Preparing ahead for back-to-school lunchbox snacks

Galway-based chef Lou Robbie shares her snack-making and freezing expertise in her new book ‘Make & Freeze’ to level up your lunchbox game

Working in her kitchen at home in Galway, Lou Robbie is focused on back-to-school food prep, as illustrated in her cookbook.

AFTER the long, lazy, languid holidays, we’re coming close to returning to school day structures, timetables — and the oft-dreaded lunchboxes. The coming weeks are an ideal time to plan and get organised, particularly in the back-to-school snack department.

There are times when it feels as if children are fuelled by snacks. Even if your kids’ school is involved in the hot school meals programme, they will still need to eat at small break, have something to keep them going when they come home from school, and perhaps a grab-and-go bite before sports activities. Caught on the hop, parents can be easily persuaded to part with hard cash for brightly packaged, smartly marketed, ultra-processed foods. This is where Galway-based chef Lou Robbie can help. Published this summer, her book Make & Freeze: The Ultimate Guide to Family-Friendly Meal Prep features many ideas, savoury and sweet, for parents worried about snack time.