These choc ‘fluffins’ with sneaky veg are so delicious they won’t come home from school

When it comes to parenting tasks, few are as relentless as packing the daily lunchbox. Not only does it clash with the inevitable morning chaos, keeping food healthy, safe and appealing can feel overwhelming, especially for years on end.

That’s where the concept of lunchbox building blocks come in, say cookbook authors and nutrition experts Julia Tellidis and Lauren Skora. The duo, who authored Baby Food Bible, have now released a new collection called Lunchbox Bible. The cookbook is a guide to making balanced school snacks that tick all the requirements around nutrition and food safety, while also being delicious and satisfying.

“If you have a few simple, practical tools on hand, you’ll be able to leave the house feeling organised and confident that your child is set for the day,” Tellidis and Skora write in the book.

Their lunchbox checklist includes five basic items, starting with a “lunchbox hero” packed with protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats. Also on the list are a protein-rich snack, vegies and fruit, and a small bite, plus a water bottle.

“Snacks can contribute up to half of the food your child consumes in a day, providing a great opportunity to pack in the nutrients,” they write.

Here, they share two freezer-friendly muffin recipes packed with nutrients, fibre and flavour.

Choc fluffins

We wanted to create a muffin that was absolutely packed with nutrition, flavour and all the good stuff! The kind of snack that doesn’t come home because it’s been completely devoured. With the help of cannellini beans, zucchini, spinach and tahini, these muffins tick all the boxes. They are incredibly satisfying, highly nutritious and so chocolatey, making them the ideal snack for lunchboxes. They’re also super fluffy and freeze beautifully, so you can always have some on hand when you need them. We make these weekly because they’re an easy way to increase our kids’ vegie intake!

INGREDIENTS

• 425g canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 large overripe banana
• 1 cup grated zucchini, squeezed (approx. 1 medium)
• ½ cup packed frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed) or 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup tahini
• ⅓ cup raw cacao powder
• ¾ cup spelt flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• ¼ cup chocolate chips (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Grease a 24-hole mini muffin tin or a 12-hole standard muffin tin.
2. Put all the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) into a blender or food processor and blitz until well combined. If you’re including chocolate chips, stir them through now (or, you can sprinkle over each muffin before baking instead). Spoon the batter into the muffin holes.
3. Bake for approximately 14 minutes for mini or 16 minutes for standard, or until a skewer inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 24 mini or 12 standard

Age 18 months +

Contains egg, sesame, wheat

TOP TIPS

We grate the zucchini before adding it to the blender or food processor so we can squeeze out the extra liquid.

Swapsies

• eggs > flax eggs; bake for an extra 5 minutes at 170C
• tahini > seed butter or nut butter (if allowed)
• spelt flour > buckwheat flour

Lunchbox tips

Include an ice brick to keep the fluffins fresh until lunchtime, or simply place a frozen fluffin in the lunchbox in the morning (it will defrost in time for morning tea).

Storage

Fridge: Up to 3 days

Freezer: Up to 2 months

The cafe muffin

A savoury muffin that looks and tastes like it came straight from the cafe? Yes, please! These protein-rich treats are jam-packed with veg, so even if the kids ignore everything else in the lunchbox, you can breathe easy because they’ve got all the good stuff: cheese, seeds and a vegetable rainbow all combined in a golden, fluffy muffin. Great as a main or a hearty snack, this is the kind of thing that makes you feel smug while packing lunchboxes (and even more smug when it’s eaten).

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup finely grated cauliflower
• 1 cup finely grated and squeezed pumpkin
• ½ cup finely grated broccoli
• ¼ onion, finely grated
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds, chopped
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup milk of choice
• ½ tsp apple-cider vinegar
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup crumbled feta
• 2 cups spelt flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• salt and pepper, to season
• ⅓ cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Grease or line a 12-hole standard muffin tin.
2. Put all the ingredients except the grated cheese in a large bowl and combine well, then spoon the mixture into the muffin holes. Top with some grated cheese (if using) and bake for 16 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the tops are golden.
3. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding to lunchboxes. Serve at room temperature and add butter if desired.

Makes 12

Age 12 months +

Contains egg, dairy, wheat

TIPS

For little ones under four, blitz sunflower seeds. For a shortcut, put the roughly chopped cauliflower, pumpkin, broccoli, onion, parsley and sunflower seeds in a food processor and blitz for about 5 seconds until broken down but not pureed, then stir through the remaining ingredients.

Swapsies

• eggs > flax eggs; note that flax-egg muffins may need to be baked for an extra 2-3 minutes
• feta > goat’s cheese, cheddar cheese or omit cheese completely
• spelt flour > wholemeal flour or other flour of choice

Lunchbox tips

Pack cold with an ice brick or warm in an insulated container.

Serve as is or with a side of tzatziki, hummus or a little butter.

Storage

Fridge: Up to 3 days

Freezer: Up to 2 months

This is an edited extract from Lunchbox Bible by Julia Tellidis and Lauren Skora, published by Hardie Grant. Photography by Rob Palmer and Ruby Holland. RRP $50.