Having a child suffering with coeliacs disease, or following any kind of special diet, can be a real challenge when it comes to sending your child to school. School lunches don't have a great track record when it comes to healthy, dietary alternatives for your kids.
One of our founders, Claire's, daughter used to live off of vegetarian sausages supplied by the school for her lunches. She then had to sit nicely while the other children devoured their chocolate sponge puddings with custard or treacle tart. No mother likes thinking of their child as being left out, and it came to a point when Claire drove ice cream into the school and her own gluten free puddings so her daughter could be involved in the delight of pudding time with the other children.
Now, admittedly this was in the 90's and we'd love to know how things have changed. From what we hear there are still challenges for mums having to ensure their children continue with a healthy and balanced diet at school while avoiding any trigger food.
We've come up with five suggestions of gluten free snacks (plus a sneaky treat!) for you to fill your kids lunch boxes with that will make them the most popular child in the lunch hall.
Coleslaw
Every mum needs to have a go-to simple coleslaw recipe as an easy and healthy snack to go alongside their child's lunch. We love this recipe by My Gluten Free Kitchen.
Gluten Free Sausage Roll
For a melt in the mouth treat that's a lunch box classic we recommend going for the classic Sausage Roll. We have an amazing recipe for Sausage Rolls that we'll be uploading very soon so keep watch for this!
Gluten Free Cheese Straws
These crispy straws of delight are a favourite for adults and kids alike. It's a great filler for a lunch box, and you could even include some hummus in their and you've given your kids a sophisticated option for their lunch box. Check out our cheese straw recipe here.
Gluten Free Mini Quiche
Our team LOVE quiche but I'm pretty sure you know that by now. A mini quiche is the perfect lunch box sized snack, you can stuff it with vegetables too as an easy way to get those greens into their tummies. Buy our gluten free pastry mix and follow the video below for an easy how to.
Gluten Free Scotch Egg
Scotch eggs should be the epitome of a nostalgic food for everyone, and your child shouldn't be left out of this. Fill their lunch boxes but you can also whip these out for family picnics and long walks. Follow this amazing recipe by The Gluten Free Blogger and you can make the most delicious gluten free scotch eggs.
Brownies
The final thing that we always recommend is having something in the freezer that, if you're having a busy week, you can pull out and pop in the lunch box that morning. Our chocolate brownies are gluten and dairy free and delicious straight from the freezer.
We'd love to find out more about what you put in your child's lunch box, tag us on Instagram @oasttohost and feel free to share suggestions!