best thing to do is take it out of the freezer and leave it in the fridge overnight. Then, it will be ready to go when you are getting ready the next morning.
I hope these hacks helped to make packing the lunchbox a little bit easier!
The Mummy Cooks Lunch set contains twenty pots in four sizes, everything you need for the school lunch!
