Twinkle Khanna’s What’s In Your Dabba Challenge on Instagram has found numerous takers, especially from the Bollywood fraternity. Akshay Kumar, Sonali Bendre, Malaika Arora, Katrina Kaif, Bhumi Pednekar joined the challenge, revealing us the delicious yet healthy food options, they pack into their dabba daily.

With eating home-cooked meals becoming quite popular in the recent times and ‘Ghar Ka Khaana’ being apprised as to the most nutritious food by doctors and nutritionists alike, it is important to be mindful of what you are packing in your lunch box. Also Read: Try These Protein-Packed Desi Breakfast Ideas

What's in your dabba

Be it at school or college, office or even while travelling, it is crucial to carry healthy and nutrition loaded food items along with you. This not only will keep you satiated throughout the day but would also help in avoiding junk foods.

If you are confused on what should go into the ‘dabba’ read on our suggestions for different age groups. 

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Kids:

Making kids eat nutritious food is a tough and tedious job for most of the mothers. Many children tend to eat unhealthy snacks in a rush to school. Breakfast being an important meal of the day should be well-balanced with an adequate amount of carbs, protein and vegetables that would be fueling the body to kick start the day.

A simple tweak in our traditional Indian breakfast by adding flavour and natural colours will make it a great visual treat as well as appealing for kids to relish the food.

Breakfast Ideas For Kids:

Pack your kid’s breakfast box with yummy and healthy delicacies, which will keep them energetic throughout the day.  

  • Carrot or beetroot or spinach puris’ for carbs, minerals and vitamins
  • Tricolour multigrain sandwich or beetroot idli for vitamins, fibre
  • Pizza dosa with cheese and vegetables, hot pongal laced with ghee for that daily dose of carbs, protein and other essential nutrients

Snack Box Options

Mid-morning snack is very important as kids burn out energy more quickly and a snack in between is a must to meet their nutrients. Some of the healthiest options that can boost memory, curb unhealthy food cravings are:

  • Fruit salad, home-made granola bar
  • Fistful of assorted nuts or yoghurt

Lunch Box Choices

Packing your kids lunch box is a challenging task for mothers, especially if the kid is a fussy eater. Pack your kids lunch box with a variety of colourful and flavorful foods that are dense in nutrients as well as foods that are easy to prepare and pack. Go for finger food as they can finish in a jiffy.

  • Whole wheat rotis, stuffed with paneer, vegetables
  • Parathas stuffed with various vegetable fillings, topped with ghee
  • Vegetable pulao, fried rice, dalia khichdi, sambar rice or plain yoghurt with veggies

Ensure that your child’s lunch box is well-balanced and varied. At the same time tweak some simple traditional dishes to make them interesting and healthy at the same time.

Packing Dabba For Teenagers’ (College Students)

These days the teenagers are so obsessed with size zero figure, lean body frame and toned physique. To look fit and fab they often tend to skip their breakfast and even lunch assuming that it would help them to lose weight. But the fact is, they may end up with many health woes like poor metabolism, improper functioning of brain, frequent headaches and making them gain more weight, look lethargic and dull all day. So, it is very essential that teenagers carries his or her dabba to college daily for staying energetic, active and focused.

Breakfast Ideas

Breakfast can be very simple and taste exotic at the same time. Share your breakfast jars with your friends, to kickstart your day on a happy mode.

  • Mixed fruit salad with assorted nuts, boiled eggs
  • Whole grain bread toast with peanut butter and banana, protein shakes
  • Oats dosa, millet idly, dalia kichadi or poha

Healthy breakfast improves stamina, brain function, provides much-needed energy to stay active, boosts metabolism, keeps diseases at bay and helps to burn belly fat and maintain weight. Also Read: 5 Nutritious Breakfast Ideas To Kick Start Your Day - Listicle

Lunch Options

If packing your lunch dabba is not a practice, then you may end up eating junk and fast foods available in the college food court which would be unhealthy and make you gain weight. Pack your delicious and healthy lunch dabba with foods like:

  • Bisi Bele Bath, Carrot and Peas Pulao, Vegetable Biryani
  • Curd Rice with Vegetables, Paneer Kati Roll
  • Stuffed Vegetable Paratha, Palak Paneer with Roti, Dal Rice with vegetable to mention a few.

These food choices will help the teenager meet energy, protein, vitamins and minerals needs and help them to stay focused and spirited throughout the day.

Healthy Dabba Ideas For Working Adults

In today’s fast-paced life, we are always on the move and most of the time, we either forget or ignore to eat breakfast and ultimately end up eating unhealthy junks to relieve cravings. Packing breakfast dabba with healthy food can make your day, make it a habit and experience the change from within. Breakfast is the fuel that charges the body and keeps you going throughout the day.

Breakfast Options

Traditional Indian breakfast is wholesome and nutritious that renders you with essential carbs, protein, fibre and vital nutrients which stimulate energy, improve performance, metabolism and keep diseases at bay. Some of the healthiest options include

  • Poha Upma, Oats Dosa, Ragi Sev Upma
  • Dalia Kichidi, Dhokla And Methi Thepla etc.

Lunch Choices

Make your lunch box more appetizing, well-balanced and heaped with dense nutrients that offer you with needed energy to carry your day’s work lined up and meeting other deadlines. Some of the healthiest options include:

  • Peas Pulao With Carrot Raita, Rice With Dal, Vegetable And Curd
  • Rajma Chawal With Vegetable Salad
  • Stuffed Paneer Paratha And Vegetable Fried Rice With Cucumber Raita