Michelle Darmody: Lunch fillers for kids and adults too 

The fruit and seed-packed muffins work as a nutritious treat

It is that time again when the lunch box dash begins. It is difficult to come up with lunch box fillers every day. 

Sometimes baking a batch of something early in the week can help, so too can making something that can go in the freezer and taken out early in the morning. 

I still remember the excitement of finding a slice of my Mum’s banana bread tucked in with my sandwiches.

The fruit and seed-packed muffins work as a nutritious treat, so too does the savoury option which is packed with vegetables. Both can be made in batches and frozen until needed. If you are making the fruit and seed muffins at home, you can add nuts or substitute some of the seeds. I particularly like a combination of pecan and hazelnut.  However, almost all schools have a no-nut policy, so it is advisable to stick to seeds if they are being brought to school.

Quesadillas are a handy alternative to a sandwich and can be filled with an equally vibrant
array of combinations. 

I generally use corn tortillas to make a quesadilla as the taste reminds me of Mexico, but flour tortillas will do just as well and are in fact easier to access. 

The recipe is for one quesadilla which I usually cut into eight wedges. It makes it an accessible size for small hands. You can of course scale the recipe up as many times as you wish.

Fruit and seed muffins

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Healthy and filling, these fruit and seed muffins are the perfect lunchbox addition

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 75g of melted butter

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 125mls buttermilk

• 1 large ripe banana, mashed

• 120g stewed apple

• 250g self-raising flour

• ½ tsp bread soda, sieved

• 70g golden caster sugar

• 25g pumpkin seeds

• 25g sesame seeds

• 25g sunflower seeds

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C. Place 12 paper cases in a 12-hole bun tin.

2. Beat the butter, eggs, buttermilk, banana and apple together in a bowl.

3. Mix the flour, bread soda and caster sugar together and make a well in the centre. Beat in the wet mixture with a wooden spoon until combined.

4. Stir in the seeds.

5. Scoop the mixture between the prepared bun cases. Bake for 25 minutes until risen and golden.

Lunch box quesadillas

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Forget the sandwiches, and pack some tasty quesadillas

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 8 mins

Cooking Time

 4 mins

Total Time

 12 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Mexican

Ingredients

• 2 corn or flour tortillas

• 100g Cheddar cheese, grated

• 1 half of a roasted red pepper, finely chopped – I used jarred Spanish peppers

• 20g sweetcorn kernels

• a small handful parsley, finely chopped – optional

Method

1. Heat a pan dry without any oil.

2. Place one of your tortillas onto your work surface and sprinkle it with half of the cheese. Place the other ingredients on top and then add the rest of the cheese. Top this with the remaining tortilla and press down lightly.

3. Gently slide the tortilla sandwich onto your hot pan. I use a wide fish slice to do this. Allow it to cook in the dry pan for about two minutes on each side or until the cheese has melted. You can press it down slightly with the fish slice as it is cooking to make it more compact.

4. Remove from the pan and once cool cut into eight wedges, then pop into a lunch box.