Toddler Lunch Ideas

tyrannasaurusjess · December 2013

I am stuck in a rut and feel like I'm giving Jasper the same 3 things...

What are some of the things you make for your LOs? He's not picky and will eat anything except deli meat.

My go-to's are grilled mozzarella, spinach, and tomato sandwiches, and boxed stuffing (cooked per box instructions), peas, tuna fish and a dollop of mayo mixed together a bit like a casserole. The recipe I pulled this from topped it off with yellow cheese of sorts, but I can't stand the smell of most all cheeses, so I omit.

Thanks!

MeatballEsq · December 2013

My kid actually is pretty picky. Here are a few things he likes, none of which are probably healthy.

All beef hotdogs
Mac and cheese
Pb&j
Grilled cheese
Quesadillas (chicken, egg, black bean or cheese)
Ravioli
Chicken nuggets

He loves fruit but hates all veggies.

ellebee2 · December 2013

baked yam/sweet potato fries

chicken breast/plain yogurt/avocado mixed (kinda like chicken salad) - plain or on bread/tortilla

whole wheat noodles mixed with peas and cheese

hmp1 · December 2013

Does he like to dip? Hummus with veggie sticks is a hit for the dipping factor alone.

Keep it simple with some shredded chicken and whatever veggies you had with dinner the night before.

Burrito with bean, tomato, onion, guac or avocado, cheese (or quesadilla)

Mini meatloaf muffins you can make ahead and freeze.

hmp1 · December 2013

I also do "pizza" a lot. Sounds like your sandwich though so it wouldn't really be switching things up too much. I take half a wheat english muffin, put a little tomato sauce, cheese, spinach, diced tomato, diced bell pepper. Put it in the oven on broil until the cheese bubbles. Slice into 4 mini pizza slices.

Holly_1007 · December 2013

I do hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs at least once a week. Giving him some berries or orange slices while I cook it.

tinyhumantoe · December 2013

Whatever leftover veggies from the night before. Leftover anything. I just grab a little bit of 3-8 things out of the fridge. I always try to have primarily veggies, with some type of protein and grain - something in the mix needs to have fats. She gets milk with lunch. And I definitely give her the schtuff in a certain order. Ain't nobody got time for peas when there are mandarin oranges on the tray.

If I want to get fancy?
-Whole wheat bertoli tortelini, throw in some tuna or meat, serve plain or add some plain yogurt + peas as sauce (LOL), or a touch of red sauce
-Cubed baked sweet potato

My quick n lazy go-tos? Some combo of:
-Individual guacamole cup v on crackers or spoon fed to the kid
-Scrambled eggs
-Cherry tomato halves
-Canned or frozen carrots/green beans/corn/peas/kidney beans/garbanzo beans [I actually try to make sure canned goods are in sparse moderation; I prefer fresh or frozen, but yah - green beans are usually canned if I don't have 20 minutes to steam them to where she can chew them]
-Cheese cubes
-PB and barely any J
-Hummus on crackers (whole wheat ritz are easy... sandwich it in, use a table knife to cut into a few pieces)
-Diced lunch meat
-A microwaved breakfast sandwich, ha!
-I cook sausage patties and throw some in the freezer - it's an easy high fat meat that I can thaw, heat, and give with a bunch of veggies.

I dunno........... the kid used to eat everything and now she's only interested in big pieces of food, for a split second, then everything is tossed to the dog.

Eastie156 · December 2013

Ethan eats:

Lasagna, Turkey dogs, mac n cheese, grilled cheese, spaghetti/meatballs, hummous, all fruits and hardly any veggies. For snacks he'll eat yogurt, cheese, graham crackers, nutrigrain bars, goldfish, etc.

His diet is probably lacking, but this is what he likes!

bosha711 · December 2013

pretty much anything...

any type of pasta w/ sauce & either meatballs or sausage.
cheese & tomato quesadilla with side of avocado
grilled cheese & tomato & a pickle
spinach omelet
chicken nuggets
hot dogs
fish sticks
mac & cheese
steamed carrots
peas
broccoli
hummus
english muffin & cream cheese
PB&J
fruit
homemade chicken soup with orzo or egg noodles

some of the above are leftovers from dinner & not things I make specifically for lunch

melody921 · December 2013

pb&J or sunbutter and jelly

pita with hummus and sweet potato

quesadillas

veggie burgers

She gets a steamed veggie with whatever "main" food I make.

MommaP12 · December 2013

DD also loves cottage cheese with crushed pineapple mixed in. I keep the cans of Dole crushed pineapple on hand with a vat of the fattiest cottage cheese I can find.

MomtobeNJ · December 2013

A lot of what was already mentioned...

Baked chicken strips

Pasta w/ ricotta cheese & sauce or ravioli w/ sauce

Turkey meatballs

Meatloaf (only with ketchup)

Pizza (made on English muffins, mini bagels, etc.)

Bagel w/ peanut butter

Greek yogurt and fruit

Grilled cheese w/ tomato

She also loves when I make her "nachos." Baked blue corn tortilla chips, small container of shredded cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, black beans and plain Greek yogurt to dip the chips in.

I need to try more fish - tuna on crackers, fish sticks, etc.

She hates ALL eggs.

MeatballEsq · December 2013

JAM828 said:
I'm jealous of the adventurous toddlers in here. DS is super picky. For lunch he eats:

- chicken nuggets
- turkey dogs (he'll eat any, but I feel like these are at least somewhat healthier lol)
- turkey sausage patties
- pretty much any fruit, but his favs are grapes, oranges, and apples
- no veggies except sweet potatoes
- mozzarella string cheese
- cereal bars (ie nutrigrain)
- waffle with peanut butter or pumpkin spread on it

My son has a long lost brother!

MommaP12 · December 2013

MomtobeNJ said:

A lot of what was already mentioned...

Baked chicken strips
Pasta w/ ricotta cheese & sauce or ravioli w/ sauce
Turkey meatballs
Meatloaf (only with ketchup)
Pizza (made on English muffins, mini bagels, etc.)
Bagel w/ peanut butter
Greek yogurt and fruit
Grilled cheese w/ tomato

She also loves when I make her "nachos." Baked blue corn tortilla chips, small container of shredded cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, black beans and plain Greek yogurt to dip the chips in.

I need to try more fish - tuna on crackers, fish sticks, etc.

She hates ALL eggs.

I really think we're living parallel lives @momtobeNJ. DD hates all eggs too. It sucks since it's such an easy form of protein!

MomtobeNJ · December 2013

LOL, @MommaP12! This is starting to freak me out.

I wish she ate eggs because it would make breakfast a whole lot easier. Lots more options. I keep trying them periodically but she never eats them in any form. Oh well. I am lucky that she LOVES Greek yogurt with fruit. I worry about protein too.

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