Lunchbox recipes: Julia Tellidis and Lauren Skora share recipes for sushi balls, pikelets and seed butter

Running low on snack ideas or looking for some fresh lunchbox options once school goes back? Try these delicious, nutritionist-approved and — best of all — easy-to-prepare bites. Super seed butter A high-protein, nut-free spread that actually tastes good! Sweet, creamy and packed with healthy fats, this seed butter is perfect for toast, sandwiches or dipping apple slices. Trust the process — it gets smoother and tastier with time in the food processor. Makes 1 cup ¾ cup sunflower seeds ¾ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) ⅓ cup hemp seeds 1 tbsp honey 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional) ¼ tsp cinnamon Pinch of salt 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra if required Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread the sunflower seeds and pepitas over the tray and bake for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally, until golden. Cool slightly. Put the hemp seeds in a blender or food processor and blitz until ground. Add the toasted seeds and blitz until a paste starts to form, scraping down the sides every few minutes — this could take anywhere from 14-18 minutes, depending on your machine. The mixture will turn into a crumb, then a ball, then eventually a smooth paste. Once the mixture is creamy, stir in the rest of the ingredients. If it’s still crumbly after all the ingredients are mixed in, add more olive oil, a teaspoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. NOTE: Sushi balls These sushi balls are a genius twist on classic sushi, with soft sticky rice mixed with protein and healthy fats, all bundled up into bite-sized balls that are perfect for lunchboxes, finger food or a speedy dinner side. Serve with a little dipping pot of tamari or yoghurt for fun dunking. Makes 14 2 cups cooked and cooled sushi rice 95g tinned tuna or salmon, drained ½ tbsp sesame oil 1 tsp rice vinegar 1 tsp tamari 1 nori sheet, blended or chopped into tiny pieces (equivalent to 2 packed tablespoons) 2 tbsp mashed avocado Hemp or sesame seeds (optional) Put all the ingredients except the seeds in a bowl and combine well. Scoop out 1 tbsp of the mixture and roll into a very tight ball, squeezing firmly between your hands. This step is key to making sure they hold their shape. For extra crunch and nutrition, sprinkle the balls with hemp or sesame seeds. TOP TIP: Golden pikelets Beans in a pikelet? We know how wild this sounds, but hear us out. These protein-packed, fibre-rich pikelets are soft, fluffy and nutritious, keeping little bellies full for longer — thank you, beans! We whip these up for brekkie and always stash extras in the freezer to send in lunchboxes. Makes 30 425g tinned butter beans or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 3 eggs 1 ½ cups rolled oats ½ cup milk of choice 3 tbsp maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp coconut oil Put all the ingredients except the coconut oil in a blender and blitz until smooth. Melt the coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat, smearing with paper towel to distribute evenly. Pour 1-tablespoon portions of batter into the pan to make mini pikelets. (For larger pikelets, use 2-tablespoon portions.) When they start to bubble and the surface no longer looks gooey, flip and cook until golden, around 2 minutes on each side. Repeat with remaining batter. Transfer the pikelets to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before adding to a lunchbox. This is an edited extract from Lunchbox Bible by Julia Tellidis and Lauren Skora, $55, published by Hardie Grant.