Cold Lunch Recipes Ideas Request

My 3 year old is also in preschool. I had a rough time at first packing lunches for her. She goes to a Montosorri school, which means the kids get out their own lunches, open them, eat, and clean up mostly on their own. So I get a double challenge as some foods (like hard boiled eggs) are very hard to clean up.

My daughter also doesn't like sandwiches, so I'm in the same boat. Here are some things I send in her lunch:
Apple slices
Grapes
Cheese (either string or just cubed)
Lunch meat (rolled)
Peas and corn (she likes these cold)
Milk (in a metal bottle that I wash)
Soup (thermos)
Chicken nuggets (thermos)
Pasta salad
Plain pasta

Good luck. One of the blessings of having a toddler is they will chow down the same thing day after day. So try not to worry to much about variety.

"Aladdin" makes some very cool containers for kids. Here is a link...
http://www.aladdin-pmi.com/shop/category.aspx?categoryID=1
You put the lunch in and heat up in the microwave with the lid off. Then put the lid on and send it to school with your child. It will say warm for about four hours. We love them! It makes home lunch so easy, just using left overs. I found ours at Kmart. Try the Tupperware section or the lunch boxes. You could always buy on line too.
Good luck!
E.

Hummus, pita chips, carrots and bell pepper slices. Vanilla or plain yogurt with fruit slices to dip in it. Celery and carrot sticks with ranch dressing. Or any other sliced veggie that he likes. (Can you tell my kids are dippers?) Cheese, nut butter on crackers, or nuts for protein. Squash or pumpkin muffins (good recipes online). Raisins, dried apricots, dried mango, or any other handy dried fruit for a sweet bite. No sugar added juice boxes or UHT milk boxes or soy milk boxes to drink, or water.

Good luck!

You'll need several cold packs to keep food from spoiling then think outside the lunchbox. What does your child like to eat at home? You can pack almost anything as long as you keep bacteria at bay. This article has 12 great lunchbox ideas:

http://www.babybites.info/2009/09/15/lunch-ideas/

I agree with the other posts. Pretty much anything your child would normally eat can be made into a lunch. My daughter uses a thermos for hot things, and as the other post said, I do preheat it. In the morning, I pour boiling water in it and let it sit for 5 mins or so, while I'm heating whatever I'm sending with her up. Just helps it stay warm until lunch.

Another thing she likes to do is take a container of dry oatmeal and brings the hot water in the thermos, then combines it at lunch time. She's done the opposite, too and brought cereal and cold milk in the thermos.

I had the hardest time getting into this 'groove' as well. My daughter is vegetarian so it was hard to think of anything besides pb&j, but once you start the ideas will come to you!

Good luck!

Hard boiled eggs...peeled ahead of time.
Sunflower seeds (not peanuts...to high of risk of choking)

Also, my kids have a "soup thermos" that I use in their lunches. I preheat it with hot water, then pour out the water and give them soup, spaghetti-os, macaroni, leftovers, whatever in their lunch. It cools just enough by lunch time for them to eat it, but is still warm enough to be yummy!

First of all, find out if they refrigerate the lunches. If they don't, that will also limit what you can send.

Some ideas: hard-boiled eggs, fruit cups, bread or crackers, cheese, carrot and/or celery sticks (maybe with a bit of Ranch), yogurt (if a fridge is used).
Just make sure to fit portions to his appetite and don't send too much - kids can open their lunch and be overwhelmed and not know where to start.

My kids don't eat sandwiches, but do eat lunch meat. You can roll a piece of cheese in a slice of deli meat with some mustard. Sliced apples or celery with a small container of peanut butter or peeled oranges are another idea.

I'm curious what you serve at home on a daily basis - sounds like a hot, healthy meal. Would love for you to share!