My daughter is a slow eater and easily distracted at school, so having 20 minutes to eat her lunch often meant her coming home with a full lunch box - and an empty stomach.

My solution was to experiment with themed lunch boxes and it's helped tremendously! She focuses on her lunch and is excited to eat it, which is what is most important to me. Eventually, she'll be making her own lunches but for now, I'm enjoying the challenge of making fun, healthy lunches and sharing the ideas here for other parents who may be facing similar challenges.

We've engaged in a debate about our cute lunch box ideas before and I remain wholly convinced of their ability to make the school day a bit more fun and encourage healthy eating, especially when peers may be bringing less wholesome options. (Not to say we don't do treats - because, c'mon, the first word in my blog name is "Sugar.")

Below you will find a collection of our cute lunch boxes - and below that I've shared delicious snack ideas that are perfect for tucking into your child's lunch bag.

Here are some of our favourite lunch box ideas - click on any of the images below to go to a separate post with more details about each lunch box.