Parents will be preparing for their little ones to go back to school soon, which means trying to come up with new and exciting ideas for their daily packed lunches. As well as trying to think of different meals, you might want to consider ways to make their lunches more environmentally friendly. Here are some ways you can reduce waste.
- No more packaged food
Packed lunches and snacks are a nightmare when it comes to plastic packaging, and you can often end up throwing several empty packets in the bin a day. So why not do away with processed food and make your little ones some easy homemade treats instead?
Oat bars, fruit energy balls, or egg muffins are all healthy snacks that are easy to make and save on packaging. Alternatively, you can still ditch crisp packets and chocolate wrapping by giving them fruit instead.
- Reusable snack bags
While giving them homemade snacks, don’t undo your hard work by wrapping them in tin foil or cling film. Instead, use reusable washable silicone zip-lock bags, which are great at storing things like blueberries, crackers or banana bread for their mid-morning break.
- Flasks
Let’s face it, we can all get bored of sandwiches after a while, so why not give them something a little different by making soup or pasta and putting it in a small flask? This is good during the colder months or on busy days with lots of after-school activities when there is often not time for a hot dinner.
- Meatless Mondays
As well as making sure to reduce the amount of packaging and waste from their packed lunches, you can do your bit for the environment by introducing meat-free Mondays. This simple change can “help contain production of greenhouse gases that impact climate change … [and] lessen the demand for precious environmental resources, such as land, water and energy”, Monday Campaigns revealed.
