Budget Lunch Box Tips
With the increased cost of living and food prices through the roof, we thought we would share our best budget lunch box tips with you.
All those small savings can really add up! Try these tips, ideas, recipes and hacks to reduce your spending on lunches for the kids.
Tips for Lunch Boxes on a Budget
Invest In Good Lunchboxes
Get the kids some good quality lunch boxes and insulated bags so homemade lunches stay fresh and cool and you avoid food wastage.
Find out how to choose the right lunch box for your child.
Cook At Home
This is perhaps a really obvious tip but you would be surprised at just how much cheaper you can make things at home compared to buying them pre-made or using the tuck shop.
Carve out an hour or so on the weekend to do all your prep. Get the kids involved so you are sharing the load! The bonus is that food made at home is usually much healthier and you avoid artificial additives and nasties.
While the oven is on, do a few batches of muesli bars, muffins or biscuits and freeze the excess.
To save even more money, try making your own homemade yoghurt and custard - it's cheap as chips and relatively easy!
Buy In Bulk
All of those little portioned snacks and treats are cute but they are expensive and are often not in keeping with nude food lunch requirements. Invest in some snack containers or bento snack cups and DIY!
It is so much cheaper to buy a packet of water crackers (usually under $1) and slice up a big block of cheese (around $9 for a kilo), than buying little portions of lunchables!
Buy big tubs of yoghurt and portion them out. Plain yoghurt with fruit or honey is healthier and cheaper.
Use Your Freezer
Take advantage of being able to prep foods in bulk and freeze for later. You can also use the freezer to store any foods you buy in bulk that won't get used straight away.
Try making sandwiches in bulk and freezing them (this obviously won't work for salad sandwiches, but ham and cheese and Vegemite or peanut butter work well!)
Make Use of Leftovers
You can cut down prep time for lunch boxes significantly if you use leftovers. Make extra dinner or parts of dinner that can be used for lunches.
Cook up a couple of roast chickens on Sunday night - eat one for dinner and use the rest for lunches for the week. When you make meatballs, make an extra batch that are mini for lunchboxes. Cook them on a tray in the oven to make it even easier!
Use insulated food jars for heating up leftovers like spaghetti bolognaise or casseroles (these can be bulked right out with loads of vegetables).
Make use of your pie maker for leftovers like casserole encased in pastry or bread or for making savoury muffins.
Use Cheap Filling Foods
Base your meals around cheap filling foods like pasta, rice, legumes and bread/flour. Add in less expensive proteins like cheese, eggs, tinned fish, mince, sausages and portioned whole chicken.
Some great examples are a tuna pasta salad, chicken fried rice, mince chow mein, falafels and savoury scrolls.
Shop Smarter
Get smarter about shopping! Scan the supermarket catalogues and stock up on basics (and the odd packet foods) while they are cheap. Having a stash of packaged treats you have bought on sale can come in handy when you are caught short (just hide them well!)
Follow nutritionist Renee at Wholesavers who will send you an email every week with all the healthy foods on sale at the major supermarkets. This is such a handy resource!
Shop later a night when food gets marked down, so you can pick up bread, meat, dairy and produce at better prices.
You may also find local markets cheaper for things like fresh produce. Join a local co-op to get health foods, meat and eggs much cheaper.
Get Organised
Getting yourself organised is crucial to saving money on food! It will help you avoid last minute purchases and wasting food.
Write up a menu plan for the week with lunches and dinners roughly planned out. You can base these plans on what's on sale at the supermarkets and what the kids like to eat. Once you work out a few weekly plans, just rotate them to keep things simple.
Invest in appliances like popcorn makers, slow cookers, thermo mixers, pie makers and air fryers to make food preparation easy. You can often buy these second hand very cheaply.
Swap Out Deli Meats
Deli meats are often very expensive (and they have a lot of artificial additives!) It is much cheaper to buy large cuts of meat and slice them up yourself. Choose beef, lamb or pork roasts or whole chickens.
Cook in the slow cooker to make it even easier. Cool, slice or shred and freeze in portions ready for making sandwiches and salads.
Water to Drink
Use filtered water as the kids' primary drink at school in their drink bottles. Expensive juice bottles are really not necessary. Add cut up fruit if the kids protest about plain water. Orange slices are a great budget option and you get some vitamin C as well!
Ideas for Cheap School Lunches
- homemade popcorn (buy kernels and pop them yourself!)
- vegetable sticks and dip (make your own dip with cream cheese or make hummus)
- water crackers and sliced cheese (buy a large block and slice)
- hard boiled eggs
- tins of tuna (buy on sale)
- bliss balls (base on oats for the most inexpensive option)
- fritters (use leftover chopped meat and vegetables)
- pikelets or pancakes
- chicken drumsticks or wings
- meatballs (bulked out with oats and vegetables)
- pasta and rice salads
- savoury and sweet scrolls or pinwheels
- rice paper rolls and sushi
- individual pizzas made on small pita breads
- yoghurt and homemade granola
Recipes for Budget School Lunches
Here are some of our favourite recipe ideas to get you inspired:
Two Minute Noodle Jars (pop this in an insulated food jar)
4 Ingredient Apple Banana Bread
Basic Lunch Box Biscuits and Cake
Impossible Quiche (use leftover vegetables and meats)
Pea and Noodle Fritters (use whatever veggies you have on hand)
More Lunchbox Ideas
We would love to hear from you! What budget tips have you got for us to make school lunches more affordable?
SHOP ALL BACK TO SCHOOL
Join our VIP community below for our regular newsletters with news, tips, recipes and exclusive discounts and offers. Plus you get a free welcome gift!
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.