Thursday, February 24, 2011

Toddler Lunch Ideas Needed

I've said before that Shaylin is a really good eater.  With the exception of oatmeal & tilapia (not combined), she's eaten everything we offer her.  It's made meal planning & grocery shopping easier because I just feed her whatever we eat & I haven't needed to buy much baby food.

But I'm losing creativity with lunchtime.  I usually offer her a fruit with lunch like a banana or a mixed fruit cup.  But the other part of the meal is where I feel like we're getting in a rut.  She likes deli meat & turkey is usually what we have.  So typical lunches are a couple slices of turkey, a slice of cheese (cheddar or provolone is what we typically buy), & then the fruit.  Sometimes I'll make her a grilled cheese sandwich.  Or a cheese quesadilla.  Oh, & we've done fish sticks, mac 'n cheese, & green beans.  That's really about it. 

So I'm asking for other ideas.  I want to keep a variety for her so she doesn't get tired of a particular food.  Some days she seems like she's heading that way.

Since I post this on Facebook I'll gladly take suggestions either there or on my blog.

Thanks!

5 comments:

  1. My picky eater actually like chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries in the frozen section. Also raw celery and baby carrots because they are cold and a little hard which is good for her teeth.

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  2. Here are some things I've figured out for Jacob:

    Yogurt and Vegetable Soup (My mom said I had that almost everyday for lunch when I was little)

    Leftovers from Supper (beef or chicken cooked in the crock-pot have been tender enough for him to eat)

    The book Super Baby Food has a ton of recipes and ideas in it. I'm just now entering this stage so I will be interested to see what others post!

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  3. We do a lot of dinner leftovers for lunches too. Other than that grilled cheese and tomato soup (they love dipping their sandwiches!), scrambled eggs, and dried fruit (they love raisins and dry apricots; I just have to make sure they don't get too much all at once!) are standbys. Don't forget that you can serve breakfast leftovers for lunch too! Things like pancakes, french toast, biscuits, and waffles are lunch time hits around here. If you want more variety in the veggie department, warming a small amount of frozen veggies (peas, carrots, green beans, broccoli, corn, etc.) is fast and easy. My boys also like to eat frozen berries (but not strawberries; those are too big and hard).

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  4. Oh, one more thing you could try until she's big enough to do peanut butter is cream-cheese-and-jelly sandwiches. It'll be gloriously messy, but hey, just about anything is gloriously messy when they're that age. ; )

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  5. We do pb with a little sugar to make it a little crunchy. Grilled cheese (I've started adding pureed sweet potatoes), mac & cheese are both good for lunch. We do a lot of leftovers from dinner, too. Oh, and chicken nuggets always get eaten (especially with some bbq sauce). You'll find stuff to feed her, but I know sometimes it's hard to be creative.

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