One thing I’ve discovered in my six years of motherhood is that lunch boxes are a thing. I don’t just mean an actual lunch box, like the stainless steel lunch box here, but the food that goes inside a lunch box. As far as I can remember, I’ve always had the fanciest sandwiches at school, and by fancy I mean there was a piece of lettuce on top of my pale rumi cheese. Fast forward to 2018 and I’m a mom who is aggressively attacked by the words ‘lunchbox’, ‘lunch bag’, ‘theme’, and ‘water flask’.
As much as I try to put some work in my kids’ lunch bags, I miserably fail. I watch videos on social media of parents creating gourmet lunches, but I honestly only relate to mommies making fun of this new trend. Yet, along came a Facebook group that made me realize two things; I want to live in Dubai and I want the group’s admin to adopt me.
Dubai Kids Lunch Box Ideas is currently my favorite thing on social media. It’s soothing, calms me down, and makes me feel that we live in a better world; unfortunately, my lunch boxes are still nowhere near perfect. Dubai parents mean business when it comes to lunch boxes. Whether it’s color coordination, national holidays’ themes, or nutritious values, they’ve got it covered.
Germaine Sadek, the Dubai-based group admin, is a mother of two who decided to share her tips and tricks with fellow struggling parents who have no idea what to do every morning. “The lunchbox I recommend is the Bento lunchbox that has removable compartments that are easily cleaned and hygienic. It allows you to add a variety of items. It is also important to have an insulated lunch bag to place the lunchbox in”, Sadek explained in regards to practicality.
In a mission to create the most nutritious meals, the admin likes to put apple or orange organic juice, egg omelet sandwich using any kind of bread, pasta with homemade nuggets, grilled chicken or meatballs, or rice with veggies. Snack is always a fruit; in addition to crackers, raisins or a biscuit.
We asked the lunchbox guru about her favorite meal prepared by fellow members. She believes that it’s the effort mommies put in the preparation that counts and she can’t choose, yet, she believes that her followers loved the Mohamed Salah and Rainbow pasta themed lunchboxes.
“Dubai parents are very dedicated and have a high level of awareness when it comes to their kids’ food. One of the amazing things that makes me love Dubai is the initiatives taken here by the government in almost all fields,” Germaine said. “The Dubai government always promotes and aims to educate parents and children, whether directly or indirectly, in regards to healthy eating. They raise awareness on food safety and healthy eating habits among parents and the children,” the admin added.
Germaine went on to explain, “At my kids’ school for example, since FS1, there has always been a “healthy lunchbox competition” on yearly basis. The diversity here is just beautiful which helps you find a variety of products in order to accommodate the residents and visitors from around the world, which gives you loads of options to make life easier when it comes to feeding your child”.
To create one of those incredibly fun lunchboxes, the mommy says it takes her 30-45 minutes. Her main tip is to be super organized, put all lunchbox items together separately in the kitchen, previous night meal prep is key, and you can always freeze meals and just defrost and heat in the morning.