Healthy Lunch Ideas Kids Enjoy: Tuna Mango Salad Recipe

By Anri Fourie
Need fresh, healthy lunch ideas? This Tuna and Mango Salad is quick, delicious, and requires minimal cooking! As a chef and busy mum, I find salads like this are perfect for getting kids involved and enjoying a nutritious meal together.

Brighten Up Lunchtime

Finding healthy lunch ideas kids genuinely enjoy can feel like a challenge, especially during busy homeschooling days. This tuna mango salad recipe is a colourful, flavourful solution! It’s one of those fantastic easy salad recipes SA families appreciate because it’s quick, packed with goodness, and mostly involves simple assembly – making it a great homeschool cooking activity. Plus, it leans into no cooking lunch ideas (apart from boiling eggs, which can be done ahead). Sharing meals, even simple lunches, benefits the whole family.

Let’s Make Salad Magic: Tuna Mango Salad Recipe

Gather your fresh ingredients for this delightful salad.

  • Preparation time: 15 mins
  • Cooking time: 10 mins (for boiling eggs)

Ingredients:

  • 1 mango, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
  • 200g lettuce, finely chopped
  • ½ cucumber, diced
  • 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 4 large pickles, diced
  • 2 boiled eggs
  • 340g canned tuna, drained
  • 2 spring onions, finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 62ml (¼ cup) finely chopped chives for garnishing

For the dressing:

  • Mix together:
  • 185ml (¾ cup) mayonnaise
  • 62ml (¼ cup) sweet chilli sauce
  • 1 tsp (5ml) lemon juice

Equipment:

  • Chopping board
  • Knife (Adult supervision essential)
  • 2 x mixing bowls
  • Small cooking pot (for eggs)
  • Spoon

Method: Assemble Your Masterpiece!

This is a perfect homeschool cooking activity with lots of mixing and assembling!

  1. Adult: Boil the eggs, then cool and peel them.
  2. Child Task: In a large bowl, gently mix the chopped lettuce, cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, and mango cubes. Transfer this base to a serving bowl or individual plates.
  3. Child Task: In the second mixing bowl, combine the drained tuna and chopped spring onions.
  4. Child Task: Make the dressing: In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sweet chilli sauce, and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Child Task: Pour the dressing over the tuna mixture and mix well.
  6. Child Task: Spoon the tuna mixture on top of the lettuce and mango base.
  7. Adult/Older Child: Cut the boiled eggs into quarters.
  8. Child Task: Arrange the egg quarters on top of the salad.
  9. Child Task: Sprinkle with chopped chives for garnish. Serve immediately! (Note: This salad mix is also great in wraps or on toast).

Homeschool Connection

Even simple prep like mixing dressings, chopping soft ingredients (like mango or cucumber, with supervision), and arranging the salad helps develop motor skills and an appreciation for fresh food. It’s a tasty way to lear

Enjoy these vibrant and healthy lunch ideas for kids creation! Making food together, even quick easy salad recipes SA families love, is a wonderful way to connect during the homeschool day. This tuna mango salad recipe proves healthy eating can be fun and delicious.

What are your favourite no cook lunch ideas? Share them below!

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Anri Fourie, owner of Anri Guesthouse in Bloemfontein and mother to four children including triplets, shares her passion for quick, family-friendly meals that double as bonding and learning opportunities for her homeschooling family.

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