Claudine Boulstridge, who has packed lunchboxes for her three children for 15 years, recommends using a bento-style box to simplify daily meal prep.
A bento box keeps food "neatly separated, fresh and visually appealing for hours, without the hassle of small containers," Boulstridge says. She follows a simple formula: fruit (halved kiwi, orange slices, pomegranate), vegetables (cucumber, carrot, cooked sweet potato, radish), protein (soft-boiled egg, cheese, cooked chicken slices, hummus, fish cakes), and a homemade snack (roast coconut flakes with cinnamon, toasted seeds with unsalted butter and spices, dried seaweed squares).
Boulstridge, author of Family and the Healthy Family Food Substack, adds that shaping food matters. "Even familiar food will feel fresh and exciting" when cut into batons or other shapes, or presented with colourful food picks and silicone moulds, she says.