Episode 81: 5 Ways You Can Make Lunchboxes Easier in 2026

Episode 81: 5 Ways You Can Make Lunchboxes Easier in 2026

Lunchboxes are coming. Whether you feel ready or not, the school year has a way of creeping up fast. In this episode, I’m walking you through five practical, realistic ways to make lunchboxes easier in 2026 — without aiming for perfection or adding more pressure to your already full plate.

As a paediatric dietitian, I see how overwhelming lunchboxes can feel, especially if you’re navigating a picky eater or fussy eater. Social media noise, conflicting nutrition advice, and the relentless day-in, day-out nature of packing food can quickly drain your energy. This episode is about bringing it back to simple systems, lowering the bar, and focusing on what actually supports your child’s nutrition and your sanity.

I share my 3-2-1 lunchbox structure, how to reduce mental load, ways to boost nutrients without changing your child’s safe foods, and why “boring” lunchboxes are often exactly what kids need. This is practical guidance for real families, real mornings, and real children — not picture-perfect lunchboxes.

Links:
https://nourishwithkarina.com/feedingbabies
https://nourishwithkarina.com/membership

Highlights:

5 Secrets to Stress-Free Lunchboxes in 2026 (00:00.074)
Why Your Lunchbox Needs a System, Not Just a Recipe (02:21.848)
Ditching the Mental Load with the 3-2-1 Lunchbox Method (04:38.796)
3 Carbs 2 Plants 1 Protein Your New Lunchbox Mantra (06:59.828)
Surviving the Treat Phase Without the Power Struggle (09:05.502)
Consistent and Calm Why Identical Lunchboxes are a Win (11:19.436)
Subtly Nutrient Boosting the White Diet (13:37.994)
Why Your Child Needs a Low Pressure Lunchbox(16:01.666)
May the Lunchbox Force Be with You (18:14.708)

Show notes

READ TRANSCRIPT

Show Notes

If you’re trying to support children’s nutrition, create a healthy diet for fussy eaters, or just want quick easy food ideas that actually get eaten, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I cover:

The 3-2-1 Lunchbox System
A simple structure to build balanced, nutritious lunchboxes without overthinking.
Why Repetition Is Not a Problem
How consistent lunchboxes support picky and fussy eaters.
Social Media vs Real Life
Why online lunchboxes raise the bar unnecessarily — and what to ignore.
Nutrient Boosting Without Battles
Small tweaks to increase nutrition for fussy eaters using familiar foods.
Letting Go of Perfect
How to reduce guilt and make lunchboxes sustainable long-term.

Helpful links:

Healthy recipes for kids: https://nourishwithkarina.com/healthy-recipes-for-kids
Lunchbox support and planning tools mentioned in this episode are available at nourishwithkarina.com

5 Secrets to Stress-Free Lunchboxes in 2026 (00:00.074)
You're listening to the Easy Feed Podcast, episode number 81, five ways that you can make lunch boxes easier in 2026. Hi there. I'm Karina Savage. And with over 20 years experience feeding children, including my own, I've learned all the secrets that busy moms need to get their children eating better and actually enjoying healthy foods. So a huge welcome to the Easy Feed Podcast.

there. Welcome back. It's great to have you here. I hope you're well. I know that this is a timely episode because we are heading back towards the school year for 2026. Are you ready? Maybe, baby. Not listening to this. probably thinking, well, I've got another week up my sleeve to get my head around school. So hopefully you are still feeling semi relaxed and you are avoiding lunch boxes at the moment. But

They are coming, they are around the corner and I don't know how many hundreds of lunch boxes we make each and every year. It depends on how many kids you have really, but yeah, it's a lot. And so I'm here to try and make lunch boxes easier for you. So I have five tips for you to try to make things a little easier and you can use, you know, one of these tips, you can use all five of these tips.

because you know, any little support with lunchboxes I think is a win because lunchboxes can be a pain in the butt. They're just relentless, you know, like, you know, day in, day out, week in, week out, term in, turn out. So it's, yeah, it's a lot. So anyway, I think, um, you get my gist and we will dive into this episode, but I first want to talk about two ways that you can get some extra lunchbox help after this podcast.

First of all is my free lunchbox page where you can go to nourishwithkarina.com forward slash lunchbox. And that's where you can grab some free tips and advice on lunchboxes. And then I also have my lunchbox planner, which is nourishwithkarina.com forward slash planner. And that's where I have created everything that you need to know about creating.

Why Your Lunchbox Needs a System, Not Just a Recipe (02:21.848)
Healthy lunch boxes, surviving the sandwich phase, the non-sandwich phase. How do we boost nutrients? What do we do? How do we construct lunch boxes? What supermarket snacks do we use? I've got my healthy kids snack supermarket guide in there. Lunch box recipes. So my top 20 lunch box recipes are in there that you can make to pop in your child's lunch box.

Other tips that are really helpful for busy parents. And we've also got my lunchbox masterclass in there as well. So that's all they're waiting for you. And there's a ton of value there inside the planner. So you can head to nourishwithkarina.com forward slash planner to check that out. So let's dive into the episode today, all about lunchboxes and just getting ready for lunchboxes in 2026. I think it's going to be.

different in different households because some parents will need to get lunch boxes ready the night before. Others prepare them the morning of, and some parents have more time. Some parents have no time. So it's really going to be, you know, take what you think is relevant for you out of this episode and out of all of the lunchbox advice and tips and guides that I provide, because it's going to be, you know, different.

based on what your individual situation is. But at the end of the day, in terms of what I think we should be putting into our kids' lunchboxes or how I think we should be structuring our kids' lunchboxes, it's the same. And it actually takes a lot of the mental load off you because you have clear systems in your mind about exactly what you should be looking for. And if you don't have that in your cupboard, then you just swap it out for something else. So you've still got that sort of system.

And this will make sense in a few minutes. Once I dive into it, one other comment I'd like to make is around social media because there is so much information online around nutrition, feeding kids. There's the no sugar lunchbox movement. There's all sorts of tips and tricks and guides out there. And look, you just have to make sure that you are listening to someone who is qualified in this space because it's a minefield.

Ditching the Mental Load with the 3-2-1 Lunchbox Method (04:38.796)
And it can be, you know, a tricky path to navigate. So I always recommend just listening to one or two people who are qualified in this space. They are a pediatric dietician. They have, you know, professional experience to be able to guide you on this because otherwise you can sometimes end up following people that are quite extremist or have very differing views. And sometimes it can just make things harder. So.

The other thing that I find a problem with social media is sometimes subconsciously can raise the bar. And for us, we don't need the bar to be raised any higher. Life's hard enough as it is. It's hard enough to get lunch boxes out every day. We don't need to feel like we have to create the perfect lunch box. I don't, I'm not saying we put that pressure on ourselves, but when we see all these amazing lunch boxes online, can, I think, make it feel like sometimes, well, my lunchbox looks terrible compared to that.

Don't ever feel bad about your lunchbox compared to something online because that's not real life. And I know that you know that, but it's important just to remember that and make that point because I think we can all get carried away sometimes with what we see online. And it's important to just reground ourselves and go, you know what? That's not necessarily real life. And let's just keep it simple and work from where.

my family's at and for what my goals and my children need. And so really just bring it back to you and what you need for your family and what's going to work for you. So let's dive into my first strategy around lunchboxes because this is an important one and it will really help you during the year. If you just remember the structure, three, two, one. And look, this needs a bit of room for flex because as kids get older,

They will eat more food. So we need to perhaps, you know, move the goalpost a little bit. So the three, two, one may, you know, merge into like a three, two, two or a three, two, one plus a little treat. So, you know, there is room for movement here, but the three, two, one is really nice just to keep in your mind because it just helps. So the three, two, one is three carbs, two plant, one protein. Okay. So.

3 Carbs 2 Plants 1 Protein Your New Lunchbox Mantra (06:59.828)
Even if you just have that in your head every day, three carbs, two plant, one protein, that's a great place to start. Now, as your child gets older, they're going to need more. And that would definitely be looking at boosting the two and the one. So do three, three, two, if you can. And that's going to be a nice way to increase the nutrients further. Now, as I said, I've got all of the information on my lunchbox page or in my planner.

program to give you in terms of what you need to put into the carbohydrates or what you need to include in terms of plant foods or what you might need to include in terms of protein. But you need to just start with three carbs, ideally grainy carbs. So thinking things like grainy bread, grainy crackers, two plant foods. So it might be one piece of fruit and one chopped veg or might be two pieces of fruit. Plus you put in some chopped veg. And that's where I said this needs to be flexible.

And then the one is the protein and whether this is tuna, whether this is egg, whether this is rotisserie chicken, I hate ham and I hate bacon and salami. So I would never put that stuff in. That's just rubbish. Not good for our kids. Even the nitrate free ham, I would not, is super salty. So I would avoid processed meats, but definitely I would put in some sort of protein and look, my black bean brownie has been a hit for years because

If kids don't like meat or a lot of those other protein foods, including things like hummus or chickpeas or fava beans, then the black bean brownies are great one because it's made with three eggs, tin of black beans. And you can find that recipe on my website under my recipes tab. I'll also put the link to the recipe in the show notes.

So one protein is a great place to start. Protein is often a challenge in kids lunch boxes. So that's why I liked using that black bean brownie recipe, especially for my daughter. Okay. So we've got the three to one now down pat. We've got the three carbs, grainy carbs. might be a grainy bread sandwich. It might be a bit of popcorn and it might be, you know, homemade oat bar or something like that. So we've got the three carbs. We've got the two plant foods. We've got the one protein. Okay. Tick, tick, tick.

Surviving the Treat Phase Without the Power Struggle (09:05.502)
Now, where are the bonus ones? If we want to put in some bonus and you don't have to, but as kids get older, they are going to want a treat. Now, for as long as you can, while they're young, include that treat in that carbohydrate. So that's where you might put like a chocolate cookie or, you know, the homemade black bean brownie or something like that. So that could probably fit into the carbs. It doesn't really matter where it goes, but that could still be like the little treat. But as they get older and they see what their friends are having, they want the packet of Doritos. They want the packet of

You know, Oreos or Tim Tams and you're like, oh, that's where all the rubbish really starts to creep in. So I'm not saying give your kids Doritos, Oreos or tiny Teddys. Well, if they want them sometimes as a treat, but that's where we need to find a little treat to give them. Maybe it's a little bit of chocolate or maybe it's some other little treat that you include a little bit of chocolate biscuit or something that you include.

in their lunchbox if they're getting older and they're really looking for that trait. Because if we are over restrictive, then it becomes that forbidden fruit mentality. Then they're going to want to start sneaking it or not being able to regulate themselves as well when they do get exposed to those sugary foods. Okay. A couple of other things that I want to mention. And again, these are only bonus extras because we don't have to get all of the day's nutrition into lunch. But if you want to add in a healthy fat,

They're amazing. And some healthy fats, you can add in things like olives, guacamole, like mash it up into a dip and put with lemon juice. It will keep really well during the day at school. So healthy fats are really good addition. Tahini, sesame, tahini is in hummus, so could use sesame in things like if you, all those little sesame crisps, yes, they have some sugar, but they are also, you know, a good fat.

So using extra olive oil on leftover that is taken in the thermos is another way. So healthy fats are a really nice way to add nutrition to your child's lunchbox. Chia seeds are another great one. So you're putting chia seeds, um, which have healthy fats into like bliss balls, for example. And that's one of their carbohydrates snacks. Then great, you know, he's just trying to introduce more healthy snacks into their day. Calcium is something that

Consistent and Calm Why Identical Lunchboxes are a Win (11:19.436)
will appear throughout the day in various foods. For example, just really rich in calcium. But kids usually get plenty of dairy throughout the day anyway. So you don't have to, I don't believe, focus on adding dairy into their lunchbox. But yes, cheese, yoghurt, they can all feature in the day as well. Okay, my tip number two, prepare if possible. Now, look, I've never been one to cut up veggies and do lunchbox prep.

at beginning of the week, like you see on social media. look, maybe because I've been blessed to be able to prepare them in the mornings. If you can't and you need to prep, then absolutely that's going to really help you get out the door quicker in the mornings. What I do like to do is I do like to prep with snacks. I do like to be really intentional with the snacks that I buy from the supermarket. So I will be very intentional with what popcorn I'm choosing or what music bars I'm choosing.

The other thing that I like to do whenever possible, and again, it comes back to time is to make something. So make like a big black bean brownie, make a batch of cookies. And my cookies have been a real hit over the years, my choc apricot oat cookies, because they are nutritious. They're fiber, they're tasty. Yes, I've got a bit of sugar, but they're so much better for you than most of the rubbish out there on supermarket shelves. And my kids love them. And so they've been a great quick grab and go to

pop into the lunchbox in the morning. they're also great for an after school snack as well. So being prepared with chopped veggies and whatnot, if you need to being prepared with baking one or two things for the week would be amazing if you can. And being prepared with having healthier snacks in the pantry. So the kids aren't going to the pantry and grabbing another, I don't know, bowl of chips or whatever might've been left around from the weekend. So if you've got those healthier snacks,

Well, they probably still would go through the chips if my kids saw the chips, but if they're not there and you've got the healthiest snack option, then that's going to be ideal. So being prepared is going to help make the weeks run smoother. Okay. So the third tip I have is don't stress if lunch boxes look almost identical each day. A lot of parents worry about this and it's not something that I would stress about because at the end of the day, they're eating it and this is giving them nutrition. It's giving them

Subtly Nutrient Boosting the White Diet (13:37.994)
energy to get through the school day. It's giving their brains carbohydrate to focus, to concentrate. So whatever they're to eat, that's a win. You know, the number of parents that tell me their kids aren't eating anything and sometimes kids who are medication and that can definitely impact their appetite during the day. But really if your child is eating something, even if it's a white bread and honey sandwich, at least they're eating something. So ideally with you, there's room to move there, but again, no judgment, no pressure.

Start with where they're at and definitely don't stress if their lunchbox looks very similar each day. What I would try and do though is subtly nutrient boost. And this is actually where I've got a brilliant new resource. It's called the white diet nutrient booster. You can find out the information heading to my website, nourishwithkarina.com forward slash white. And I give you literally hundreds of tips on how to improve your child's white diet. So.

This goes for the lunchbox as well. how you can add things to the, for example, I'll give you an example going from white bread to wholemeal bread or wholemeal bread if you have a jam sandwich and wholemeal bread sprinkling some chia into the jam. So it's just boosting it with nutrients, boosting them. Chia brings amigas, brings fiber, brings calcium, it brings iron. So there's definitely plenty of things we can do to boost the nutrients with their plain, consistent, regular lunchbox. So it doesn't matter.

If it's looking the same almost every day because they've got their safe foods and it's consistent, then we've got a little bit of room to play with slowly nudging them with some little nutrient boosters to stretch them. But at the end of the day, they've still got their basic safe lunchbox to eat, you know, with all the foods that they're familiar with and trust. And then we've got those little add-ons that we're trying to use to stretch them and boost the nutrients. So yeah, don't stress if their lunchbox looks similar each day. Tip number four.

Use healthy fats, protein and fiber to your advantage. And this is a great tip, not only for the school day, but for after school, before school. On my channel seven sunrise segments, I like to talk about this as well, because it's really important to try and help stabilize our children's blood sugar levels. So wherever possible adding healthy fats. So your avocado, your olives, peanut butter, if it's not allowed or otherwise, you know, that's a good snack for afternoon tea.

Why Your Child Needs a Low Pressure Lunchbox(16:01.666)
But protein, you know, again, we've got hummus, we've got the black bean brownie, we've got hummus, we've got eggs, and with fiber, fresh fruit and vegetables, dried fruit, we've got plenty of opportunities to help stabilize our child's blood sugar levels through the addition of protein, fat and fiber, because that really will help to slow down the release of sugar into their bloodstream. Okay. Tip number five, don't aim for perfect. Don't aim for what you see online.

That's not real life. Okay. As I said, if our children are eating the food, that's the most important thing. So start where your child is at, wherever your child is at is perfect. And then you nutrient boost from their little tweaks, little additions. Don't compare to what you're, you you see other friends, kids having, if you've got a three or four year old and they're not at school yet and comparing what their kids eat and their little

bento lunch boxes compared to what your child eats at school. It's hard. can't really see what the other kids are eating at school, but don't judge yourself. Don't bring your child down. Where your child's at is where your child's at and there's always room for improvement. But it's really important that you're not hard on yourself about how your child eats at school. Because if all they eat is

a white sandwich and a banana, then that's it. You know, they may get a bit hungry, but at least they're getting food into their system. And that's the most important thing. Some days will be super bad. Some days will be super rushed. Some weeks may have more lunch orders, but life is busy. And it's really important that you don't feel guilty about it because that's life. know that you're trying to do the best you can. We are all trying to do the best we can within very busy times, financial struggles.

crap in our food that is unprecedented. There's more rubbish in our food than there ever has been before. So, you know, there's a lot that's going on and I think, you know, it's important to try and simplify lunch boxes as much as possible. Do not raise the bar any higher than it needs to be. Keep the bar low. Okay. And don't stress if their lunch box is very simple and very plain, day in, day out. So don't worry about the same lunch box every day and try to be kinder to yourself and not expect lunch boxes to be.

May the Lunchbox Force Be with You (18:14.708)
amazing because they take time, they take years and lunchboxes change over the years. In the early years, my kids' lunchboxes were really, you know, healthy. They had none of these packet foods in them, but now they're wanting more of these packet foods because they're seeing their friends have them. And so that's a natural evolution as they get older, they're introduced to more of these junk foods. So it's just about managing that, navigating that and the goalposts move all the time.

At the end of the day, if we go back to my tip number one, three, two, one, start there. And then, you know, if they are bit older, then they're going to need an extra treat and they'll probably need a bit of extra plant foods and protein. Or if they're younger, then that might be about right for them. But at the end of the day, start with a three, two, one, and then work from there with where your child's at. So as I said, if you just want it all there for you, exactly what you should be doing, exactly what supermarket snacks you should be buying, exactly how to.

set up a lunchbox that A, it doesn't have to be perfect, but B, it suits your child and it's still nutritious, then head to nourishwithkarina.com forward slash planner and it's all there for you. So what do I do now in the lead up to school is I would start thinking about what snacks you may want to bake or try baking, what snacks you want to actually start.

to buy, put in the cupboard ready for school, and perhaps chat to your child about the types of things and foods that they like in their lunchbox because it changes. And you know, all it takes is their friend to have a tuna and avocado sandwich at school. And all of a sudden that's what they want. And it's like, wow, amazing. What a healthy feeling for your child. But these things change and evolve. And sometimes unless we take the time to chat about that, you would never know. So good luck. May the lunchbox force be with you.

Thanks for being here. Please leave me a review. If you've loved this podcast episode, reach out to me on socials, send me an email. Hello at nourishwithkarina.com and I look forward to chatting with you soon. Bye for now.