So this year is a big year for us, with Annabelle starting Prep and Teddy off to Kinder! I must admit, I’m also a little excited about making school lunches, but I know that by the third or fourth week that novelty will have worn off and it will become a mad rush to put something fresh & healthy together every day…

My girls are grazers, they love to snack. So Bento-style lunch boxes are the way to go for us! It means that the girls can have variety and I can get a little creative with their lunches! It also means that it will get eaten every day and I don’t have to stress about them coming home with full lunch boxes and empty tummies.

So after countless hours of Pinteresting, looking at #lunchboxideas hashtags, and testing out my own little ideas with the girls, I thought I would put together some easy, fun and affordable school lunch box ideas that you can throw together in just a few minutes!

Use Cookie Cutters to Make Sandwich Shapes

One of the downsides to those Bento-style lunch boxes is fitting things in them. Cue the cookie cutters! I just use a bunch of cutters we already have to make the girls sandwiches. And it also means they then fit into their lunch boxes!

I know that if I send my girls with a whole sandwich, it’s not likely to get eaten! But without fail, they never make it home when they’re shaped like stars 😉 #gottadowhatyagottado

Freeze Yogurts the Night Before

My girls love their yogurts, especially in the summertime, so I freeze their yogurts the night before so that way they are still nice and cold come lunchtime!

The Woolworths Select Yummy Snacks Strawberry Yoghurts are my go-to because they fit perfectly in the long compartment of the Bento boxes. And only .75 cents!

Make Fruit Skewers

Rather than just cut up a bunch of fruit, I started making the girls little fruit/veg skewers. Not only do they look adorable but the girls love them!

Sticks & Dip

My girls love the novelty of having dip with their veggie sticks. Just chuck some hommus or tzatziki in the centre hole of their bento box and your set! A super easy and affordable little way to jazz up any lunch box 😉

You Don’t Always Need a Sandwich

Always try and mix it up a little from the ‘ol sandwich. Some of our go-to’s are Pikelets (can add sprinkle, maple syrup or even butter and jam) and are super easy as Woolworths have a pre-made pack just ready to go.

We also make Pinwheel wraps or even pasta! I just throw on some spirals and add frozen peas while it’s still hot. You can really add anything you want to it!

Include Some Yummy Healthy Snacks

Most schools these days have a pretty strict policy on what kids can bring in their lunches. Woolies has a really great range of super healthy options for any lunch box, especially in their Macro range!

Our favourites include the Macro Air Puffed Fava Beans Bbq and Macro Lentil Bites Beetroot

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If you’re looking for more great lunch & snack ideas, Woolworths have a super hand ‘lunch box’ tab on their website and handy ‘back to school’ stamps on suggested items.

They also have free Woolworths personalised school labels! Just purchase any 3 participating products in a single transaction*, enter your valid receipt or online order code, design your personalised labels and Woolworths will mail them to you.

We ordered ours with just our online order number, it was super easy and Annabelle LOVED creating her avatar.