For the past week, I have been preparing lunchboxes for my husband and kids. My husband usually bought his lunch at a shopping area near his office, and the kids had their lunch provided by the school canteen with a monthly fee. Things were okay-ish (or so I thought) until several weeks ago, the youngest came home and remarked how hungry she is.
“Didn’t you get your lunch?” I asked, as she opened the fridge for the dozen times. “I did,” she eyed some sliced bread but shook her head, “I had the chocolate sandwich you brought me this morning for lunch.”
“Wait. What? That’s not for lunch, that’s for breakfast!”
I usually pack them “lunchboxes”, or specifically, “breakfastboxes”, since they have to go to school quite early in the morning. It is usually filled with a chocolate sandwich (toast with chocolate sprinkles/hagelslag — fun fact, in Indonesia, hagelslag is called muisjes, and yes, I’m aware that such a dish might be strange for a lot of folks, but it’s really common among Indonesians and the Dutch), some fruits, and some sweets/snacks. Then, this 8-year old looked at me and said that she ate them for lunch.
“No wonder you got so hungry! Those are for breakfast, and not as fulfilling as lunch meals!” I told her she could go to the nearby convenience store to get herself some sausage bun and milk.
Since then, I got curious. I asked both my kids on what they think of the school canteen’s food. My son commented that while the food is generally okay-ish, it didn’t suit his tastebuds much. His words: “It was not as spicy as I would like.” Mind you, this is a teenager who inhaled Buldak sauce and sambal terasi.
“… … … Of course it’s not spicy. The canteen must cater the food for all children of all ages and nationalities and cultures!”
My husband and I suggested that he bring a pack of sambal to school, even a whole bottle of it, so he could reclaim the title Sambal Boi, but he quickly dismissed it.
My daughter, while she enjoyed the canteen’s meal quite much (her preferences on spicy level are not as high as her brother’s), admitted that the meals can be quite… Normal.
That’s when I decided to prepare them breakfastboxes and lunchboxes. I also hoped that by preparing their lunchboxes, I could increase the veggie portions in my son’s daily meals.
Some days, I even made different menus for my kids and my husband. My husband decided to join in, and commented, “I like bringing lunchbox, because I don’t have to think what to eat for lunch and I don’t have to queue, hahah.”
Below is my magnum opus. The kids wanted to have (instant! Gasp! the horror!) mac n’ cheese, so I cooked an entirely different meal, Indonesian-style, for my husband. “Cooked” miiiiight be an exaggeration because the side dishes were pre-made, hahah. The only “cooking” I did was the rice, and it was using a rice cooker, and the chicken nuggest for the kids using the air fryer. For the breakfastbox, I packed them mini pancakes and sliced fruits along with chocolate sauce.
Preparing breakfast/lunchboxes can be tiring. I wake up at 5 AM to prepare everything and finish it by 6 AM. That said, I found joy in preparing it thanks to the cute accessories, hahah. I got myself a set of plant-designed pick and another one with animal paws design. I also got myself an onigiri mold (triangle-shaped rice) so I could put some varieties on the menu.
Some tips, in case you want to prepare your lunchboxes:
- I highly recommend that you check Just One Cookbook website. They have a great guide on how to pack a bento for beginners. I particularly loved this section where they break down the types of food you can put in your lunchbox, as it gives variety and ensures you have a balanced meal in your lunchbox.
- Frozen food is your friend. It’s quick, time-saving, and mess-free. I always have chicken nuggets, cheesy chicken popcorns, and even frozen gyoza on my freezer so I can use them as a side dish.
- Stock up on sauces and marinade spices. I usually get a pack of chicken fillets and marinate them with teriyaki sauce, or some marinade mixture (honey soy, lemon and garlic, etc.) You can even create your own marinade sauces using light soy sauce, oyster sauce, crushed garlic, and sesame oil in 1:1:1:1 portion.
- Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber are your friends. This is a really quick and easy salad. Lettuce gives the feeling of “full” and color inside the lunchbox, and tomatoes and cucumber combo is a perfect salad for anytime of the day. Broccoli is a good option, too, but I know not everyone enjoyed it.
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