Looking for Foods to Give a Toddler in Preschool That Require No Refrigeration

Try the baby Graduate meals. They stay on the self and no need for an ice box. They also have little snackies too! It's really helpful and taste good too (I assume). My son loves it as well as my Nephew. You can find it in the baby isle. Hope everything works out.
Have a Happy Belly :) me

Frozen Gogurts and frozen juice bags are great as they help keep everything else cold, and usually are defrosted by lunch time. Fresh cut up fruit or fruit snacks. Celery & peanut butter or carrots. Whole grain crackers. We often skip the sandwich altogether and go for a fruit & grain bar instead. Tip: if you make Crystal Light at home, save the little tubs! I use them for syrup, ketchup, ranch, etc when serving the kids at home. I put peanut butter in them and put it in a bag with celery and the kids love it! I have done ranch dressing too with carrots, but unless you use the thick stuff it could get messy.

If the child has a lunch box, the lunch should be fine with an ice pack unless the lunch is in the sun melted on a super hot day. I used to also freeze a capri sun or juice box for the bottom of the lunch bag for an added drink. So, one blue ice and one frozen juice (in addition to the drink). Then I see no reason why you couldn't pack pretty much anything.

Sliced fruit in a little tupperware. Little goldfish or sunflower seeds are fun for a dry food. Little PB&J or turkey sandwich (you can avoid mayo if you are worried). Perhaps some vegies.

My mom taught preschool and honestly, people send either way too much food or food that is not ready to eat. Don't send in a lunch that any of the helpers have to "prepare." For example, if you are sending in fruit, send it in cut up for the child, not on the rind. I know that's common sense, but apparently some people don't get or think of that.

M., Gerber Graduates do not require refrigeration. Also PBJ sandwiches, indivuadual applesauce cups or fruit cups, mini muffins, pudding, and nutri-grain bars. Maybe you can Google non-refrigeration food to see if there are any more ideas.

Peanut butter (or some other nut butter) and honey sandwich. My boys eat it nearly everyday and love it, and it is fine without refrigeration. A juice box for a drink (I have seen one store come out with milk boxes that do not require refrigeration - but that might not taste good if it's not cold), and some crackers or veggie chips (I found some all-vegetable chips with no hydrogenated oils or weird ingredients and my boys love them).

What about whole wheat bread and butter or maybe just a scant amount of creamy peanut butter? Black beans might work too, and they don't need to be heated. A friend suggested tofu when my daughter started solids and she still loves it. I think the firm kind might hold up well.

Prepackaged jello, fruit, and pudding (none need refrigeration), most sandwiches do well (except egg salad) in a ziploc bag AND sandwich keeper. Chips, pretzels, crackers, trail mix (nuts, raisins, m&m's) are generally a hit. Fruit snacks and frozen go-gurts (buy in yogurt section, pop in the freezer over night) are also a big hit.

If she has a decent ice pack in her daughter's lunch, that should keep things cold enough. Is your sis-in-law in a very hot climate or is there reason for her to worry about the temperature? I put an ice pack in my kids' insulated lunch boxes and I send them off with grapes, hard-boiled eggs, cheese sticks, sandwiches, yogurt, juice boxes, etc. -- all portable and nutritious. However if the temperature really is an issue, your sis-in-law could pack peanut butter sandwiches, healthy whole-grain crackers, any kind of beverage that's packaged in a box, or a bottle of water; apple slices (toss them in a bit of lemon juice so they don't brown), fruit leather (there are some out there made from whole fruit so you avoid the unhealthy corn syrup), nuts (if you have a place to buy them in bulk it's more affordable), healthy protein or granola bars (again, read the labels and avoid a lot of corn syrup and extra sugar -- my kids like the Quaker ones, Fiber One bars and Special K bars). That's a lot of carbs for lunch so she'd probably want to balance it with a lot of fruits, vegs and proteins during the meals her child eats at home. But a decent ice pack should work fine; tell her to use the largest size that will fit in the lunch box. If necessary, she can also freeze a half-full bottle of water overnight, then in the morning add water to it if necessary and put that in the lunch box. By lunch some of the ice has thawed but it's still chilling the food and providing plenty of water, too.

You can make quesadillas (just melt cheese in a flour or wheat tortilla and cut into small triangle pieces) and wrap in foil to keep warm. You can also make wraps with flour tortillas. You can spread hummus or cream cheese and layer practically anything on it, i.e. raw spinach, cheese, deli meat, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc. then roll it up and cut into bite size pieces.

Dear M.:

Most foods can hang out for an hour or two if they are not in sunlight. MOST foods can. Pasta salad is a great idea, so is fresh fruit salad, green and vegetable salad, Fruit kebabs, vegetable kebabs (cooked or uncooked...and with both the fruit and veggie kebabs you can add cheese aquares to the kebab for protein. A small piece of cooked salmon in a tupperware right on top of the ice pack is good and salmon is excellent brain food, Cheese sandwich, P-nut butter and banana sandwich, chicken leg, peanust and raisins, baby tomatoes, sliced vegetables with a dipping sauce, rice (cold is fine...most of the world eats it that way) and a sauce for the top, muffins, pizza, calzones, marinated green bean salad (put a little salad dressing on the left over beans and put them into a tupperware, or Louisiana Green Bean Roll ups...Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) cans green beans (i like french cut)
1 (1 lb) package bacon (thin cut)
1 (1 lb) package brown sugar
1 cup pancake syrup
Directions
1I dont know about measurements. This stupid recipe wont do right, it calls for 2 reg sized cans of green beans.
2Open bacon and separate into strips( you can halve these lengthwise). Open green beans and drain.
3Pinch up enough brown sugar to fill fingertips, and rub onto bacon (Sugar layer will be slightly thick).
4Place enough green beans ( about an inch thick. I'm not sure of the amount with french cut, I just eyeball it. with whole green beans, you should only use about 4 or 5) onto the end of sugared bacon strips and roll.
5Seal with a toothpick. Place seam side down on cookie sheet. Pour syrup over rolls.
6Cook at about 400 degrees( or higher, your preference) until bacon is cooked through and rolls are candied.

I have lots of food ideas that you can do I will find them this weekend.

You do not have to worry about keeping cold. Back in the days mother would freeze items. My 8 year old has loved them. I started doing them when she was around 1.
1- Buy the big can of Peaches or fruit. Break them up in top small containers that are freezer safe and freeze.
2- I buy the big big thing of yogurt and break it up in to smaller containers that are freezer safe and freeze.

They can sit all day in the lunch and keep things cold. When it comes time for lunch they are ready to eat. They last forever in the freezer and even make a great cold snack. They also are a great money saver. Just do not buy the prepackaged ones. 96% of the plastic they are in is not safe to freeze and can release harmful bacteria and toxins in the food. I have more in a pdf I will find for you all about children's Healthy Lunches

When my girl was in preschool, I used 2 "blue-ice" cold packs in my daughter's insulated lunch box. It stayed cold. I would pack her lunch at 7:30a.m., their lunch was at 11:30, and it was fine. They key is to use an "insulated" lunch bag. Her lunch box was kept in her cubby, in the classroom.

With my daughter now in Kindergarten...and when they have excursions, and their lunch is later in the afternoon...I freeze a water bottle, wrap it in foil, then put it in a ziplock bag so it doesn't sweat all over everything. It really lasts and the contents do stay cold. And sometimes I add a blue-ice pack to it too.

I packed many different things in her lunch bag...anything from left over dinner, to sandwiches, to shrimp tempura, to spaghetti, to fish, to soup. It all held up fine. I even put a milk box in there too, or cheese, or fruit, and it was fine.

Main thing is to find an insulated lunch bag/box that will fit in her cubby...I find that the kind of lunch box that is zippered....versus just a folded over fabric flap....keeps the interior of the bag more insulated. You want a lunch box that is sealed tight...I tested a few styles we had at home, and the zippered ones kept the cold air within the box better than those soft fabric types that just have the rolled over flap/velcro closure, because the interior cold air can still escape from those bags.

The "blue-ice" packs comes in all different sizes...so you can find one that will fit in a child's lunch box. The size I used was about a 6" rectangle in length and about 4" in width.

Good luck and I hope this helped,
~Susan

Hi M.,
Things I pack for my daughter are:
Individual baby carrot packs with the little ranch dressing cups (like the kind they give you at the fast food places).
Celery sticks with peanut butter - I buy the little ziplock food storage containers for the peanut butter. Sometimes they come home, sometimes they don't.
Wheat thins, cream cheese, and/or pepperoni - my daughter likes to "build" these, so I pack them seperately.
Grilled cheese sandwich - I make it in the morning, wrap it in wax paper, then foil. It stays pretty warm until lunch expecially if she has a lunch box with a "warm" section that's lined with a reflective surface.
If her daughter will eat soup, she can make in the morning also and put it in a small thermos (they sell them at Target).
I know from experience that kids can be very finicky when it comes to lunches, so tell your sister-in-law good luck. I hope some of these suggestions help.

Cheers,
S.

I like the small individual apple sauces, granola bars, bananas, apples or tangerines, raisins. I try to stay away from too many packaged (aka processed) items that are high in sugars & trans-fats, but it is a challenge! Hope this helps..

Unless her preschool is in the mojave dessert, a cool pack will keep foods plenty cool.

Try cheese sticks, yogurt squeezers, hummus and crackers (or pita), cut up deli meats

There are many options...

You can pretty much put any fruit in there. Fruit will not go bad that quickly...cantalope, cut up apple, pears, strawberries, etc.

100 calorie pack snacks...

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...peanut butter sandwiches.

Graduates meals (they sell them at the market in the baby food aisle)

Piece of pizza wrapped in aluminum foil...

Healthy muffins...

Hi M.,
I usually try to make my DD's lunch the night before and keep it in the fridge. It usually stays cold enough until her noontime lunch. If I get stuck making the lunch that morning, the icepack does the job.
Sometimes I stash her waterbottles in the freezer to act as an icepack on super hot days.
I pack PB&Js, yogurt, fruit, crackers, leftovers, etc. If she packs like leftover spaghetti, it doesn't have to be cold-just room temp.

Good luck!
E.

Things that have to be refrigerated are OK in a lunch box for a few hours. They won't spoil. Little sandwiches cut up, any kind of fruit, cut up strawberries, string cheese, almost anything.

www.laptoplunch.com (I think that is the site, if not, google lap top lunches). Also, there are alot of great lunch books out there.

Always shoot for a whole grain, protein, fruit/veggie. PB&J sandwich, bag of cut up veggies - carrots, sweet peppers, brocilli, etc.., fruit: bananna,apple,orange (already peeled), etc..,trader joe's has healthful yogurt drinks the ones in the tube, have her put them in the freezer then it will still be cold, maybe even frozen at lunch time, cheese sticks. Pasta works well too, my kids like whole wheat pasta with parm cheese on top (can be eaten cold), crackers & cheese, dried fruit.

Hope this helps,
M.

our usual snacks include cheese sticks (don't have to be freezing cold, ice pack s/b fine), hummus on pita bread, pb&j, pretzels (my daughter loves honey wheat), dried fruits (berries, apricots, etc), trail mix (nuts, raisins, a few m&m's), dried banana chips, raw veggies (carrots, celery), raw fruits (sliced apple, grapes, apricots, etc), graham crackers...mostly these are "snacks", not solid "lunch" foods, but they suffice or at least tide her over til we get home for a more substantial meal. if you don't have food allergies, a little cup of peanut butter on the side makes a good dip for fruits & pretzels, too! best of luck.