Hi there. I've been a stay-at-home mom since the day my son was born, so I have always made him lunch straight from the stove/microwave/fridge. Tomorrow he'll be in the church childcare during lunchtime and I am supposed to pack him a lunch. Other than crackers and granola bar, I don't know what else to pack for him (he's 22 months). He won't eat a cold hot dog I don't think. And I'm sure they want foods that he will eat on his own (finger foods, not foods that they'll have to help feed him). Can I heat up the hot dog at 9am and it's safe to eat at 12noon? Or is that bad? He's not a fan of cubed lunch meat. He eats tuna with salad dressing, but that makes very messy/oily hands. He has not yet had peanut butter, so tomorrow's not the day to try it. I'd love other suggestions for food that can stay room temp or kinda cold. I want him to have some protein, not just crackers and granola bar. Thanks!
Thanks for all the suggestions! In response to many of you saying 'no no' to hot dog, he eats at least one a week, and does a great job. I dice it up for him and have always kept a close eye. He's never had a problem. Hebrew National HDs are great!
But today was great. When I had originally posted this question, I wanted either all warm/room temp food or all foods that could stay cold. I wanted to do string cheee and warm hot dog, but couldn't make it work. So I ended up packing him, in one container, diced egg, diced cucumber, and diced black olive. I put a little salad dressing on it like he's used to. He ate everything but most of the egg. Oh well. He also ate a whole mandarin orange that I peeled the night before. He also had a string cheese. Not sure why the pickle gerkins I put in his bag were not eaten. He loves those. Perhaps the ladies working childcare didn't see the pickles. I did not pack him crackers as I was told they would give them goldfish as a snack. So he was a happy kid and didn't eat but the two pickles on the drive home, so I think he got plenty to eat.
Thanks again for your suggestions. I am so glad that these are all saved in the "my questions" tab. How convenient! Your suggestions made me think that I need to give my son some grapes and other snacks he's never had. He loves yogurt, but is not so great eating it on his own. I might try the gogurt in the future - freezing it ahead of time was a great suggestion. Thanks!
The only thing I did not see that you may consider is a boiled egg. You can cut up the white so it is in smaller pieces to avoid choking, and some kids don't like the yolk, so the white alone could be a finger food. Or chop it all up with a little dressing/mustard/relish and he can eat it with a spoon or dip it with crackers.
Have fun!
I don't know how much help they'll give him eating, but I agree with using a cold pack and lunch bag/box of some type that will hold the cold/heat in. We use flexible freezer packs too.
String cheese, yogurt, yogurt drinks, cottage cheese, apple sauce, bananas, grapes, dry cereals, breakfast bar, FiberOne bar. Some of the breakfast bars have protein added. The fiber and protein are key to help him feel satisfied.
Since he's so young they can likely help feed him yogurt and other spoonable items.
What about just a jelly sandwich? You could also do apple sauce, fruit cups, fruit snacks, pizza, lunchables, bananas, grapes, even just a cheese sandwich if he likes cheese. Those are just a few thinkgs i can think of off the top of my head.
How about a stick of string cheese, some grapes cut in half, maybe a banana. You can send milk... I send it in a sippy tucked inside a koozie with a few pieces of ice in it. My little guy loves little gherkin pickles... they are tiny which is half the fun. I send cherry tomatoes cut in half if needed and a small baggie of pretzels or some sort of cracker. I also buy sliced ham at the deli and cube it up for him, but you said your little guy isn't in to that... so maybe some leftover cut up chicken. You can use one of those little cold packs and everything should be just fine. Good luck!
There are little thermos containers that will keep stuff warm for several hours. That would be perfect for mac&cheese or even a heated hot dog.
Other things I send with my kids:
jogurt, carrots, snow peas, peas (use the frozen ones, they'll keep cold), roll up some turkey, or ham, tomatos, sandwich with cream cheese, apples, oranges.
I think you can experiment with a lot of stuff. Food always tastes a lot better in company - he might surprise you with what he'll eat at school.
Most schools around here do not allow anything with nuts (peanut butter or granola bars for example). Make sure to check before sending it in.
I send my boys with Mac and Cheese, chicken nuggets, ham and cheese sandwiches, pizza. All at room temp. I put them in the lunch box warm in the morning and by lunch (11:30) they are fine.
THere are some ice packs you can use, but I never did, because of my particular idiosyncrasies- I hate cold food (that should be hot) and I would not give my boys anything I would not eat myself.
I have also put in frozen tube yogurt that is thawed by he time they have lunch.
Most centers frown upon hotdogs unless they are cut up in quarters. They are a choking hazard. As are grapes and popcorn. Most centers that I know of ban these foods for safety reasons- you should ask about that before you send him with a hotdog.
Don't worry--they'll help him open up his stuff! LOL String cheese, crackers, Gogurt, applesauce will all be fine. Get a little ice pack and put in his milk/juice etc.
Try Campbell's soup at hand, my kids love it. It has a lid and he can drink it from the little opening in the lid.
If you are worried about beign to warm, purchase an ice pack made for a luch box. Like the Heidi posted most schools have a now nuts rule. There are toddler luchables. They come with bite size pieces of meat and cheese. Make sure he takes his sippy cup. Frozen peas and diced pears were a hit.
Hi Jessica. It isn't easy trying to pack a healthy lunch for little ones. I would pack some crackers and small pieces of cheese (protien). If he will eat apple cut up very thin pieces of apple. Will eat eat peeled cucumber? I am always amazed that people feed children hot dogs at such an early age. They are the easiest things for children to choke on. Peanut butter is also a big no no. I have done private in home daycare for 32 years and hot dogs are never eaten in this house before the age of 4. I always encourage parents to try the peanut butter thing at their house. Will he eat cut up ham? Good luck. I hope I have given you some ideas.
L.
I'm sort of in the same boat you are - my daughter's MDO is going to stop offering lunch starting this summer, so I'm glad to see suggestions, too.
We do go on picnics with our playgroup quite a bit, though, and we've found that a thermos can do great things. A taller thermos is good for keeping hot dogs warm (pop it right from the boiling water, straight into the thermos - if you're worried about choking, just cut it vertically down the middle), a short thermos keeps grapes or cheese nice and cool (and uncrushed), or keeps about six chicken nuggets warm - again, straight from the toaster oven to the thermos.
I also use the smallest containers from my tupperware; one for sliced cheese, one for vienna sausage, grapes, whatever. If this is going to become a regular occasion, you can keep small tupperwares of cheese, grapes, apples (toss in lemon juice to keep from turning brown), or what have you in the fridge, ready for a quick getaway.
All good suggestions, I send yogurt, string cheese, lunch meat, fruit, peeled and chopped cucumbers and other veggies, etc. I have also discovered that my 23 month old has started eating new things at school because she sees it in the lunch boxes of other kids! Her latest discovery - cream cheese with "dipping sticks"!
Good luck
blessings,
stacy
Hopefully I am not repeating others but how about your homeade version of a lunchable. Lunch meat slices, cheese stick, granola bar, cut up fruit, yogurt(if he can feed himself that yet), sliced cheese, banana, fruit cup, pieces of chicken like after you make a whole chicken at home etc. All of these things are good cold and all you have to do is get an insulated lunch kit and throw one of those blue ice packs inside. I do this for my hubby everyday and it works great. Good luck!
I send my 2 year old to MDO with thin sliced lunch meat rolled up and then cut in half and cubed cheese pieces with a side of easy to eat fruit like strawberries or grapes cut in half. Sometimes I also put crackers in his lunch. I pack it in a ziploc container with compartments and a lunch bag with an ice pac.
