What to Pack for Lunch @ MDO

I learned this on another web site, and my kids love it. Peanut butter and Jelly Rolls - Cut the crusts off the bread, roll the bread out thin, spread with peanut butter and jelly and roll up. It's a little time consuming, but you can make a lot ahead of time wrap them up and freeze them, then just get one out of the freezer in the morning and they are thawed by lunch.

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I just wanted to counter the response from that uneducated and judgemental person who told you to get your child out of Mother's Day Out. You are providing social interaction and education for your child while also giving yourself a much needed break. I'm happy for you that you are able to afford to stay home and also provide a Mother's Day Out for your child.

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My daughter is going to be 3 in January and has been going to MDO since she was 18 months. I pack her the same lunch every day, but she eats it. She gets some kind of fresh fruit (cut up), cheese cubes or cheese stick, ham or turkey lunch meat, crackers or bread...and now she gets carrot sticks, too. I pack it in a lunch box with an ice pack.

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I pack the lunchable jrs (cubed turkey, cheese and small ritz crackers...just the right amount for this age), then a yogurt and spoon and a kashi TLC cereal bar. I also puree a banana into his milk in the blender and keep this all in his lunch bag with the cryo freeze bag.

Good Luck! Enjoy your time while he is in MDO!

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Hi M. I am a Mother's Day Out Teacher. My class is the little 2 year olds some are not 2 yet. We also have them pack a cold lunch. Some bring lunchables, or they pack seperate in baggies. Like lunch meat, cheese, crackers. Cut up fruit, strawberries, grapes, just make sure they are cut up. They also make the manderin oranges in prepacked cups. Some kids even like cold hotdogs, cut up of course. Good luck!

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I know I'm a week late, so maybe you won't see this, but another idea is hard boiled eggs. My daughter will only eat the whites, so I can cut them in half, take the yolk out, and pack it with an ice pack. Good source of protein, and an alternative to pb& j in case you ever get a note saying that a child has joined the class who is allergic.

I just assumed we couldn't heat things up, but one day my daughter asked for chicken nuggets and said her teacher would heat them up for her. I still don't want to pack them--there are 17 kids in her class. If they all had to wait in line to have their lunches microwaved, it would be 2 PM before they could all eat!

Hi i teach at school that also is not premitted to heat up any food, the best suggestion I can recommend is to purchase a good camping thermos at walmart or target in sporting goods. This thermos if hot water is appled and left for 5 minutes , then food is put in thermos will keep food warm for hours. This will allow you flexiblilty with food, left overs are terrific in lunch boxes!

One thing that works well is pasta or the can soups like Dora or Cars, there is noodles and veggies and they can eat with there hands.

I have a 15 month old that goes to mothers day out also. I just send him some popcorn chicken that I heated up a little hotter then I would normally do and then put them in a bowl with a lid and by the time he eats it is room temperature. I also send things that have to be heated up sometimes, but the teachers have a microwave in the room so they can heat that stuff up.

fruit and veggies

apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, peas, carrots, green beans, cheese sticks or cubes, etc.

Finger food! Like the other ladies said, chopped up lunch meat, cheese and fruit. Crackers. I usually make my own version of the "lunchables". I usually send a little container of yogurt. Did you know that there is a lot of protein in yogurt? I didn't, but the kids love it.

i send uncrustables, chips, and juice.

I have to same exact problem. My daughter is 15 mo. and very picky. I try to send things that she can eat herself so it is a little easier on the teacher. I usually send her cubed cheese, fruit - fresh or fruit cup, and a cup of vegetables. Wal-mart sell vegetables, their brand, in the little cups that fruit cups come in. It is just the right amount and the carrots are diced up. They also sell corn, green beans, and peas.

I send pre-cooked baby carrots that I have kept in the fridge. They warm up to room temp by snack-time. I also send Tillamoo cheese, which is the perfect size for little hands! Chunked pineapple, cut grapes, peach slices, cantaloupe chunks are also good. We usually have at least a couple packets of stone ground organic crackers for extra snacks and some fig newtons. All healthy things that are easy to eat and don't have to be heated. Avoid any nut items - a number of MDO programs don't allow them because of allergies and your son really shouldn't be exposed to things like pbj until he is 24-26 months old. Peanuts are highly allergenic and the longer you wait to introduce them, the less likely he will ever develop an allergy to them.

Meat inside cracker with cheese. Meat and cheese cubes with fresh fruit and fruit dip for desert. Bottled drink no cans,or soft drinks, flavored water or water. Puddings, jello squares the kind that he can pick up and eat with out a spoon. These are some simple and easy things that are possible.

If you are wanting to send in something hot, get a container, as someone else has already suggested. I think you can get bowl-like insulated containers at HEB that are decorated; I know you can get plain ones, 8 oz. or 12 oz., at The Container Store. (I think the HEB ones will be cheaper.) And the previously-posted advice included putting hot water in the container for several minutes and then dumping that out before putting the food in; follow that advice!

(I would also recommend getting disposable toddler spoons and re-using them as much as possible, but if one gets lost, it's not as big a deal as if you'd lost one that cost more.)

When my boys were little and in MDO, I sent finger foods. Black olives, cubed cheese, crackers, grapes cut in half, mandarin oranges (from a can), a PBJ cut in 4 pieces. Smuckers has a frozen PBJ that thaws out by lunchtime - the perfect size for little guys. I preferred to send stuff that was fairly healty that they would eat. If they didn't like it, they would not eat due to being too social.
Good luck!

My daughter always ate Peanut Butter and Jelly. There are the lunchables that has the meat,cheese, and crackers. If your little one likes carrot sticks they will work good also. My daughter loves grapes and fruit as well. Mix it up. KLK