12 Easy Snack Foods for Fun Lunches

Egg, Spinach and Sausage Muffins

These protein-rich Egg Muffins with Sausage, Spinach and Cheese are great for your - or the kids’ - lunch boxes. They come from the blog Two Peas and Their Pod and are just like making frittatas but in a muffin tray. Make up a batch and store in the fridge, grabbing one as you need it throughout the week.

Mini Salad in a Jam Jar

Celery sticks just not cutting it? For a fresh and healthy snack, pack a mini salad in a washed, empty jam jar. Layer the dressing and main ingredient (we’ve used tuna, but try leftover roasted chicken, feta cheese or cooked prawns) at the bottom and then pile tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce leaves on top. It’ll keep fresh, sealed, for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Hot Dog and Mustard Sausage Rolls

An indulgent snack that’s easy to make - just make up a batch of sausage rolls and use good quality hot dog sausages instead of pork sausages. Spread over a generous spoonful of mustard as you roll them up in the pastry (we’ve used shortcrust), cut them into bite-sized chunks and bake until cooked through and golden. Once cool, keep them in the fridge.

Avocado Toasts

Avocado is rich in natural fats and vitamin E, and it’s very versatile - great for quick snacks. Gaby, from the blog What’s Gaby Cooking has come up with 5 ways to eat avocado toast, including smoked salmon, bacon and eggs and also with a pico de gallo dressing.

Date, Chocolate and Coconut Bars

These little bars satisfy a sweet craving and they’re also good for you - just blitz 100g desiccated coconut, 1 tbsp coconut oil and 250g pitted dates with 1 tbsp cocoa powder and 1 tsp vanilla. Press the mixture into a small tray about 15cm x 17cm and refrigerate. When set, cut into squares and they’re ready to eat.

Fried Rice and Chicken Patties

These tasty Chicken Patties from the blog Planning With Kids make an ideal snack food, as they’re great eaten hot or cold. You just mix up ingredients including egg, cheese, chicken and rice and bake in muffin trays - they only take 15 minutes to cook.

Kale Chips

Kale chips are an easy way to get some veggies into your lunch and are rich in calcium, folate and iron. Just wash and dry a handful of kale leaves, chop off any tough stalks and lay them on a tray lined with greaseproof paper or foil. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil and bake them in a 200ºC/gas mark 6 oven for 8-10 minutes until crisp. Eat them hot, straight from the oven, or cool and pack them in your lunchbox.

Popcorn Bars

Sometimes you need a sweet, crunchy snack and what better than these Homemade Popcorn Bars from the blog Picklebums - blogger Kate combines oats, popcorn and other ingredients like jam, honey and dried strawberries. There’s no baking required - and they take just 5 minutes to prepare, before you leave them to set.

Pizza Rolls

Buy a pack of ready-to-roll pizza dough and roll it into a rectangle. Spread some pesto or pasta sauce over the top and scatter over mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices. Roll it up, along the longest side to form a long sausage-shape. Cut into rounds and bake on a lined baking sheet for 15 minutes or until risen and cooked through. Cool and store in the fridge.

Quesadillas

If you have access to a stove at lunchtime you can make these as you need them, otherwise they’ll work as a cold snack on the go, too. Just lay out a tortilla wrap and fill it with your favourite fillings - guacamole, cooked chicken, onion, grated cheese - and lay another wrap on top. Heat in a large, dry pan for a few minutes on each side until golden, crisp and heated through, before cutting into wedges. If not eating straight away cool and store in the fridge.

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

Asparagus is in season now, and it’d be a shame to ignore it. And while you can eat the tender spears steamed, they’re also brilliant with salty, smoked bacon. Just wrap a rasher of streaky bacon around each asparagus spear and griddle until crisp and cooked through. Cool, and pop in your lunchbox for a handy snack. Also great for picnics.

Mini Meatloaves

Aw, these are cute, aren’t they? Mini Italian Meatloaves baked in a muffin tray. They were created by Christy Denney of the blog The Girl Who Ate Everything. They’d be perfect for kids’ lunch boxes as well as for grown ups. And If you don’t want the tomato sauce and cheese over the top, just make them plain.