Need Lunch Ideas

Hi here's a few suggestions:

- lunchable cracker stackers with a fruit (like sliced grapes) and a drink (they come with crackers, lunch meat and cheese so actually it's pretty balanced)
- A fruit medley (I use gala and granny smith cubed apples, sliced bananas and golden raisins mixed together) with a baggie of cheerios and a string cheese for protein. Add a juice box.
- applesauce, cheddar cheese slices, and a plain hot dog with no bun (Hebrew National is the healthiest and yummiest) and a juice box, or course.

These are only three ideas, but you can kind of get the gist of it from those. I'm sure that you can expand on this according to your son's own tastes.

1 mom found this helpful

I assume he eats most table foods that you are giving him for dinner...? Have you tried to make him similar types of things that you give him at dinner for lunch? Its familiar and he may just like it.

Also, I know you said sandwiches are out but maybe he will do better with pocket pitas or wraps?? I make my daughter hot sandwiches in one those sandwich makers and she loves them - just find a few different "fillings" for it and you never know he might even like the bread.

Here's a website with some ideas too:
http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/toddlerlunch.htm

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Looks like my suggestions will be similiar to some of the others but I will send them anyway. My son ate bread but only liked ham, turkey, or jelly (with NOTHING else) on it so I understand you dilema.

You can make your own lunchables: cut lunch meat and cheeses(whatever kinds your son will eat, cut a bit thicker than normal) into rectangular shapes about the size of the crackers you choose. If the daycare provider will put the "sandwich" together" great, if not your son can eat the ingredients separately. You can also use tuna, chicken, or egg salad instead of the lunch meat.

Will your daycare provider cook something you send? You can send fish sticks or chicken nuggets and instand mashed potatoes or rice. You could send the fixings for a grilled cheese and send soups to go with either of those.

Dinty Moore has some "all in one" meals like chicken and dumplings, turkey or beef stews, chicken and rice, turkey and dressing, chicken or beef with potatoes, etc. that take 90 seconds in the microwave.

Additional items to send as sides would be fruit cups (any variety), carrot sticks, and/or applesauce. There are now also frozen kids dinners (like nuggets or fishsticks with mac & cheese, a vegetable, and a snack).

Good luck!

K.:

Hello! Have you tried tortillas instead of bread? My boys prefer buttermilk bread over plain white. Or is it just the consistency of bread he doesn't like? I've given my boys peanut butter and jelly tortillas and ham and cheese tortillas - they love the change!

Other things I would suggest are the Lunchables - they do not need to be heated up and there's chicken nuggets, hot dogs, hamburgers, tacos (soft shelled) and other stuff.

Macaroni and cheese is another option - only if the day care will heat it up for him. If they heat up, soup would be a good choice as well.

I hope this helps.

~Take a piece of cheese and roll it in a piece of bologna or ham. Take several pieces of string licorice and tie it around the rolled up meat. Cut between ties. Put them in a plastic baggie for your little man.
~For the PJ without bread, use crackers or those small mini breads. He may eat those.
~Those little pizza lunchables would be good too. Have him help you make them up the night before. That way he can say he made his own lunch. It's always a help when they make it themselves.
~Will he eat egg or tuna salad? There are so many things you could do with those. Kids like to "interact" with their food! Give him a plastic spoon to scoop out the salad and put on either a cracker or maybe roll it up in a piece of lettuce. He may get more in his napkin than on the lettuce, but he'll scoop it up and eat it I bet.
~Hope something here helps or sparks a thought that is of some help. Best of luck.

My daughter is 20 mo and also attends a daycare that does not provide lunch so I feel your pain. Even though she likes sandwiches, I try to provide variety for her. If they are willing to heat his lunch you can try the lunches in a cup, like Chef Boyardee spaghetti & meatballs, Kraft macaroni & cheese, or even Gerber Graduates. You might also try to give him food on Ritz crackers like peanut butter or cheese. I also provide plenty of healthy snacks in case she won't eat like fresh fruit, dry cereal (Kix or Cheerios), whole grain cereal bars, and apple sauce.

My 2 yo won't eat bread either but he loves turkey lunch meat and cheese. I give him the lunchables with turkey cheese and crackers and also the lunchable jrs with the chopped up turkey. I also send in some canned chopped pears (juice drained to not make a mess) or cut up grapes.

K.- I had the same challenge with my daughter when she was younger. I made pasta (e.g. macaroni and cheese, spaghetti...) and the day care provider heated it up for me. I also got the pre-sliced apples from the store and carrot sticks....etc. My daughter would eat whole grain crackers and bagel chips so I packed a variety of those until I figured out which ones she would eat. She also ate meat if I rolled it up in tortillas or I melted the cheese on a tortilla like a quesadilla and cut it in little sections. I also sent little tubs of peanut butter so she could dip the carrot sticks ...etc. into it. They love dipping things! Best of luck! D.

hi. neither of my children like sandwiches either. However, I did find that they will eat the same items if it is in a tortilla. I think the bread is just too much for their little mouths, but if you make a roll up of the same "stuff" it seems to work better. Just make sure you don't make it too big or he won't eat it.

Hi K., I'm not sure if your provider has a microwave, but you can simply provide your child whatever you ate for dinner. If you find a meal that they like, pack up the leftovers and send it on in. You can also give them soup, crackers, pita bread(which someone mentioned), rice or popcorn cakes with turkey, tuna or any other lunch meat. Please, please, please do not force bread on your child if they don't want it. You run the risk of turning them totally off from eating it at all. Lunch shouldn't be a stressful event. I'm a childcare provider and I tell my parents to provide whatever they had for dinner the night before. You can also find veggie patties (whole foods)or nuggets (chicken, spinach). There are so many different things you can do. Also google toddler meals and you will be surprised how many hits you get. Also try www.usda.gov and you may be able to find some sources that can help you. Good luck and remember don't panic your little one won't starve. :-)

I've stuffed mini whole wheat pitas (Trader Joes) for my nieces and nephews who weren't used to sandwiches. My kids ate sandwiches cut into tiny pieces (rectangles, squares, triangles). You can make a sandwich with turkey and cheese, zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds so it sticks and is harder to pick apart. Cream cheese sticks too. Use a container instead of a sandwich bag. Kids eat a lot more things with their peers than at home too. Good luck.

My 8yo does not like bread either. My question is are you using only white bread? Some children need more flavor. My daughter will eat whole wheat, but not often. She eats crackers (Ritz, and now a whole wheat saltine that i just found), tortillas (both corn and flour, although she prefers the flour kind more - they make a whole wheat variety of these too) Is it the crust - because that is all I had to do to get the other kids to eat bread - cut the crust off! Silly, but worked!

My son (age ten) won't eat bread either, but he loves rice, so I often give him rice (sometimes with cheese, or chicken, or tortilla chips, sometimes stir-fried rice). Do you have a bento box or little containers, like Lock-n-lock/tupperware? Those are great for lunches! You might get some ideas from this site: http://lunchinabox.net/ made by a mom who makes lunches for her preschooler. Her son will eat a lot more adventurously than my kids, but she still has some neat suggestions. Good luck!

K.,

My daughter will eat anything... but still llves how her lunch is different than the other typical sandwiches the other kids bring.

Costco sells 'tuna meals'. It's intended for adults but she loves them and eats most of it most of the time. It has a can of prepared tuna, a pack of crackers, a small can of diced fruit, a cookie & a spork.

We will send her with cracker sandwiches ~whole grain crackers topped with fresh turkey & cheese. She normally has tomatoes &/or cucumbers with ranch with any sandwich I send, but sometimes I will just send her a regular salad for her main course. We have sent hard boiled eggs and bacon before.

Just be creative and have fun! Good luck :]

K.,
Will he eat tortillas?? My daughter loves flour tortillas and you could roll it up w/his favorite meat and cheese for a fun alternative to sandwiches... Good luck!

How about trying cracker sandwiches. You can get either ritz or saltines and then find either a square/round cookie cutter to cut pieces of cheese and bologna, ect.. You could also use them for PBJ's What about spagetti O's, easy mac n cheese, or just do cheese sticks and fruit.

My youngest daughte ris vey picky. Someitmes i just make her cookies, goldfish, maybe a carrot stick but she really won't eat them/etc. Just like finger foods and snack stuff

I know some kids love ketchup on all their meats, but my son also likes to dip strange things in ketchup, like raw carrots, celery, etc. Try cutting various types of breads, tortillas, into small dipping size pieces, and give them odd dips. My son also loves "sassy sauce" which is just mild barbecue sauce. He will also dip fruit into it as well. You could also try cold pasta salad with different ingredients such as fruit instead of veggies. Good luck!

My son doesn't like sandwiches either. He liks pasta without sauce (usually rotini or something like that that he can eat with his fingers). He like soft pretzels. They are room temp by lunch but he still likes them. Crackers and lunch meat he also loves. I pack that and then a thermos with milk and some fruit and he seems fine with that. He's 6 now and still likes these things. Good luck.

Go to Laptoplunches.com. They have great lunch ideas. I have a bento box for my son's lunch. Whats nice about the box is that there are a few different trays for variety. I mostly put in last nights leftovers (I also put a cold ice pack in to keep things from spoiling). Some ideas: cheese & crackers, carrot sticks, trail mix bars, fruits and veggies.

Good luck. Look at the link to the bento box lunch photos on the site - they have great ideas

How about pasta or rice salad? I like "Suddenly Salad"-- pasta salad mix. It comes with mutlicolored rotini and a seasoning mix. It's cheap and easy & you can throw in vegetables, pieces of cheese or whatever little food bits you have lying around to fancy it up!

or google "rice salad" and you'll find a million recipes.

Rolled-up baloney & cheese "cigars" are a good idea too.

Gerber toddler meals and pastas worked for us. Many places won't heat the food anymore (to avoid burns/lawsuits, etc), but my daughter ate them cold (still asks for cold sometimes).

You can also include grapes (cut in half), blueberries, cut up apples/peaches, cut up or sectioned oranges.

Someone mentioned the Lock and Lock boxes-we love them. There's one with four removeable compartments- sliced cheese, crackers, carrot/celery strips and blueberries fit nicely. They also have small individual rounds and rectangles- we use them daily! My daughter loves tomatoes, so we include grape or cherry tomatoes almost every day- I cut them in half when she was younger to avoid choking.

Good luck, K.

Turkey or chicken breast roll-ups are great, too -low fat/high protein. And don't forget yogurt!

One thing I do occasionally as a treat for my daughter is I send leftover tortellini pasta. We usually eat it without sauce for dinner (just a little butter to keep it from sticking) and I put the leftovers in the fridge. I stick 6 or 7 in a baggie for lunch and she loves it cold (or room temp). It's not super-healthy, but sometimes we eat those mini-corn dogs and the leftovers make nice lunch treats.

My daughter didn't eat sandwiches either at that age, but keep trying and he will eventually. Try things when you're home that aren't technically "bread" like quesadillas and he'll eventually get interested in them. It will happen!

Our boys ate what we ate at 2yrs old. If I cooked spaghetti, they ate spaghetti for lunch the next day. Just like if we had meat loaf, they had meat loaf for lunch the next day. Cook enough for left overs and then you will know that your little one is getting a good, healthy, momma-home-cooked meal every day for lunch too. If you like to spice yours up, then keep out a little before you add the spices. Our boys didn't eat much jar baby food and on our tight budget, it was such a blessing too.

Good Luck!

Take Care,
N. ;) SAHM homeschooling 3 boys 12, 7 & 2 yrs old and married for almost 15yrs to a man who works very hard for us. We help other moms, who want to become SAHMs, reach their goals! Ask me how we do it and you might be surprised at just how easy it can be.

So my son is three and at a peanut free school, these are a few things I've done. Lunch meat rolled with cheese and lettuce, i put them in a bowl, but don't tie them in any way. I give him whole grain crackers with jelly on them, then he always gets apples/pears or some kind of fresh fruit cut up, a cup of yogurt and for snack either a granola bar or nutragrain bar or trail mix. Hope some of those ideas help.

K.,
My boys are a little older (5 and 8), but they are not real fond of bread either. I pack homemade "Lunchables" for their school lunches. Crakers, cheese slices from block cheese cut in half and lunchmeat divided into squares. I send enough to make six crackers worth and it seems to do the trick. I also send some fruit and a drink. I have also sent fruit and yogurt with crackers as a side. Good luck!
K.

Here are some that have worked for me:

Hummus and mini pitas
cheese and whole grain crackers
yogurt
peanut butter with pretzel sticks

As additions try raisins or cut up fruit. Also, you can find many traditional snack foods (like cheese crackers or chips) made by companies that use only whole grains. If you have a Trader Joe's near you check out what they have to offer.

Good Luck!

I used soft tortillas instead of bread and my son still asks for it. I make grilled cheese, pb&j, ham and cheese, anything you would or could put in a sandwich. Also, my daughter likes toasted bread but regugular bread she is not a big fan. My son will only eat a hotdog on a hotdog bun. I had some left over so I used them for a regular pb&j and he thought that was so funny and sometimes asks for that too. Its all about creativity. I use cookie cutters sometimes to make shapes and he loves that and my daughter loves the end peices so nothing is lost.

I would suggest cutting his sandwiches up into shapes or toasting it. Another thing i did when my daughter wouldn't eat sandwiches is to give it with something tasty on it. Like if she eats butter put butter on it. I also started giving my daughter tuna on the side and than after a while started putting it on small sized sandwiches. I'm going to be honest your going to have to convince him to eat sandwiches in some form or another. Maybe crackers with cheese and meat or butter or PB&J. I would also make sure what you offer is in VERY small portions if its really small they will normally give in and eat some of it. Because it's over whelming to see ALOT of something they don't like.
But i see in your future your going to have to start offering some sort of sandwich. If you offer it everyday he will start eating it.
My daughter didn't like any time Meat... So i started offering meat every day at dinner. I didn't let her avoid it. I wouldn't let her eat anything until the next meal if she didn't eat what i offered.