Siba Mtongana, a passionate and dynamic food enthusiast who brought style and charisma to South Africa’s food scene, has released easy Sibalicious and nutritious recipes on her new website, www.sibamtongana.com, to make school lunchboxes fuss-free and a delight for both parents and kids. You can adapt them for work and for meals at home too!
Speaking from her Innovation Kitchen and Studio in Cape Town, Siba says the key to a successful lunchbox is to ensure that the food is nutritious and healthy but still a treat!
“I’m a strong believer in balanced eating, meaning don’t punish the kids – let them enjoy the full spectrum of food, be properly nourished and manage their intake of certain types of food, especially sugar related.”
Siba believes there is a misconception that malnutrition has only to do with those who are poor and hungry. “You’ll be surprised to know that you can be wealthy, have access to everything and still suffer from malnutrition because of bad eating habits and not eating enough nutritious food.”
To help parents with the challenging task of prepping lunchboxes for school, Siba has posted a video on her Facebook Page, @sibamtongana, with ideas she uses at home.
“Being a mom is by no means easy as out of four, I have two fussy eaters at home and the other two eat everything to my delight. The video is a start to get you going on how you can experiment to add some excitement to that lunchbox.” says Siba.
Siba has shared her awesome Stacked Sandwich Kebab recipe to get you on your way to introducing your kids to healthy lunches.
[divider]STACKED SANDWICH KEBAB[/divider]
Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Ingredients
- 2 bread slices, cut into star shapes ( 3-4 stars)
- 2 thick cheddar cheese slices, cut into star shapes (3-4 stars)
- ½ English cucumber, thinly slices, cut into star shapes
- 6 pieces of cos lettuce, torn
- 6 rosa tomatoes, rinsed
- 6 slices of smoked chicken
- 6 round shaped pretzels, optional
[divider]SERVE WITH[/divider]
- Plain yoghurt with a drizzle of honey
- Water or freshly squeezed orange juice with mint
- Fruits: Pineapple wedge, a handful of blueberries and strawberries
[divider]ALSO NEEDED[/divider]
- Medium star shaped cookie cutter
- 6 half skewers
- Non plastic straw
[divider]METHOD[/divider]
- On each skewer, thread the star-shaped bread along with lettuce and two cucumber slices.
- Then fold the chicken into a zig-zag and thread in.
- Now thread in the star-shaped cheese, tomato and end off with the pretzel.
- Pack the skewers into a lunch box.
- Place the fruit together in a different compartment of the same lunch box or in a smaller lunch box.
- Serve with the yoghurt, chilled water or orange juice with mint.
[divider]Tips[/divider]
- Whenever I make my kids lunchboxes, especially when they involve shapes, I am often left with left overs which I usually eat as I go along (I am sure as most moms’ do) that’s if there is any time in the morning.
- If I don’t get to eating them, I keep them in a container in the fridge for later use. For instance, I grate the left over cheese, and use it for anything that requires it like a pizza.
- As for the left over bread, I place it in the fridge and when the time comes for me to use it, I cut it into small pieces, season and drizzle with oil. Bake them until crispy to make croutons.
- Sometimes I take it a step further and allow my croutons to cool down and blitz them to make flavoured bread crumbs which I use for my pasta topping. Mixed with cheese.
- The great thing about this sandwich is that the cutting can be made a night before and kept in a closed container and just thread everything in the morning to save you sometime within that rush hour.
To download, prep and experience more of Siba’s exclusive back to school lunchbox delicacies first hand, visit https://sibamtongana.com/ or find her on Facebook @sibamtongana, Instagram @sibamtongana and Twitter @sibamtongana