Daunted by what to pack in your little one’s tiffin ? Here are 5 quick and healthy lunchbox recipes

• 1/2 cup boiled kidney beans (rajma)
• 1/2 cup boiled black-eyed beans (lobia)
• 1/2 cup boiled chickpeas
• 1/2 cup chopped spring onion greens
• 12-15 small cheese cubes
• Salt to taste
• Crushed pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• Juice of 1 lemon

Method:

1. Take the beans and the chickpeas in a large bowl.
2. To this, add the cheese, cut into one cm cubes, and spring onion greens. Mix well.
3. Finally add salt, pepper, and toasted sesame seeds. Toss the ingredients together.
4. Drizzle lemon juice over it and pack in the box.

• 1 cup boiled chickpeas
• 3 - 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup chopped coriander
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tortillas (thin pancakes made from maize flour)
• 100g paneer
• 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp butter
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Method:

1. Add the boiled chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, coriander, lemon juice, and salt to taste in a grinder jar and blitz to a fine paste.
2. Warm up the tortillas on the griddle and put them on a board to assemble.
3. Spread hummus on one tortilla and place paneer slices over it, top with salt and pepper
4. Finally, sprinkle shredded mozzarella and cover it with the second tortilla.
5. Spread a little butter on both sides and cook the sandwiched tortillas over the hot griddle.
6. Take off the flame and cut it into four pieces. Pack in the lunchbox with some homemade ketchup or tomato chutney.

• 1 large bunch of spinach
• 1/2 cup of mixed nuts (cashews/walnuts, pine nuts)
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup grated cheese of your choice
• 2 cups whole wheat pasta
• 1 sliced onion

Method:

1. Boil the pasta as per package instructions, strain, and keep aside. Reserve cup of pasta water. You can cook the pasta overnight, to put the dish together quickly in the morning
2. In a blender, combine spinach, nuts, garlic, 1 tbsp oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blitz to form a puree.
3. In a pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil and add sliced onions, cook till translucent.
4. To this, add the prepared spinach pesto and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the cooked pasta and mix well
5. Add cheese and cook for 1-2 minutes more. The pasta is ready.

• 1 cup semolina (a coarse flour made from high protein durum wheat)
• 2 tbsp grated carrots
• 2 tbsp finely chopped capsicum
• 2 tbsp boiled and smashed corn
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar
• 2 tbsp grated mozzarella
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Water as required
• 1 tbsp oil

1. In a bowl, combine all the vegetables. Then add semolina and mix well.
2. Add the cheese, salt, and pepper, and mix again
3. Slowly add water little by little so that the mixture has a dosa batter-like consistency.
4. Heat the paniyaram/appam pan and put a few drops of oil in each cavity.
5. Drop a tablespoon of batter in each cavity and cook thoroughly from all sides on a low-medium flame. Turn them over and cook for a few minutes more.
6. Pack these in the lunchbox with a hung curd dip seasoned with salt, pepper, and dill leaves.

• 1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• Mango jam as required
• Few cherries for topping
• Few nuts for topping
• 2 tbsp butter

1. Combine the flour, grated coconut, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then add milk to make a pancake batter
2. Heat a griddle and grease it with butter
3. Pour one spoon of batter at three to four places on the griddle and cook on medium flame, on both the sides
4. Arrange the mini pancakes on a skewer with jam spread in between. Top with a cherry and add a few nuts for a complete meal.