Throwing together a Down Under lunch requires just a few fun ingredients. My kindergartner loves a good cheese sandwich (don’t we all!?) so this week I smeared her sandwich bread with sticky, salty yeast extract like they do in Australia and New Zealand (I couldn’t find Aussie’s preferred version, Vegemite, so I used Marmite, the version preferred in Britain and New Zealand). Let the record state: ooey gooey cheese paninis with yeast extract are also grand!

The salty smack goes a long, long way; don’t overdo it!

Next, leftovers came to the rescue.

On the side are leftover sweet potatoes drizzled with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. In New Zealand and parts of Australia they call sweet potatoes “kumara.”

The shining star of the meal came from the fruit basket: one shiny Granny Smith apple. These green beauties were first cultivated in Australia in 1868. What an easy, authentic addition to the lunch box.

The container came back empty, so I’d say her lunch “down under” was a success!

Tips & Tricks:

• Ava’s lunch is vegetarian but others might enjoy tossing the sweet potatoes with bacon and green onion, as with this grilled kumara salad.
• I found marmite at the local grocery store near the… soup. I’m not really sure what that’s about.
• Yeast extract is hard to spread – toast the bread to make it easier.

About around the World Lunches

Around the World Lunches began when I shared a few of Ava’s globally-inspired lunches on Instagram and Facebook. Turns out a lot of people are looking for lunch ideas – whether for school or work.

In this regular column, I share one of our Around the World lunches with you. I give you tips, like where to find ingredients or possible substitutions. If you have ideas for lunches you’d like to see or challenges you need help dealing with, let me know in the comments!