Schools are set to reopen and at least a few parents are bound to be fretting about the lunchbox conundrum. MetroPlus asks a bunch of food vloggers, stylists and moms to pick one quick, yet delicious lunch box idea that could put a smile on the children’s faces and relief on the parent’s. These ideas are largely low-effort, but high on nutrition.  

Pink Pachadi

Sidha Prakash, a food stylist based in Kochi, says she trusts nothing more than a traditional Kerala meal for her five-and-a-half-year-old daughter’s lunchbox. Of course, she tweaks it in rather cute ways such as adding an egg to fluff up a potentially boring spinach-moringa stir fry. “It not just adds body to the dish, but lifts up the flavours.” And the highlight is that her daughter loves these fibre-laden, vegetable-forward dishes. “Especially the beetroot curd pachadi. I heat grated beetroot in a pan, without oil, and once it is cooked, add a handful of grated coconut, ginger and a hint of green chilli. I then add curd and temper with mustard seeds. The colour is a lovely pink that could tempt any child,” she says. And all of this is served with rice. 

Pro tip: I always have some boiled channa in the fridge, which could transform into an easy salad with just some chopped cucumber, a squirt of lemon and a pinch of salt. I also have some ready-to-fry nuggets as a rare junk treat. 

Rice to the rescue

Revathy Parameswaran’s lunch box series has brought in maximum engagement on Instagram. “I get a lot of comments from parents and they ask for more,” says the food content creator from Palakkad, who swears the recipes are tried and tested on her seven-year-old son. Almost all the recipes are rice-based – from veggie rice to chicken rice, soya chunk rice, egg and mushroom rice and more. “These are super easy to make and are a one pot meal, which contains vegetables, protein and carbohydrate,” says Revathy. With a little preparation, the box can be done in 15 minutes, adds Revathy. “For instance, marinate the chicken, paneer or cook the soya chunks the previous night and all you would need to do is saute them in ghee along with the chopped vegetables and rice.”  

Pro tip: On working days, I always keep a small portion of cooked Basmati rice in the fridge ready to rustle up a meal. 

Carrot waffle

Bengaluru-based Riya John’s “little boxes, big love” are thoughtfully curated. She goes by what her three-and-a-half-year-old likes, but Riya says her son loves exploring new flavours. So she packs in vegetables wherever possible. Adding ground carrot to the pancake or waffle batter or adding ground vegetables to the pasta. “I roast a bit of garlic, red capsicum, onion and tomato in the oven and grind it with a bit of milk or paneer. I then saute this along with olive oil or butter and then add it to cooked pasta.” Riya stocks up on millet pasta or beetroot / channa pasta. Her son is especially drawn to colours and shapes and she makes sure she employs her cookie cutter to the idli to good effect. In addition to creating food content, Riya runs Aduppu, a hommade food catering service in Bengaluru. 

Pro tip: My fridge always has some fruit and vegetables. And there’s bound to be some idli/dosa batter, which can transform into a cheese burst paniyaram, for instance (all you would need is a paniyaram pan.) 

Masala idli

Nayana PK, a food stylist from Sharjah says her lunchbox ideas for her nine-year-old twin boys are always the simplest of recipes and those that leave minimum dishes to be washed. She adapts daily recipes for the lunch box, which don’t need too much meal prep. “The masala idli is one such brainwave,” says Nayana, who makes a simple masala with potato and onion boiled together and tempered with mustard seeds (optional). This is added to a bit of batter spooned into the idli steaming plate, covered with a bit more batter and steamed. “However, my evergreen go-to recipe would be a vegetable cheese paratha, where she adds easy-to-cook vegetables such as carrot/beans or peas and mozzarella cheese to the atta. The cheesy pull of the paratha is an added delight for the children. A delicious yoghurt dip with a pinch of chaat masala and salt completes it,” she adds.  

Pro tip: I always stock up on cheese and paneer. The kids love cheese. 

No-sweat saute

Food blogger and recipe developer Anishya Soman, based in Thiruvananthapuram, suggests the ultimate no-sweat lunch. A pulled meat with broccoli lunch. All you need to do is cook the broccoli for two minutes — blanching retains its freshness. Then toss with lightly roasted shredded beef in a flavourful garlic, ginger, and chili base. Add a touch of soy sauce and tomato ketchup. The meat can be subsituted with chicken or paneer. Pair this with a side or fruit and vegetable and one is good to go! 

Pro tip: Store cooked rice in the fridge to quickly make lemon rice, tomato rice, pulao or other rice dishes on the go.

Low risk of spoiling

Kuwait-based Nidha Farvin KT, a passionate food vlogger, says the first thing she thinks about when it comes to packing a lunchbox is whether there is risk of spoiling. Rice is the best option, says Nidha, who feels few things can top a classic vegetable-egg fried rice. “Every one has cooked rice, vegetables and eggs at home. And this takes just five minutes to cook.” All that is required is to scramble the eggs and keep aside, chop up an onion and garlic along with the vegetables and saute them in ghee. Cook for three minutes, add scrambled eggs, cooked rice, a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. “I would call this a perfectly balanced meal with protein, vegetables, and carbohydrate and it has least chances of spoiling,” she adds.

Pro tip: Adding a side of chopped fruit such as apple or any fruit the children like is a good idea to break the monotony