Talking Lunch Boxes with the Lunch Lady
April 12, 2017
We’re excited to have the amazing @hellolunchlady taste testing our Peanut Butter this month! She’s an insanely talented mum who is nuts about real wholesome food. She tells us about the fun she gets up to and the reason her magazine all began….
HOW DID LUNCH LADY START?
Lunch Lady started in August 2013 when my, then 9-year-old was being bullied at school for the lunches I made her. They weren’t anything crazy, just simple homemade lunches. I asked Maya if she’d like me to make her lunches more like the ones the kids ate at school and she was surprised I asked. She thought the kids at school were the ones missing out.
She suggested we teach a class at school to show the kids how to make their own yummy snacks, but the school wasn’t interested. So, instead, we started the Lunch Lady blog to share our story and the food we love making together.
A year or so later, living as a single mum, I was juggling many jobs, the kids and the blog. Late one night, while suffering serious jetlag, I had an epiphany to turn Lunch Lady into a magazine. A week later, Louise Bannister and Lara Burke, of We Print Nice Things, emailed asking if I had thought of turning my blog into a printed version, and here we are today. Issue seven has just gone to print.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU TO INSPIRE PARENTS TO MAKE THEIR KIDS HOMEMADE LUNCHES?
There are a couple of reasons I like to make my kids their school lunches. One, the basic and boring reason, is that I know exactly what my kids are putting into their bodies each day. The other reason is a little more emotional.
When I became a single mum, the girls and I went through quite a bit of trauma together. I really struggled sending them to school each day, as I felt so disconnected to them. I started making them a beautiful lunch each day to keep that connection and to give them a little reminder in the middle of their school day, that I love them.
I understand people are busy, all it takes is a little baked treat or a little handwritten note.
DO YOUR KIDS HAVE ANY LUNCH BOX FAVOURITES THEY REQUEST?
My kids are big dahl and flatbread fans. They were excited to dig out the thermoses over the weekend.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT BEING A MUM?
Wow, that’s a big question. I guess I love the change having kids has brought about in me. They’ve given me a real reality check and made me way more accountable for my actions. I need to be the best person I can possibly be so they have the greatest role model.
I also have grown to like fart jokes a lot and watching stupid youtube videos.
IF YOU COULD ONLY EAT ONE THING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
Chilli. Anything chilli is good. And pizza. Pizza with lots of chilli.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE WAY TO ENJOY MAYVER’S PEANUT BUTTER?
We’ve been pigging out on healthy nuggets with satay sauce quite a bit lately, but I also love it with my chia pudding in the morning, with my chocolate, peanut butter and jam slice, and it pretty much ALWAYS features in balls for the kids’ lunches. If I don’t put it in the balls, my kids will pull me up with “there’s no peanut butter in these, is there mum? IS THERE?!?”
Check out the delicious recipes below from Lunch Lady and shop her magazine for more!
Recipes from the Lunch Lady:
Healthy Turmeric Chicken Nuggets with Satay Sauce
