Summer is over and everyone’s back to school and work so we want to make sure you’re prepped for the week ahead with lots of tasty recipes to fill your lunchboxes. Using frozen ingredients and making meals in batches are two of the most important things when it comes to creating lunches without the fuss.

Here are our favourite lunchbox items, from traditional sandwiches to something a little different, we’ve got it all covered here:

Sandwiches – a lunchbox staple that’s easy to make, but having the same old sandwich each week can become boring. To add something a little different to your sandwich why not try frozen avocado and king prawns, mixed with some mayonnaise and frozen chopped chilli – to spice it up! Or why not try making your own sub, this Spicy Chicken Sub Roll recipe from Riverside Foods is ideal to make the night before and put in a container for a lunch with crunch the next day.

Salads – a light and healthy salad is a great way to pack in all your greens and nutrients to keep you going throughout the afternoon. Why not try one of these salads featuring fish; Thai Salmon Salad or Frozen Prawn, Avocado and Mango Salad. Make the base of the salad and swap the salmon and prawns for sliced chicken to mix it up for a few lunches – simply place in containers and take out of the fridge whenever you need.

Soups – sometimes all you need is a big bowl of soup and some thick crusty bread, especially when the cold weather arrives. Homemade soups are a great way to add in lots of vegetables to your diet without even realising – ideal if your children don’t like vegetables! Carrot and coriander is a classic that must be had in autumn and winter, we’ve got two recipes that are worth a try. For a little indulgence try this recipe which features a dash of cream or for a more citrus flavour try this one that features some orange zest.

Alternatives to sandwiches – trying to avoid bread? Well look no further, we’ve got lots of suggestions that are just as good! Wraps and pittas are ideal, they hold their contents just like a sandwich but provide you with something a bit more exciting. We’ve got a few recipes that use wraps with different ingredients from chicken to breaded cod, or for something different try this recipe featuring avocado and scampi!

Our top tips:

• Make extra – make enough so you can have the same lunch a couple of times in a week, you can always mix it up with a few different ingredients. Or make extra of your evening meal and have for lunch the next day.

• Use frozen – frozen ingredients save on food waste, time and money. Most frozen items come pre-chopped and pre-portion and you can use the exact amount you need with no waste. You can even buy ready-to-use frozen herbs to add some extra flavours to your dishes.

• Buy containers – when making delicious lunches containers are your saviour. Make sure you’ve got lots of different sizes to accommodate each dish you make – soup ones are great for keeping your soup fresh without any spillages.

Have a read of some of our other blogs for more tips, recipes and advice for when cooking with frozen here.