Uncle Tobys healthy lunch box ideas challenge!

We like a good competition in our house.
We also like a good challenge.

So when we were contacted by Uncle Tobys to take on Eamon Sullivan in a lunch box challenge - we were sooooo up to the task. Sure....he is athletic, has muscles and is an Australian sprint swimmer and could thrash us in the pool with his cool strokes and powerful kick.

But, when it comes to lunch boxes - C'mon! we had this in the bag {or maybe the box!}.

Here is the how the excitement began, with a massive box that contained...Ta Da!

Hmmm....what to do and where to start.

Liahona of course wanted the hat - anything to do with clothing or fashion - she loves it!

We then started the fun of trying to work out what we would like to put in our lunch box to make them healthy and what Uncle Tobys products we would love to use. We decided to start with Nathan first. He loves food with an Asian flavour so he of course had to have that as a theme with his food.

Nathan with his lunch box idea.

Here is a closer look. We have carrots that he loves to dip in Hommus, sliced apples, a Le-Snak and an Uncle Tobys fruit break (apple and blackcurrant) and our chicken rice paper rolls that he loves. We have fruit, we have vegetables, grains, dairy and protein. Looks pretty healthy to me!

Here are the ingredients we made for our rice paper rolls. Rice paper, rice stick noodles, cucumbers, lettuce, chicken and Vietnamese dipping sauce. Yum!

To start with the rice paper is cheap and easy to get in the Asian food section at your local Woolies. It is gluten free and they start off very firm and a warning *they can break easy*. To soften them we fill a large bowl (or you could use a plate) with warm water and place one sheet of rice paper in at a time and soak for around 30 seconds. Once soft carefully transfer to a board and add ingredients.

You can add a wide variety of fillings such as pork, seafood, chicken, vegetables so that each person can assemble the roll to their own tastes.

The rice stick noodles we soak in boiling water for a short time, drain and then place in a bowl ready to add to the rice paper. We place a small amount of ingredients on the bottom of the soft rice paper and roll up the bottom edge first so that all the ingredients are covered. Then we fold in each side and roll up to serve. A must with these wraps is: Vietnamese Dipping Sauce for spring rolls. Super easy and yum!

Not a very good picture - but you get the idea of what the finished product looks like!

So how are we going so far - I bet Eamon is starting to get worried!

Next was Chelsea who just loves to eat anything and everything and was super thrilled with the challenge.

Chelsea's jam packed lunch box.

With a closer look we have fruit, yoghurt, salad, tuna wraps, grains and a good balanced diet on show. One of Cheslea's favourite lunch box loves is yoghurt. I give her a small container yoghurt and a small container of sultanas to mix in with her yoghurt {which her friends think it totally gross} and a small container of cereal * in this case Uncle Tobys Honey Oat Crisp to add a little crunch to the top of it. She also loves the Fruit Breaks - strawberry smoothie and a Roll Up - to add a little sweetness to her day!

My kids love tortilla wraps. Chelsea loves tuna mixed with mayonnaise spread on the wrap with salad on top. I place a small amount of the top of the tortilla, fold up the bottom and wrap in both the sides.

This can be wrapped up in baking paper, placed in a container, wrapped in glad wrap, put in a brown paper bag or with a napkin. Any way you wrap it the kids will love it!

Liahona is my fussiest eater for lunch box ideas. She likes to have a full lunch box more for trading items at school than for eating herself {which explains the petite little frame she has}. After a few conversations over this situation she came up with this as her lunch box:

A good selection of healthy items. I think Eamon is in serious trouble here!

With a closer look we have fruit, grains, salad and protein. Liahona loves crackers with hommus, chewy museli bars * especially white chocolate chip * and Fruit Fix bars *apple, strawberry and grape*.

For Liahona's tortilla wrap I spread hommus on the wrap, add some sliced ham and top with salad. I fold up the bottom and wrap in both the sides. Easy and delicious!

Now Harmony is so easy for me with lunch box ideas. She eats just about everything and is happy with whatever goes in her lunch box. She loves fruit and vegetables and devours it all at school. Here is her lunch box idea:

Can you see a wrap theme happening here????

Up close we have yummy strawberries, crackers with cheese, Cheerios, an apple, strawberry and grape Fruit Fix, a roll up and a wrap. Pretty awesome lunch box...so much better than a boring sandwich with an apple! For Harmony's wrap I added chicken with salad and some mayonnaise for taste.

Here came the big challenge. Working out a healthy lunch box idea for Matt. He often rushes out the door early before I am even onto the lunch boxes but when he has a later start we try to put something together for him. Often it is left overs from the night before - Yes - we do have leftovers in our house!

So here is the lunch box idea for Matt:

We have been trying to go with a healthier theme lately for Matt's food but he still loves to slip in a few treats!

Up close Matt has a yummy chicken noodle salad with the super delicious dipping sauce to pour over it, carrots with salsa, fruit, Anzac biscuits made with Uncle Tobys oats {which the whole family loves} and a Chewy Forest Fruits museli bar. Full of flavour and health!

Here are all the Uncle Tobys products that we used to make our lunch box ideas.

So what do you think??? Did we really give Eamon a run for his money???

If you want to check out his version of a healthy lunch box see below: