How to Turn 3 Simple Items Into A Week of Healthy Lunchboxes

Healthy lunchboxes. Can you feel your heartbeat rising as you contemplate those words?

Packing a healthy lunchbox can feel like a stressful task, but the truth is, once you’ve got the basics covered and have taken a few mins to plan ahead, it can be very simple.

To show you just how simple, I wanted to show you how I make varied, balanced, healthy lunchboxes for a week from 3 cooked items (and a handful of pre-prepped or simple prepped ones). This is the formula I use almost every week!

Let’s start with the 3 basic recipes:

Simple roast chicken (or simple cooked dried beans for a veggie version)

I personally love cooking a whole free-range chicken in my InstantPot in just 45 mins. It still amazes me I can do that! This is the recipe I use.

Not got an InstantPot? The next easiest way is to stick a whole chicken (or 2 if your crock pot is big enough) into a slow cooker and leave it to cook on Low for 6-8 hours like this recipe.

Or stick with tradition and pop a whole chicken in your oven at 200C/400F/gas 6 for 1.5-2 hours (depending on the size of the chicken) like this recipe.

Once you have your roasted chicken, remove the meat from the carcass and slice thinly or shred. Keep in the fridge for a few days or freeze in portions for up to 3 months. (PS: Don’t throw out the carcass – stick it in a large stockpot or saucepan and cover with water, chuck in some veg scraps like carrot ends, onion bits and celery hearts and add a little salt, pepper and a splash of cider vinegar, then cover with water and simmer for 4-6+ hours to make your own chicken stock for the soup!)

For a veggie alternative, soak some dried beans of your choice overnight in water with a splash of cider vinegar, then drain and rinse and cook in an InstantPot following instructions for soaked beans, in a slow cooker on High for 2-4 hours (they should be cooked but not soft enough to squash), or in a large pan of water simmered for 30 mins-1.5 hours (check packaging to be sure for the different kinds of beans).

Veggie Soup

You can, of course, use whatever soup recipes you love (I make soup ALL THE TIME as it’s so easy, a crowd-pleaser, dirt cheap, and simple to eat out of the house). I have a whole Pinterest board just for soups here.

For a basic, adaptable soup recipe (that serves about 8) however, you will usually have about 2kg (4ish lbs) of a mix of veg and potatoes (I sometimes use sweet potatoes instead of white ones here to give it starchiness but also more serves of veg) and about 2l-4l (8-16 cups) of liquid like stock (I almost always use homemade – see above) as in this recipe. You can definitely make it without potatoes, and can vary the amounts easily. I find it always best to start with less stock/water/coconut milk and add more at the end to thin, as it’s much easier to thin it out at the end than try to thicken it back up (plus, my family loves a soup thick enough to spread on toast!).

Savoury Muffins

Muffins are almost always a winner with kids, and are infinitely adaptable (not to mention portable!). Yes, you could make or buy cooked grains or wholegrain/sourdough bread here easily, and feel free to sub. But I know what a popular food muffins are for kids, and they are super easy to make!

Make up a batch of 12 muffins (or double-batch and freeze them for later weeks) and add in plenty of grated, cooked and chopped veggies, fresh or dried herbs, and some meat/cheese if you like. I love using this recipe as a base and playing with our favourite add ins.

Now it’s time to pack the healthy lunchboxes for the week! I like to use my visual guides and basic formulas from 6 Foolproof Steps to a Healthy Lunchbox in Minutes to help me get it right.

Here’s the plan:

Day 1: Savoury muffin(s) + fresh fruit + raw veg on the side (optional extra: plain yogurt with cinnamon, some cheese or some cooked meat/beans for protein)

Day 2: Soup in a Thermos + a savoury muffin (or slice of wholegrain bread) + fresh fruit and/or veg on the side (optional extra: add some cheese with the bread)

Day 3: Cooked chicken (or beans) in a wholegrain wrap with shredded lettuce or mixed salad leaves, sliced avocado, a little mayo or mustard and some halved cherry tomatoes + fresh fruit on the side (I used plain Greek yogurt and unsweetened applesauce I had frozen in portions)

Day 4: Soup in a Thermos + a handful of tortilla crisps (chips) that are good quality/minimal ingredient + whole fruit and/or veg on the side

Day 5: Cooked chicken (or beans) stirred into pre-cooked grains (shop-bought or home-cooked) with fresh veggies and a simple dressing made from mustard, vinegar and extra virgin olive oil + fresh fruit and/or veg on the side

This is just one option – you can reimagine these simple items in many different ways with different dips, dressings, grains, and combinations. You can use pre-chopped and prepped fruit & veg or take a few mins to do your own chopping on Sunday for the week ahead while the chicken and muffins are baking and the soup’s bubbling on the stove.

Play around with the different ingredients by swapping out chicken for cooked free-range sausages, tinned fish, cooked tempeh, or your favourite protein. Swap the muffins for a loaf of homemade or good-quality wholegrain bread or some cooked grains.

The possibilities are endless. Make sure you share with us some of your own favourite ways to re-think this basic formula over on Instagram and tag @addsomeveg .

Just starting out with healthier lunchboxes and need some quick tips to really nail it? Try 6 Foolproof Steps to a Healthy Lunchbox in Minutes!