Hey mamas! I know from other posts we love to eat and we all have tons of good ideas on what to feed our kids so I need your advice!
I am stuck on what to feed my 16-month vegetarian DS for lunch on days when I can't cook and serve it and have to pack it in a cooler bag or keep it in a fridge (like sending him to Parent's Day Out, going to the zoo or the park, or even just taking something to a restaurant when I don't want to get him his own meal). When possible, I try to cook him something that he'll be ok eating cold, but I think we're both getting tired of some of the same things. He's not into the old standard of a peanut butter sandwich anymore and due to some GI issues, he's not allowed to eat yogurt right now. He hates pasta at the moment, too.
We don't do any meat or gelatin, but are ok with eggs and some dairy. He doesn't have his molars yet but seems pretty good at chewing anyway.
Any suggestions for a good take-along lunch that doesn't need to be heated?
go to http://www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/
She has great recipes & has even put a book out. I LOVE her stuff! It's so fun & kid friendly!
egg salad on bread in a shape of something, bananas split legnth way with peanut butter, spread BP and put back together and slice across. Toast with cheese, it wont get soggy.
Good luck
Hi D., what about a salad made from grains and fruit or veggies? Like barley, quinoa,or even rice, mixed with the juice of the fruit or a light dressing with the veggies. You say he hates pasta right now but have you tried acini de pepe, tiny ball shaped pasta, or cous cous? Pancakes are good cold in my opinion, and they dont always have to be sweet, you can cook shredded or even pureed veggies right into the pancakes. In the case of sweet pancakes however he could dip them into apple butter or his favorite pureed fruit. Good Luck!
First, my son is the weird eater in our family... He is almost four and likes almost any cheese on bread with ketchup or mayo/miraclewhip. Cheesy Rice is another good one. We make instant rice and use about three to four slices of sandwhich cheese. Make rice to directions and when done lay cheese over top and let melt down, may need to add a little milk. My hubby and son both eat this cold just fine.
I also agree with the other mom with tortilla's... You can put ANYThing into them. You can mix anything with a cream cheese, you can do a peanut butter and jelly roll up.
I know you are looking for cold ideas, but I do have a hot one I want to share... Ever thought about toasting the PB&J verses just cold? It is yummy! Make like you would be doing a toasted cheese, but use PB & Jelly inside. Just make sure to let it cool a little before serving to the little one, as the PB does melt down and gets hot and you don't want any burns.
I'm having trouble with this too. We tend to do a lot of packaged snacks like granola bars, ZBars (new, made by Clif), sesame sticks. Graham crackers and almond butter.
There's a great book called the Vegetarian Lunchbasket. It's a pretty complete cookbook, but everything is supposed to be lunchable. It has some interesting ideas, like a flat bread made from oats and potatoes. Most take a bit more prep than I can muster at 7:30AM, but that's just me. Now I'm thinking about it, I forgot to put a snack in my daughter's backpack today. I hope there was an extra one from last week . . .
There's a bean spread I've been making, sort of like a tuna salad but with whatever cooked beans you have. Mash the beans a bit, add some Vegenaise, chopped pickle, maybe some finely chopped carrot or green pepper, whatever he likes. I like sandwiches made this way, though my girls won't touch it. Though they haven't tasted it, I'm sure they would like it if they did! hahah
Beans are great. If he will eat them. An idea is a type of salad. The beans can be cold and it is easy to transport. Mine prefer pinto and kidney any work, rinsed well. Cut up into small pieces about the size of the beans any vegies you want. Peas, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli (the last three steamed just until tender for your little one) corn, cucumbers, what ever you can think of. I toss them together salad like and put a mild tasting Italian dressing not very much so it's not too messy, or salted lightly or even plain. They can eat it with fingers. Some of mine like little piles so I just make piles separatly of each item. You can add pasta but you mentioned he wasn't eating that much.
Good luck
I got this out of a Disney cookbook and my girls love it. It sounds crazy but it is yummy. You mash a banana and mix it with 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter and spread it on a tortilla and add some chopped up apples. Roll it up and your ready to go. My daughter can't have wheat so we use corn tortillas and they don't roll so we eat them like quasadillas (cut up in 4's). Good luck!
Your son sounds exactly like mine. He also is a vegetarian and hates pasta! Kind of makes it tough when they won't eat pasta. I make a lot of bean burritos. I know it's not cold...but we also eat a lot of soup. I'm anxious to hear any more suggestions b/c we are in a rut as well. My son used to love beans, but he barely eats them anymore. I'm trying to find new ways to give him protein. Most of the time his lunches consist of a bunch of snacks (one fruit, one veg, some crackers/cheese, and a yogurt)
P.S. Kudos for going veg! It really is the healthiest way to raise a child!
Have you made "sandwiches" with peeled cucumber slices and hummus? (Or just dip the slices in it.)
A snack that my son really likes (we call them lollipops) is to take a stick of string cheese, cut it into 8 pieces, and them stick a pretzel stick in it to hold it.
We aren't vegetarians so I'm sorry I don't have any more suggestions. Have you tried a site like www.allrecipes.com? They might have some ideas.
Can he chew a tortilla? I used to put all kinds of things in a tortilla. Cheese etc... Do you eat eggs? What about a hard boil (peeled) egg?
Some great stand-bys: hummus, apple slices dipped in salted water to keep them from turning brown, string cheese, granola bars (homemade are easy to make).
Have you tried or looked into "ethnic" cooking? Your son might really like falafel or onigiri (Japanese rice balls with optional seaweed... very easy to make!).
You also may want to try cutting some sandwiches into fun shapes to make them new again. Use cookie cutters, or let him use cookie cutters, to make it exciting to eat the pb sandwich.
If your son likes them, he could also dip tortilla chips and steamed veggies in veggetarian refried beans. Or toasted bread would work, too.
My son loved a homemade trail mix that had ranch-flavored croutons, dried cranberries, dried raisins, and sesame sticks. Would your son like something like that?
Also, black olives are really fun to stick on your fingers and eat off. At 16 months, you may feel safer slicing the olives, but he'll still have a fun time putting them on his fingers!
You could also do a tomato-sauce dip with cheese slices or cubes, bread or croutons, and steamed veggies.
Good luck!
My daughter LOVES hummus.
