How mum-of-five creates tasty, cheap lunchboxes for her kids

2023-03-17

Mum-of-five details how she gets around the cost of living crisis to create tasty, cheap lunchboxes for her kids

An Aussie mum shared how she’s getting round the cost of living crisis
Said she buys things in bulk and divides them into small lunchbox containers

A mum who was struggling to afford delicious but budget-friendly lunchbox foods for her five children has shared the tips she has come up with to make her money stretch further amidst the cost of living crisis.

The Australian woman posted on Facebook, where she said she’s been finding it hard lately as ‘times are tough’ – but has a few tried-and-tested tricks.

‘We have five children and lunches are so extremely expensive,’ she wrote.

‘Our kids are hollow pits and take heaps of food every day to school.’

The mum added: ‘Lately, I have been trying to find easier, healthier alternatives for the kids, and this is what I have come up with’.

She said she splits a large pot of yoghurt into smaller containers – which gets her 10 small tubs and is much cheaper than buying the small tubs separately.

Similarly, she buys one giant packet of microwave popcorn, and then divides it into 10 small zip-lock bags to make it go further.

‘Freezing sandwiches in advance is helpful from a time perspective and money, as so many sandwich fillings are safe to freeze and de-frost to make a fresh sandwich,’ the mum said.

‘I also make homemade jelly and fruit cups for dessert – all you need is one box of jelly and a tin of fruit salad.’

She sometimes sends the kids to school with jelly too, which she puts into small containers.

The Aussie woman said one of the quickest and easiest ways to save money is to buy big containers of things like popcorn and yoghurts and then divide them into smaller packets at home yourself; shop in bulk (pictured)

Finally, she said she puts pre-cut veggies into small containers for snack time.

She also makes ‘cupcakes from the 90c cake mixes, before adding either choc chips, fruit from a tin or sprinkles’.

‘The kids love it!’ she added.

One of the woman’s top tips is to get your kids involved with making their lunch as this means it’s more likely to come back having been eaten:

‘The kids come home each day, unpack their lunchboxes, pack their lunch for the next day with added fruit and their lunchboxes go into the fridge ready for the next day,’ she said.

She makes jelly quickly and easily with tinned fruit and said you shouldn’t look past the tinned foods aisle as there are plenty of bargains to be found (pictured)

More than 2,000 people who saw the mum’s post were impressed with her clever budgeting.

‘So many dishes. Well done and thanks for the ideas,’ one commenter posted.

‘This is so smart! Stealing these ideas,’ another added.

A third wrote: ‘Love this! I have five school/daycare-aged kids too so this is really helpful for me to cut costs and prep more efficiently’.

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