10 tasty lunchbox ideas

• Fishy on a dishy

  Swap tuna mayo for something with more Omega3s, says Cathy Olmedillas, author of Food is Fun. 'My ‘Fishy Toast’ is super simple and although it doesn't sound too yummy on paper; once you have tried it, you will want to eat it every day!' says Cathy.

  'Take 1 of tin sardines and cut them down the middle (lengthways) and remove the main bone. Mash up with 1 knob butter and spread this ‘sardine butter’ onto 1 slice toast with a good squeeze of fresh lemon on top. Make into a sandwich with another slice of toast, and devour immediately!'

• Dip in…not out

  Turn the ordinary into the extraordinary by lavishing your bread with dips or pates before adding favourite fillings. Try tzatziki with salad leaves and grilled chicken, or a mushroom pate – made by sautéing finely diced mushrooms, onions and crushed garlic with paprika, and blitzing in a food processor with fromage frais – served with grated carrot or goat’s cheese.

• Eggs eleven

  Bestselling children’s cookery author Annabel Karmel suggests eggs for kids’ lunchboxes. 'With three children, I know how easy it is to fall into a dreary day-to-day grind when it comes to lunchboxes,' says Annabel.

  'Try mixing two scrambled eggs with tuna, sweetcorn, mayonnaise, spring onions and salad cress for a colourful filling that works brilliantly with some seasoning and a couple of drops of chilli sauce.'

• No meat…but two veg

  Celebrity chef Gurpareet Bains, author of Indian Superfood, prefers to veg out at lunchtime. 'Grilled aubergine, sun-dried tomatoes and pesto will liven up sandwiches,' he says. 'Or go ‘Vietnamese’ by adding a shake of soy sauce, fresh coriander leaves and chilli to baguettes with meat fillings such as ham and roast beef, chicken or pork.'

• Leftover lovelies

  Don’t bin yesterday’s dinner; go frugal and reuse them in your lunchbox. Try a chip butty using sliced roasted potatoes, with a scattering of rosemary, sesame seeds and watercress, refried beans (from a chilli) with lettuce, tomato and avocado, or sliced fish fingers with mayo.

  'Use the leftover roast chicken from Sunday and make it into coronation chicken for Monday by simply adding mayonnaise and curry powder,' says Rob Mitchell, executive chef at independent bar and restaurant Drake & Morgan.

• The big cheese

  At this year’s World Cheese Awards, celebrity chefs rose to the task of creating delicious cheesy fillings – with a twist – in ‘The Great Cheese & Pickle Sandwich Challenge’. While the winners, Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi, opted for goat’s cheese with watercress, beetroot slices and damson chutney others were equally imaginative:

  James Martin: Ogelsheild grilled on toast with an apple and tomato chutney underneath.

  Amy Lame: Lancashire cheese, brown bread, mango and chilli relish.

  Aldo Zilli: Piadina bread with mozzarella, pesto or sundried tomatoes.

  Thomasina Miers: crusty white with latherings of English butter and mayo, spiced apple chutney, thin slithers of Lincolnshire Poacher and sliced tomato so it’s really juicy and messy!

• Spreadable edibles

  'I’m a great believer in what I call ‘Fridge Fixings’ – sauces and flavourings such as hummus, aioli, tapenade, home-made chutneys and the like. Whenever I make these, I make extra so I can keep some in the fridge to instantly pep up simple lunches,' says New Zealand chef Annabel Langbein, author of The Free Range Cook.

  'Pesto, caramelised onions, salsa verde and home-made dressings can transform a simple sandwich into something much more interesting.'

• Spice is nice

  'Try smoked back bacon in a naan with a smear of cream cheese, a lick of chilli jam – bottled sweet chilli sauce would also work – and fresh coriander,' says Naved Nasir, head chef at London based ‘Bombay café’ Dishoom. 'This would make a boring old ham sandwich pretty damn tasty!'

• Short and sweet

  And sandwiches don’t have to be savoury either. 'Add a homemade dessert to a kids’ lunchboxwith a sandwich of peanut butter and mashed banana, or any soft fruit such as ripe apricot,' says children’s cookery writer Fi Bird, author of Kids’ Kitchen.

• Bare necessities

  Just because the cupboard’s almost bare, doesn’t mean you have to scrimp on taste. Kids will love a baked bean sandwich – simply heat the beans and add to two slices bread with slivers of cheese (so they stick!); sautéed mushrooms with brown sauce (honestly, it’s a real winner!); fried polenta – so it sets – encased in bread with lashings of tomato ketchup; or tomato puree and a little mashed tomato from a tin, grilled with grated cheese on a baguette for ‘pizza sandwiches’!

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