Between them they have released cookbooks, written a blog and made products around food sold online.
Their latest book, Munch Lunchbox, provides easy to follow and practical recipes suitable for pre-schoolers to teenagers that taste and look good.
''If a lunchbox is well presented, it is more likely to come home empty.''
So there are also tips and ideas on food presentation and packaging.
They have listed their top 35 lunchboxes tried and tested on their own children and incorporate symbols identifying common allergies, if cooking is needed or if it can be frozen.
Kumara crackers
Kumara is a great carbohydrate because it is very nutrient-dense. In Munch Seasonal Cookbook for Baby and Family there is a recipe for kumara-based pizza dough, which was very popular. This time we have used it in crackers.
prep time: 40 min | cook time: 16 min
Makes 40
Ingredients
1 cup mashed or pureed kumara
1 cup plain flour
½ cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
sea salt
sesame seeds, optional
cayenne pepper, optional
Method
Preheat oven to 180degC. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Prepare the mashed kumara first.
Sift the flours, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Then mix through the mashed kumara and 1 tablespoon of oil with a spatula. Once the mixture comes together, knead with your hands for a few minutes.
When it is ready, roll the dough into a ball and chill for 30 minutes.
To roll out, place dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll it out until it is about 3mm thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out small rounds.
Using a 4cm-diameter cutter you should get approximately 40 crackers from the dough. Sprinkle with salt, sesame seeds and a little cayenne pepper (if using).
Place crackers on baking trays and bake for 8-10 minutes, until bottoms are slightly browned. Turn crackers over and bake for a further 4-6 minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.
Photo supplied.
Rice and beef sausage rolls
Who doesn't like sausage rolls? These are made quite a bit healthier (and more economical) by the addition of cooked brown rice.
Making these is a great way to fill tummies, with all the goodness of slow-release carbohydrates and the scrumptiousness of sausage rolls. These are good cold dipped in a little relish.
prep time: 25 min | cook time: 25 min
Makes 56 mini rolls
Ingredients
1 large onion
3 medium-sized carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup breadcrumbs (or quinoa flakes)
500g beef mince
1 tsp salt
4-5 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
Method
Preheat oven to 200degC. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Blitz the onion in a food processor until it is finely chopped. Add the carrots and pulse until they are chopped into very small pieces.
Transfer the onion and carrot mixture to a large bowl. Add the cooked rice, breadcrumbs, mince and salt and scrunch all the ingredients together with your fingers until evenly mixed.
Lay the pastry sheets out on a floured bench. Cut each sheet in half (two rectangles per sheet).
Place cup portions of sausage mixture on each pastry rectangle. Use your fingers to form it into a long sausage that goes along the centre of the pastry (try to make it the same thickness all the way along).
Roll the pastry around the sausage, with edges overlapping a little. Carefully turn the long sausage roll over so the join is underneath.
Repeat with the remaining pieces of pastry and the rest of the sausage mixture. Cut each long roll into seven equal pieces.
Place the sausage rolls on prepared baking trays and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and flaky.
Tip: If you don't have any allergy issues to deal with, glaze the sausage rolls with a little whisked egg or milk before cooking for a nicely browned finish.
