After a season playing in the sunshine, another academic year begins and the kids return to their classes, studies and extra-curricular activities. Which means parents across the country have started stressing over that innocuous aspect of schooling; the tiffin box. The criteria for a good tiffin box are many; from the nutritional value, appearance, and taste to its novelty value, ease of preparation and dietary preferences. With parents and kids on opposite sides of every factor, it’s no wonder moms and dads get stressed out.
However, packing tiffins need not always be such a chore. One of the best ways to get the kids on board with the tiffin meals is to have them involved in the decision making and preparation of things like sandwiches, once in a while. Let them go through our stores and choose their favourite sandwich fillings. They can then assemble the sandwiches as they choose. It’s a great way to get kids thinking of tastes, textures, flavours and nutrition! Or as a weekend project, lay out bowls of chocolate chips, dried fruit like pineapple, papaya and mango, candied nuts like peanuts, almonds and walnuts and any other dry roasted snack kids enjoy. Gather the kids around and let them create personalized trail mixes as they choose. Fill into zip-lock packets and add it to their lunch bag for wholesome munchies to keep them going through the day.
Making a tiffin plan always helps and now ordering fresh groceries like veggies, cold cuts, cheese, dairy and other pantry staples is possible with the @NaturesBasket online store.
For more filling tiffin options, try savoury muffins. Easy to bake fresh and delicious, these muffins will be a hit with the kids. It will give him/her the chance to quickly eat lunch before running off to play with the other kids. Try fiddling around with flavour combinations for pairings your kid enjoys. Some classic options would be spinach-corn, garlic-sundried tomatoes and salami-cheese. Feel free to experiment with the flours as well. Another great tiffin idea is to bake chicken nuggets, stuff it into chapatti or tortilla wraps dressed with ketchup, veg mayonnaise and a little salad.
Get creative with the packaging of tiffins. Try a salad the kids won’t mind eating; maybe with lots of fruit and cheese. A layered dip of guacamole, salsa and baked beans with nachos will definitely score points with the children. Not only is it creative but also healthy. An excellent way to include colourful and healthy fruits in tiffins would be with chunky fruit salads. They look fantastic and make eating fruits fun. To make it more tempting pack alongside a small blister pack of Nutella.
On a hectic day, hand out packets of our dry roasted snacks with individual tetra packs of Paper boat juices. Pick from a wide range of our Healthy Alternatives healthy roasted soya snacks and chana snacks in lip-smacking flavours of chilli, lime, tomato-mint means that they can find their favourite. The natural, preservative free drinks in Aamras, Jaljeera, Jamun Kala Khatta, Kokum are the perfect accompaniment.
At the end of the day, kids will only eat what they know and like. So make use of the Natures Basket with a little shopping excursion and show them ingredients on our shelves to familiarise them with the various ingredients and dishes available. And use their choices as a starting point to customize even more tiffin ideas!
