Thrifty mum-of-five shares how she preps lunch boxes on a budget

"Times are tough and my kids are bottomless pits. Lately, I have been trying to find easier, healthier and cheaper alternatives." 

It seems like the cost of living crisis isn't going anywhere soon. And while it's tough for most of us, it's especially hard for parents of multiple kids. 

That's why when a thrifty mum-of-five (two ten-year-olds, two eight-year-olds and a six-year-old) shared her tips for preparing lunchboxes on the cheap, fellow parents took note. 

She showed how she made her weekly grocery shop go further while still providing healthy and satisfying meals that her kids love.

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So many tips! Image: Lunchbox Ideas Australia

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Easier, healthier and cheaper lunches

Posting to the Lunchbox Ideas Australia Facebook page, the mum wrote: "Our kids are hollow pits and take HEAPS of food every day to school! Lately, I have been trying to find easier, healthier and cheaper alternatives for the kids and this is what I have come up with."

She then shared photos of her kids' lunches, which include sandwiches, popcorn, yoghurt, cupcakes, fruit jelly and veggie sticks.

It now has over 1.8k likes and 278 comments. 

Kidspot spoke to the mum to find out more about her lunch prep process and planning - PLUS we picked her brain for even more frugal tips than those on the original post... because we can't get enough.

The Aussie mum told us that she had recently made the decision to make more food at home because "it's so expensive when you are buying single serves to feed five children every day of the week."

The recent price hikes don't help either, making pre-packaged, grab-and-go snacks even more unaffordable. 

In addition to this, she also wanted to give her kids more nutrient-dense snacks as opposed to the often sugar-laden ones from the supermarket. 

Here are her go-to tips:

• I have been making jelly and fruit cups in reusable containers.
• We've also been popping our own popcorn in the microwave which gives us 10x small bags for 95c instead of 10 bags for $3
• The kids and I have been making their sandwiches in bulk and freezing them. There are so many sandwich fillings that are safe to freeze and defrost for a fresh sandwich!
• We make cupcakes from 90c cake mixes (Woolies vanilla or butter cake mixes) and add either sprinkles, canned fruit or choc chips to change them up. They get frozen next to the sandwiches.
• We also cut up bulk capsicum, carrot and cucumber into containers for snack break at school.
• I make homemade jelly and fruit cups for dessert - all that's needed is one box of jelly and a tin of fruit salad.
• I buy a large tub of yoghurt and decant it into 10x smaller containers, it's so much cheaper.
• Homemade pizzas with wraps as a base are also great or homemade pizza scrolls with BBQ sauce, cheese, ham and store-bought puff pastry.
• We have also made creamed rice in the Thermomix and the kids have taken this as a snack too.

Decanting yoghurt and jelly is so much cheaper. Image: Lunchbox Ideas Australia

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"My son's lunchbox was chosen as a healthy example at school"

The woman also gets her kids to help out with preparing their own lunches, something they really enjoy.

"The kids bring their lunchboxes home each afternoon, put their used containers in the sink, grab all their pre-made food for the next day and pack their lunch and it goes into the fridge ready for the next day," she explained.

"The kids love the food in their lunchbox and today my son actually came home and was so excited that he had his lunchbox chosen to show the preps at his school what a healthy lunchbox looks like."

The mum also said that they rarely come home with food left in their lunchboxes anymore and if they do, it's usually something like a muesli bar or prepackaged item that she occasionally buys as a backup.

Not only are the lunches budget-friendly, healthy and delicious - they also require minimal prep as well. Wins all around!

"All up each week the prep takes me about 20 minutes to do and it’s all ready for at least 3-4 days and then we do some more prep as needed."

Fellow Facebook group members praised the mum for her great hacks. "This is amazing! Well done," someone wrote. Another added: "Thanks so much, I'll definitely be stealing some of these ideas."

"You're doing a great job mama, hope you know that!" another woman encouraged.

And this mum commented: "Love this! I have five school/daycare-aged kids too so this is really helpful for me to cut costs and prep more efficiently."

Originally published as Thrifty mum-of-five shares how she preps lunch boxes on a budget