Kid-approved: five easy and yummy recipes for lunchboxes

DATE AND PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

"My mom makes the best lunchboxes. I go totally nuts for something for months, like the wraps with mince and cheese, but I'm over them now," says Charlie Patricios, 12. "Date balls are my favourites, and popcorn made in the morning before school."

Date balls are a yummy snack that's full of goodness with the natural sugar coming from the dates and honey. Homemade is way more economical than store bought.

Makes: about 20

Ingredients:

200g fresh pitted dates

125ml (½ cup) oats

125ml (½ cup) desiccated coconut

125ml (½ cup) crunchy peanut butter

15ml (1 tbsp) cocoa powder

15ml (1 tbsp) honey

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until a paste forms.
2. Roll the mixture into balls and chill in the fridge until firm.
3. Roll the balls in one of the following: toasted sesame seeds, toasted or plain coconut or cocoa powder. Store in the fridge.

GRANNY IN A BLANKET

Amelie Downes, 5, best lunchbox treat is 'granny in a blanket' — a slice of white bread wrapped around a vienna sausage and topped with tomato sauce. Her favourite treats are gummy sweets.

Here we've replaced the white bread with an easy cheese scone dough, but you could also use readymade shortcrust pastry. And for a no-fuss dipping sauce, use readymade tomato sauce on its own, or add a little chutney.

Makes: 8-10

Ingredients:

500g packet fresh chicken viennas

15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil

Cheese scone dough:

500ml (2 cups) cake flour. Replace half the flour with 1 cup (250ml) of wholewheat flour if desired

60g (4 tbsp) butter

10ml (2 tsp) baking powder

5ml (1 tsp) dry mustard powder, optional

125g grated cheddar cheese

45ml (3 tbsp) chopped chives or spring onion

1 egg

125ml (½ cup) buttermilk

Dipping sauce:

80ml (⅓ cup) tomato sauce

10ml (2 tsp) Worcestershire sauce

10ml (2 tsp) soy sauce

10ml - 15ml (2 - 3 tsp) honey

5ml (1 tsp) mild prepared mustard

Method:

1. Fry the viennas in the olive oil until browned but not cooked through. Drain on paper towel. 
2. To make the scone dough, place the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the baking powder, mustard powder, cheese and chives. Combine the egg and buttermilk. Add to the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough that is softish but not sticky. Knead lightly to form a ball. Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle about 1cm thick. Divide it into 12 squares.
3. If the vienna sausages are long, cut them in half. Place a sausage at the corner of a square of dough and roll it up.
4. Place on a greased baking tray. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 180°C for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove and place on a cooling rack.
5. To make the dipping sauce combine all the ingredients. Serve with the grannies in blankets.

POPCORN PRETZEL MIX

"My lunchbox changes most of the time and sometimes includes my favourites like bacon and cheese or chicken mayonnaise sandwiches, where my mother cleverly hides the vegetables like tomatoes and other things in the chicken mayo," says Zaza Nxumalo, 11.

"I like fruit like oranges, grapes and watermelon, which are healthy, the tub of lemon curd yoghurt I get sometimes and my best treats are salami sticks, popcorn or chips".

Several of the mothers we spoke to said that schools recommend including items that require crunching, like carrots and cucumber, in lunchboxes because it helps to reduce anxiety. Popcorn, a big favourite, has a good crunch and with added ingredients offers a variety of textures and good crunches.

Ingredients:

250ml (1 cup) popcorn kernels

30ml (2 tbsp) oil

Salt or popcorn seasoning of your choice

180ml (¾ cup) dried cranberries or raisins

150g readymade pretzels

60ml chocolate chips, optional

Method:

1. Pop the popcorn in the oil. Season with salt or seasoning of your choice.
2. Combine with the cranberries, pretzels and chocolate chips and toss to combine.
   Store in an airtight container.

MINI BILTONG AND SALAMI CRUSTLESS SAVOURY TARTS

Adam, 7, and Sophia, 5, Poonan love ‘lots’ of biltong and salami sticks in their lunchboxes — and on Friday, treat day, small packets of gummy bears and Smarties. Sophia enjoys fruit – blueberries and strawberries get her thumbs-up. Adam gets his crunch on carrots, cucumber and baby tomatoes.

For a protein-rich much, add some eggs, cheese, veg and milk to biltong and salami sticks to create crustless tarts.

For a vegetarian option, replace biltong and salami with a punnet of sliced button mushrooms, first fried in a little butter and drained.

Makes: 12

Ingredients:

125g cheddar cheese, grated

4 small courgettes, grated

60ml (4 tbsp) flour

4 eggs

250ml (1 cup) milk

15ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh herbs or a pinch of dried mixed herbs

125ml (½ cup) frozen peas

Salt and pepper

30ml - 45ml sliced biltong, chopped

3 mini salami sticks, chopped

Method:

1. Combine the cheese, courgettes and flour in a bowl.
2. Mix together the eggs and milk and add to the cheese/courgette mixture.
3. Stir in the herbs and peas and season.
4. Spoon the mixture into 12 well-greased muffin cups.
5. Add biltong to half and salami to the other half, pressing down to cover with filling.
6. Bake at 180°C for 20 - 25 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly before removing from cups.

SEVEN-COLOUR COUSCOUS SALAD

William Downes, 8, likes all the 'unhealthy' things, like sweets and chocolates, according to mom Debby, and is the fussiest when it comes to fruit - he will eat a naartjie, maybe. His favourites are blueberries, but only blueberries frozen beforehand for pops of flavour.

Liam Laurie, 10, is another blueberry fan. He says, "I love eating. We make our own lunchboxes. Our mom helps us and we do them the night before. Even if we aren't at school, we make them for the next day. We make a sandwich with butter, cheese and jam. The healthiest part are the blueberries. I don't care about any fruit except blueberries, I just love them."

Instead of making a sweet
something using blueberries, we created a salad, with an array of vegetables, the colours making it a tempting eat.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

250ml (1 cup) couscous

250ml (1 cup) hot vegetable stock

30ml (2 tbsp) butter

200g butternut cubed

Olive oil

125ml (1 cup) shredded red cabbage

250ml (1 cup) blueberries

4 baby carrots, sliced

125ml (½ cup) baby tomatoes

100g cooked green beans

125ml (½ cup) cooked corn kernels

Dressing:

60ml (4 tbsp) olive oil

30ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice

10ml (2 tsp) runny honey

5ml (1 tsp) mild prepared mustard

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Put the couscous in a bowl. Add the stock and the butter. Seal the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and set aside for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
2. Either boil the butternut in a small pan - just covered with water to which a pinch of salt has been added until just tender but not mushy - or roast the butternut in a roasting pan (see tip below). Remove and cool.
3. Combine butternut with couscous and remaining ingredients and toss with a fork.
4. Place dressing ingredients in a screwtop jar and shake. Pour over salad.

Cook's tip: Double or treble the quantity of butternut to save for another dish. To roast, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 180°C for 20-30 minutes until soft.