My Kids Are Sick of Sandwiches… What Now?
For years, sandwiches were the undisputed staple of our whānau lunchboxes. Reliable, convenient, and endlessly customizable, or so I thought. But as time went on, the enthusiasm waned. There are only so many fillings you can rotate before even the most well-constructed sandwich starts to feel repetitive.
In our house, lunch prep used to be a shared responsibility. My husband, our eldest, and I took turns, each of us covering two days of the week, with Friday usually left to my son. It worked well enough, but like many routines, it eventually became more about efficiency than enjoyment.
So when the family approached me earlier this year with a collective sense of being over sandwiches, I decided to take the reins in the kitchen and rethink lunch altogether.
What started as a simple change has turned into something unexpectedly rewarding. Without the confines of bread-based meals, I have found myself rediscovering creativity in the kitchen. Lunches have become less about assembling and more about preparing real meals, just scaled down for lunchboxes.
Some of our new favourites have quickly earned regular status. Chicken pasta salad offers a hearty, make-ahead option that keeps well and satisfies growing appetites. Homemade pizza, whether made fresh or from leftovers, has been a surprisingly practical addition. And then there is the now non-negotiable favourite, Biscoff overnight Weet-Bix, which has become a daily request and a guaranteed win.
An unexpected bonus has been how this shift has influenced my own eating habits. Preparing these meals has encouraged me to be more mindful about healthier options for myself as well. With a focus on balance and variety for the family, I have naturally started making better choices too, rather than defaulting to whatever is quickest.
Beyond variety, the biggest change has been in how my children approach food. My daughters, who have always leaned toward fussiness, are now more willing to try different ingredients and flavours. They are not suddenly adventurous eaters, but even small expansions, like trying a new vegetable or a different style of protein, feel like real progress.
Moving away from sandwiches has not just changed what we eat, it has changed how we think about lunch. It is no longer a rushed, routine task but an opportunity to nourish, experiment, and even enjoy a moment of creativity in the middle of a busy day.
And it turns out, breaking out of a lunchbox rut can be exactly the refresh a family needs.
Chicken taco pizza - makes 1 pizza which serves 2
- 1 thin and crispy pizza base (store bought or homemade)
- 40g pizza sauce
- 60g mozzarella
- 100g chicken
- 35g capsicum
- 25g corn
- 15 sour cream
- 5g sriracha
Bake at 180 until golden brown- 15/20 minutes
Biscoff overnight Weet-Bix
- 2 Weet-Bix
- 100ml milk of choice
- 150g plain yogurt
- 1 scoop or half serve protein powder
- 15g Biscoff
- 1-2 Biscoff biscuits
Crush weetbix and pour over milk. Mix together yogurt and protein powder and add that on top of weetbix and milk. Drizzle over melted biscoff and finish with biscuits
