Nutritional Snack Ideas for your Child

preschool singapore expert

Running out of ideas what to prepare for your child's snack breaks or recess in school? Here's a list of simple bento ideas that is not only nutritional but also interesting for your child!

Simple Bento Ideas for your Child

Are you cracking your head everyday planning your child's breakfast, snack or recess bento menu? We have compiled 20 easy but nutritional snack ideas in our video and article below for you so that you can now be your child's bento hero too!


Watch our Video for 20 Easy and Nutritional Snack Bento Ideas for your Child!

1. Easy bear bento lunch box
Ingredients:

  • 2 Slices of wholemeal bread
  • Peanut butter to hold the teddy bear together
  • Chocolate chip for the decoration and teddy bear’s eyes
  • Fill the sides  with snacks like yogurt, pretzels, cheese cubes and fresh fruits

 
2. Snowman Bento Box
Ingredients:

  • 2 slices of Wholemeal bread (you can use a bowl to cut it into a circle)
  • Ham
  • Carrots
  • Blueberries
  • Pretzel sticks
  • Carrot sticks
  • Cucumber slices
  • Raspberries


3. Rainbow Bento Lunch for Kids
Ingredients:

  • Wrap ham around mozzarella string cheese
  • Greek yogurt
  • Blueberry jam
  • Add fruits like raspberries, sliced strawberries, blueberries, carrot
 

4. Chicken wrap 
Ingredients:

  • Chicken breast
  • Wraps
  • Diced cucumber or other preferred greens
  • Ranch or other salad dressing for the wrap
  • Add extra snacks like grapes, and sweet potato crackers to pair


5. Cheesy chicken pasta
Ingredients:

  • Cooked pasta, coat it with olive oil
  • Chicken breast
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Prep a huge pot of it, and save it in the fridge to easily prep lunches for your kids the night before.
  • Add in some snap pea crisps, cherry tomatoes, and apple slices for the rest of the meal.

 
6.  Mac & cheese
Ingredients:

  • Mac and Cheese (you can either buy it in the stores or make it from scratch at home)
  • Hotdog or protein of your kid’s choice
  • Sides: Celery sticks, grapes, snap pea crisps


7. Sandwich Bento
Ingredients:
For the sandwiches:

  • 1–2 whole meal bread slices, cut into 1-inch squares
  • 1 slice Cheddar cheese, cut into squares
  • 2–3 slices deli turkey/ham
  • lettuce leaves
  • 2 bamboo or plastic skewers to hold the sandwich together

The rest of ingredients:

  • ¼ cup low fat Ranch Dressing or Greek yoghurt
  • cucumber or other vegetables(celery, carrots, bell peppers), cut into sticks
  • fresh berries or other fruit


8. Rice bento with hard-boiled eggs
Ingredients:

  • Hard-boiled egg
  • Overnight rice
  • sweet peas
  • sweet corn
  • chicken nuggets


9. Rice ball bento box
Ingredients:

  • For the rice ball: Sushi rice, season with mirin and sesame oil, topped with sesame seed
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, halved
  • Sides: Strawberries, long bean, or any fruits/veggies of your kid’s choice


10. Vegetable Tortilla Roll Ups
Ingredients: 

  • Wraps
  • For the wrap filling: Cream cheese mixed with chopped broccoli and carrots
  • Sides: Watermelon, Strawberries, Sliced Mandarin Orange


11. Cute Octopus Sausage Bento
Ingredients:

  • Onigiri rice ball (shape leftover rice into a ball and top it with sesame seeds or seaweed)
  • Sausages cut into octopus shape
  • Cherry tomatoes, grapes, broccoli (blanched)


12. Egg Salad Sandwich
Ingredients:

  • 2 slices wholemeal bread
  • 1 soft/hard-boiled egg
  • 1 Tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
  • Pinch of Salt, black pepper and sugar for taste
  • Sides: grapes, tomatoes, oranges


13. Bagel Sandwich
Ingredients:

  • Whole grain bagel
  • Spread cream cheese and jam onto the bagel
  • Sides: cucumbers, strawberries, honeydew


14. Peanut butter and Jelly Sandwich
Ingredients:

  • 2 slices whole grain bread (You can use a bowl to cut them into circles)
  • Bread filling: Peanut butter and jam
  • Sides: Fish biscuits, kiwi, mango


15. Pancake lunch box
 Ingredients:

  • 1 - 2 pancakes cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 tbsp of maple syrup
  • Sides: Carrots, edamame
  • Drink: Ribena/Milo or your kid’s favourite drink


16. Yogurt and Granola lunch box
Ingredients:

  • Granola
  • Yogurt
  • Sides: Kiwi, strawberries, tomatoes


17. Ghost - shaped sandwich
Ingredients:

  • 2 slices wholemeal Bread
  • Fill it with your kids favourite sandwich fillings
  • Use olives, cherry tomatoes or berries for the eyes.
  • Sides: popcorn, strawberries, blueberries, mandarin, cucumber


18. Sesame Noodles
Ingredients:

  • 1 pound fettucini (or linguine or spaghetti)
  • 4 cups chopped green beans
  • 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey for kids over 1)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger (optional; grate on a microplate)
  • Sides: mango pudding and snack of your choice


19. Chicken Salad Picnic Bento
Ingredients:

  • For the salad: Chicken breast mixed with Greek yogurt
  • Sides: Grapes,strawberries, Celery


20. Vegetable Rice Bento
Ingredients:

  • Leftover rice
  • Stir fry with cabbage, carrots, celery sticks, spring onions, cauliflower and red capsicum
  • Sides: Sliced mandarin oranges, strawberries


All the sides are customisable, you can change it to your child’s favourite fruit, vegetable or snack to accommodate their taste buds. Apart from nutrition, physical exercise is equally as important as well. It is crucial for parents to strike a balance between the two in order for your little ones to grow up strong and healthy.

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