Crushed chickpeas, cheese and a squeeze of lemon in a pitta. Holds together in a lunchbox until noon.
Short, because there is nothing in it to make it last longer.
Contains gluten and dairy.
Salt guidance is 3g a day from four to six years and 5g from seven to ten. This recipe adds none — most of a child's salt already arrives in bread and prepared food. Cheese is the main source here — one portion is enough.
Pack with an ice block in warm weather. A filled pitta sitting in a warm bag all morning is not a good idea.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas and tip them into a bowl.
Crush them roughly with a fork — about half smashed, half whole. Fully mashed goes pasty; whole ones fall out.
Grate the cheese in and add the lemon juice and olive oil.
Mix thoroughly.
Split the pittas and fill.
Wrap tightly. It holds together better after an hour in the fridge.
| Nutrient | Per serving | Of what a 4–6 year old needs |
|---|---|---|
| 🥕 Vitamin A | 85.4 µg | 21% of daily need |
| ☀️ Vitamin D | 0.07 µg | 1% of daily need |
| 🧬 Vitamin B12 | 0.30 µg | 38% of daily need |
| 🌱 Folate | 56.2 µg | 56% of daily need |
| ⚙️ Thiamin (B1) | 0.35 mg | 59% of daily need |
| ⚙️ Riboflavin (B2) | 0.17 mg | 22% of daily need |
| ⚙️ Niacin equivalents * | 2.01 mg | 20% boys · 22% girls |
| ⚙️ Vitamin B6 | 0.41 mg | 45% of daily need |
| 🪨 Magnesium | 64.0 mg | 53% of daily need |
| 🍌 Potassium | 417 mg | 38% of daily need |
| 🧠 Iodine * | 10.0 µg | 10% of daily need |
| 🛡️ Selenium | 34.2 µg | 171% of daily need |
| 🪙 Copper | 0.34 mg | 57% of daily need |
| 🦴 Phosphorus | 324 mg | 92% of daily need |
| 🧂 Salt | 1.02 g | 34% of daily need |
Percentages are measured against UK dietary reference values for this age
group — Public Health England's Government Dietary Recommendations
for ages one and over, and COMA 1991 for infants. They are not adult figures.
Where boys and girls differ, both are shown.
* Not every ingredient in this recipe has a
measured value for that nutrient, so the true amount is likely to be
higher than shown. We would rather say so than quietly round down.
A recipe is one meal, not a day. These figures show what this dish
contributes, not whether a child is getting enough overall.
Sandwiches leak, go soggy and get thrown away. A pitta pocket with a crushed filling survives a school bag, which is a considerable practical advantage.
Chickpeas bring iron and plant protein. Cheese brings calcium, B12 and iodine — the three most commonly short in this age group after iron and fibre. Lemon juice brings vitamin C, which is what plant iron needs alongside it to be absorbed properly.
Crushing about half of them is the trick. Fully mashed it goes claggy; left whole they roll out of the pitta on the first bite.
Every recipe in The Grow Well Kitchen is built to this standard. Not as a marketing position — simply because none of it needs to be there.