This month's chef, Damien King creates an inspiring lunch that will not break the budget and includes items readily available in the pantry. Damien understands that finding a lunch that kids will eat as well as being good for them is more challenging than getting an audition on "Master Chef".

Damien spent 12 years as a qualified chef in some of Sydney's most prestigious restaurants.  Damien is now Head Teacher of Home Economics and Languages at Greystanes high school. He manages the Food Technology and Hospitality subjects amongst other Technology and Language based courses in the faculty. Damien began teaching in rural NSW before moving back to Sydney. His experience as a chef and as a teacher has led him to strongly believe in the need to educate students about nutrition and healthy eating.

Damien believes trying to get  students to eat healthy food requires not only providing nutritional advice but trying to alter the bad habits in relation to food choices that they have developed over time. "Experience has shown that whilst students can identify and select healthy food alternatives, if there is a choice between snack foods and healthy foods, they will inevitably choose the snacks," says Damien.

Damien offers a few tips that might help ensure that the lunch box comes home empty:

• Try to involve your kids when doing the shopping. They are more likely to eat the food if they helped choose it and pre-planning the list will avoid lengthy shopping trips!
• Encourage participation in the lunch preparation. If they know what they are going to get, they have something to look forward to.
• Add something as a surprise, maybe just a small treat which is not quite as healthy as the rest of the lunch.

"With these considerations in mind, I hope that these suggestions are helpful and result in happy, healthy and well nourished kids."

• 1 bottle of water
• 1 piece of fruit (cut into pieces)
• 1 carrot or a length of celery cut into sticks
• chicken and avocado sandwich 
• 1 cupcake (this is the occasional surprise that Damien referred to, or you could use this recipe for cake day or fete day)

• 1 bottle of water
• 1 large handful of dried apricots or apples
• 2 crispy bacon, spinach and tomato sandwiches 
• 1 slice of apple and sultana sponge cake (this is the occasional surprise that Damien referred to, or you could use this recipe for cake day or fete day)
• 2 tubs of fruit yoghurt
• 2 pieces of fruit