As a passionate home cook I’m all for the two- in- one dish. Life is full so I’m always looking for ways to save time, money and hassle.

Which means I’m all about making meals that can be cooked up one night for dinner, or prepped on the weekend, then packed for lunch boxes the next day, such as this recipe for Spicy Pork and Vegetable Nasi Goreng.

I love recipes like this which are just as delicious served hot or cold. I would suggest replacing the fried egg with a hard boiled egg for the lunchbox. Or you can leave the egg out entirely and still have a nourishing meal on hand. Oh, and remember to pick out the cashews to ensure it’s nut-free.

For more two-in-one dish inspiration take a look at the recipes in my Easy Wholefood Lunchbox eBook. All the savoury recipes can be made for dinner and doubled up, so for days afterwards you’ll have extra portions handy to throw into lunchboxes like a true lunchbox Ninja 🙂

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Extra virgin olive  oil
Tamari
Dry roasted cashews

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Spicy Pork & Vegetable Nasi Goreng

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 6

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• Extra Virgin olive oil
• 3 Spring onions chopped
• 500 grams pork mince - or you can use chicken or beef mince
• 3 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 tablespoon peeled and grated ginger root
• 1-2 red chillis deseeded and chopped (optional)
• 3 large kale leaves chopped (around 2 cups)
• 1 small zucchini chopped
• 4 large mushrooms chopped (around 1 1/4 cups)
• 3 tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 1/2 cup dry roasted cashews or peanuts - I just pop them raw into a hot oven for 5 minutes or until slightly golden.
• 4 tablespoons coriander leaves chopped
• Lemon or lime wedges for serving
• 2 cups basmati rice cooked as per packet instructions
• Butter or ghee
• 4 eggs

Instructions

• Heat a splash of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and saute spring onion for a few minutes.
• Add pork and break apart with a large spoon. Cook until browned, around 10 minutes.
• Add garlic, ginger and chilli. Saute for a couple of minutes.
• Add kale, zucchini and mushrooms, tamari and mirin and continue to saute for a few more minutes.
• Add cashews and stir to heat through.
• While pork and vegetable mix is cooking, remember to cook the rice.
• Towards the end of cooking pop butter or ghee into medium fry pan and fry the eggs, leaving the yolk runny if possible so it can ooze out all over the pork and rice.
• On a plate or in a bowl serve the rice with pork and vegetable mix with the friedegg on top. Sprinkle with lots of fresh coriander and serve with a lemon or lime wedge.

Notes

The beauty of this dish is that it's very forgiving. You can use pork, chicken or beef mince, or any variety of vegetables you like and might have in the fridge,  like carrot, capsicum, peas, bean sprouts ...

And remember, if you haven’t already, you can grab your copy of Easy Wholefood Luncbboxes here.

Bren x

So in usual Brenda style I set out to make the healthier version while the kids doubted I’d be able to match the tastiness (without all the sugar).

Lo and behold!

The kids went cray cray over my version, popped them in their lunch boxes each day, and have already asked me to make them again, and again …

These bars are so good that I just had to put this recipe into my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes ebook  which is packed with 40 delicious nut-free, sweet and savoury wholefood recipes your kids will love! Grab you copy here.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rapadura or coconut sugar
Spelt flour
Baking powder
Honey or rice malt syrup

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Orange Poppy Seed Bars

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 165 grams butter softened
• 1/2 cup rapadura or coconut sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds soaked in 4 tablespoons orange juice
• ICING
• 150 grams cream cheese
• 1-2 tablespoon honey or rice malt syrup
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 2 teaspoons orange zest

Instructions

• Grease and line a slice pan with baking paper
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees
• Pop butter and sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric mixture until pale and creamy (1-2 minutes)
• Add one egg in at a time, beat well
• Add in the poppy seed/orange mixture and stir
• Add flour and baking powder and fold in
• Pour into the slice pan
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
• Cool in the tin for 10 minutes
• Carefully turn onto a cooling rack
• Ice once completely cool
• ICING - simply pop all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth
• Using a butter knife spread icing onto cooled cake
• Slice into bars
• I stored them in the fridge

If you know someone who could use some lunch box inspo, please share this recipe with them!

And please take photos and send them to me, or if you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek

Remember to check out Easy Wholefood Lunchbox ebook here.

You might also like these Oat Seed and Date Bars or this Muesli Slice. Both also make great lunch box fillers.

Bren x

It explains why some of the more cumbersome foods in their lunch boxes keeps coming back.

So much for teaching them to sit down when they eat and engage in mindful eating!

So I’ve started to focus on filling their lunchbox with bite sized bits and pieces that they can eat with one hand whilst slamming a hand ball with the other : )

These mini-quiches work well and boy do my kids love them! There was a lot of begging for a quiche from other kids too. So they seem to be a popular option for kids.

They are easy to make too, especially if you get your kids involved.

With over 200 lunchboxes to tackle every year per child (!), my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes recipe ebook was  created for the parents dreaming up a constant supply of delicious options  to keep their children happy and satisfied, while ensuring they are receiving vital nutrients as they grow physically, emotionally and intellectually.

The Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes eBook is split into 3 sections

1. My recommended lunch boxes, containers, drink bottles; my easy lunchbox system; and preferred ingredients
2. 20 sweet recipes
3. 20 savoury recipes

Plus a gorgeous photography to accompany each recipe. Check it out here. 

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Milk
Salt and pepper

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Mini Quiche

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 3 sheets butter puff pastry
• 6 eggs
• 180 grams feta cheese
• 100 grams cream cheese
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• Sea salt and pepper
• 300 grams spinach chopped
• 1 big handful mint finely chopped
• Red onion thinly sliced
• Cherry tomato halved

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius
• Grease 2 x 12 hole muffin tins with butter
• Thaw butter puff pastry as per packet directions
• Pop eggs, feta, cream cheese, salt and pepper into a food processor and blend for a few seconds until mixture is smooth (ie feta isn't still in lumps)
• Pour into a measuring cup with a spout and mix through spinach and mint
• Using a glass, cut holes in pastry ( I used a cup with 9cm diameter) and place into muffin holes
• Pour the egg mixture into the pastry
• I alternated the topping with half a cherry tomato and thinly sliced red onion
• Pop into the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until quiches are golden brown
• Leave to cook in trays for 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack

Notes

Delicious hot or cold

If you know someone who could use some lunch box inspo, please share this recipe with them!

And please take photos and send them to me, or if you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek

You might also like these 10 Savoury School Lunch Box Ideas and these 17 Sweet and Easy Lunch Box Recipes.

Bren x

If you’re anything like me you’ll find the slackening off during the break means facing a new term like a deer in headlights when it comes to lunchboxes.

But I’ve gathered my wits and I’ve decided to put a bunch of lunchbox recipes all in one place, to make life easy for everyone! You’ll find savoury options in this post, and sweet lunchbox ideas here. 

My No 1 tip? Make these recipes for dinner, double up and voila, easy-peasy ‘day after’ lunch box additions!

For more lunchbox inspiration check out my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes eBook filled with 40 of my children’s favourite nut-free and refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes. All kid-tested and kid-approved!

Here we go…

Savoury Cheese Muffins by me

Here are three egg, frittata type things to choose from which are great for the lunchbox. Just choose one which will appeal to the kids…

Mini Quiche by me

Savoury Paleo Slice by Naughty Naturopath Mum

Thermomix Zucchini Slice by Natural New Age Mum (gf)

Green Chickpea and Rice Patties by The Root Cause (gf, df)

Spicy Chicken Wings by Brenda Janschek Health & Lifestyle

Baked Fish Fingers by Quirky Cooking

Sweet Potato, Corn and Wild Salmon Fritters by me

Golden Baked Fritters by me

Quick tip: Research shows that kids are more likely to eat their vegetables if paired with a dip. You can find a delicious selection of dips here.

And won’t these Easy Seed Crackers by Natural New Age Mum go well with the dips.

Other posts you might like:

10 Warm and Hot Meals to Pack for School Lunches
17 Sweet and Easy School Lunchbox Recipes
The Best Lunchboxes for Kids (and the whole family)

For more lunchbox inspo, grab my Easy Wholefood Lunchbox recipe eBook with 20 savoury and 20 sweet recipes filled with simple wholesome ingredients to meet your kids nutritional needs and fuel their learning and play, giving them the brainpower and energy they need to get through the day.

Because they are quick, nutritious and delicious, they make a fantastic lunchbox snack. You can always dial up the nutrition factor by utilising the beneficial fats contained in butter, controlled amounts of natural sugar, and the vitamins, minerals in the seeds

These are not like your average crunchy Muesli bar. Rather, they’re a softer, crumblier (but not too crumbly) version and make a great option to keep your kids happy, full and focused at school.

Because most schools have a nut-free policy, I have omitted nuts in favour of seeds for this recipe. Maybe you could add some almonds to a batch for home use!

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration, take a look at my new recipe ebook which is getting rave reviews, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved!

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Oats
Spelt flour
Coconut sugar
Desiccated coconut
Sunflower seeds, pepitas
Chia seeds
Dried apple, Sultanas, Apricot, Cranberries
Cinnamon
Vanilla powder
Raw honey

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Muesli Slice

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cup of organic oats
• ½ cup spelt flour
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• ½ cup dessicated coconut
• ½ cup mixed of sunflower seeds sesame seeds, pepitas (your choice)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/3 cup chopped dried apple or you could use sulphur-free sultanas, sulphur0free dried apricot or sugar free cranberries
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 90 g butter
• 3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

• Grease and a 3cm deep, 16cm x 28cm (base) baking pan
• Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees C
• Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Melt butter, add honey and yoghurt and stir well.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until mixture sticks together.
• Press evenly & firmly into the baking pan.
• Bake for 20-25 mins or until top is golden.
• Cut into squares when hot and allow to cool.
• Once cold remove individual squares from pan and store in air-tight container.

Notes

I like to freeze them and pop a couple into the kids lunchbox each morning.
Once cold remove individual squares from pan and store in air-tight container.

If you make this recipe please do take photos and send them to me.

If you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook. I get a total kick out of seeing you bring my recipes to life. 

And remember, if you haven’t already, grab your copy of Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes here.

Similar recipes you might like are Raspberry Swirl Slice and Apple Crumble Slice.

Bren x