It's estimated that a whopping 40% of school lunchboxes contain no fruit in them. We know how important it is for children to have fruit and that they can sometimes be a bit fussy so we've created a gallery of fun and different ways to get fruit into their lunchboxes that they'll actually eat...
It's estimated that around 40% of primary school children's lunchboxes do not contain any fruit. We know how important it is for children to have fruit and now the cancer charity, World Cancer Research Fund, is calling for parents to make sure their children's packed lunches contain at least two portions of fruit and vegetables. All kids can be a bit fussy over food so we've created a gallery of fun and different ways to get a variety of fruit into their lunchboxes that they'll actually eat...
Lunchbox fruit: School Bars
As the name suggests, these fruity bars are great for kids to take to school in their lunchboxes. They are made with real fruit (each bar contains more than five times its weight in fruit) and have no added sugar in them. They're also low in fat and count towards your 5-a-day.
Price: £1.49 for 5 bars.
Lunchbox fruit: Innocent Fruit Tubes
We know Innocent do great smoothies but now they've created fruit puree tubes to help give kids their daily amount of fruit. Each tube is made from 100% fruit and is free from additives, artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. They're also squidgy so will easily fit around other items in the lunchbox.
Price: £2.00 for 6 tubes.
Lunchbox fruit: Dole Fruit and jelly pots
Kids love jelly so why not get them to eat more fruit by buying or making your own small pots of fruit and jelly to put in their lunchboxes. We've got some great jelly recipes you can use and you can even choose you child's favourite fruit to include so they enjoy it even more.
Price: £2.19 for a pack of 4 or much less if you make your own.
Lunchbox fruit: Fruit Winders
Kids will love these fruity rolls as they look and taste like sweets but actually contain 70% fruit with natural flavouring.
Price: £1.42 for a pack of 6.
Lunchbox fruit: Sun-Maid Raisins
Packs of raisins are perfect to put in lunchboxes. Raisins are among the most nutritious dried fruits in the world, having antioxidant qualities to maintain healthy bones, teeth and gums. They also high in calories but low in fats making them a great source of energy for kids.
Price: £2.55 for 6 large boxes or 18 smaller ones.
Lunchbox fruit: Mr Men Smoothies
These fun drinks are perfect for lunchboxes. They're healthier than ordinary squash or water and are made from 100% fruit juice giving kids one of their five-a-day in a drink.
Price: £2.49 for 4.
Lunchbox fruit: Eat Natural Bars
These are quite substantial bars to put in your kids' lunchboxes but they contain all natural ingredients including healthy fruits and nutritious nuts and seeds. We think this almond and apricot one is great as it's covered in yummy yogurt the kids will love. They're also made with entirely natural products and contain no artifical flavours, colours or preservatives.
Price: £2.05 for packs of 3.
Lunchbox fruit: Exotic fruit slices
Kids may get bored of eating the same usual fruit such as apples or bananas but putting some exciting exotic fruits in their lunchboxes such as slices of melon, pineapple or mango might make them more likely to eat it. Try giving them quite a large portion of fruit with the skin and any pips removed so they're easy to unwrap and eat.
Price: £2.00 for a whole melon.
Lunchbox fruit: Homemade fruit pots
Fruit pots are a great idea to put in your kids lunchboxes. All you need are some small plastic tubs and a selection of your child's favourite fruits. You can customise each pot to put in exactly what your child likes from grapes and strawberries to blueberries and apple slices.
Price: 50p-75p per pot.
Where to next?
- How to grow your own fruit and veg
- 10 ways to get your kids to eat their greens
- Tempting food for small children