Toddler won't eat sarnies, need lunch ideas!!

jovichick123

Hi all,

Due to having lost my job a few weeks ago, we have reduced DS's creche hours down to one day a week - need to keep him a guaranteed place until Sept when I go back to Uni....

Problem is, I am stuck as to what to give him for lunch! He has been having meals from batch cooking but these are running low now Also, he has been a bit fussy about eating his tea since he has been having 'heavier' lunches

I am planning to batch cook some more but with the Kleeneze business we are giving a go, I am finding myself with less and less time. He won't eat sarnies (takes them apart - doesn't seem to matter what the filling is :rolleyes: )

Does anyone have any lunch ideas for toddlers that are healthy and obviously not in the sandwich format??

Any suggestions gratefully received as always,

Sarah xx

ppolly

Does it matter that he takes the sandwhiches apart? You've probably tried just serving the bread and butter next to the ham/cheese/sliced egg/bit of tomato whatever is meant to be in the sandwhich. What does he like? When mine was younger we went through a phase of cheese, bread and butter and bannana for practically every lunch of the week. I remember feeling like a lazy mum at the time, but its healthy and what she wanted, so it didn't really matter a bit. Try letting him eat his luch off your plate is he's old enough.
Toddlers seem to prefer simple bits of things - rather than a 'proper' meal.
The only thing I have batch cooked for mine is bolognase sauce. Chicken legs are very popular with mine at the moment as are (good quality) sausages.
hope this helps a bit

astonsmummy

Pasta, hot or cold.
egg and soldiers.
beans on toast.
pitta bread pizzas, basiclly pitta bread topped with tom sauce, cheese and any toppings.
My son goes to nursery 4 days a week and has a home cooked meal there for lunch so i generally do light dinners on them days.

grannybroon

Our grandsons are into finger foods just now with bits of bread and butter ( I sometimes cut out special shapes with scone cutters). They are both into veg etc which is good and DD cuts battons of cucumber, pepper and oldest DGS absolutely adores celery! She makes a colourful plate for them and they just love it! I was in charge last night and just did a quick tea of beans on toast but I arranged beans in a star shape on DGS1 plate, and cut the toast (at side of beans) into triangles type shapes. DGS1 had two slices of toast, ate half a tin of beans. DGS 2 on a bit of food downer, Chose squares and a heart for his beans. He doesn't eat crusts but did for me last night!!!!!!

Good luck but they do go through these wee spells.

Just had another thought. Both my DGS (DGS3 just born so not thinking along these lines yet!) love soup with bread crumbled in it to thicken or humous, or glaucamoule for dipping crackers of crisps in. Not totally healthy with the crisps but there is a bit of give and take with a balanced diet. Usually skips or quavers.

GB xx

bubblebathgirl

would he cope with soup my dd loved soup when she was smaller.Can freeze in seperate portions ,mind all that mess

joannasmum

My 2 year old has
Eggy bread
Poached egg on toast or scrambled egg on toast
Soup, lentil, veg or stilton and brocholli are favourites
Cheese and crackers with cherry tomatos or grapes halved
Beans on toast
Cheese on toast
Spagetti with a basic tomato sauce
Hommus with pitta bread and veg batons (she will eat pepper till they come out of her ears!)

I used to do bread and butter with bits of ham or cubes of cheese and cherry tomatos but shes getting better with sandwiches now

HTH

grannybroon

Hi aston

Yes, pasta another popular choice. DD tends to keep this one for the evening meal!

When weaning both the older two and will do with the new addition she does beautiful meals for them, blending them so they get lovely flavours. Beats the awful bland food she was weaned on! There are some great baby and toddler recipe books out there with recipes including Red pepper Soup etc which she used to blend and then made for us, adding a wee bit of seasoning. I think Dorling Kindersley doe a really lovely recipe book for babies and toddlers.

Love

GB

grannybroon

joannasmum

We have a history of SIL side of all sorts of allergy, asthma, diabetes, etc etc so boys not very much into egg as My DD rather scared to introduce to diet as a meal. We know it is OK if we bake etc but DGS2 went very red when he had scambled egg so she is a bit cautious. Understandable.

GB

JillD_2

my two love tortilla wraps and whats more will eat any combination of things in them. I just use flour tortillas, the Old el Paso ones, or supermarket own brand, and I don't warm them or anything.
They get one on a plate and several little bowls of filling to fill it themselves. Choose from:
- grated cheese
- chopped ham
- salami
- sweetcorn
- grated carrot
- chopped cucumber

Most of these they would not eat on their own. They also insist on having ketchup with it - yuck - but they do eat it. And making it themselves is of course half the fun.

Other things we do are:
hoops/beans on toast
scrambled egg and beans
toast and cheese (we have to chop into soldiers and call it cheesy fingers)
mini hotdogs (from a tin - gross) with bap and sweetcorn
breadsticks and cream cheese with ham etc on the side
pizza slices

DD takes her sandwiches apart as well. I have noticed she will eat it but I know she will only ever eat half a round so thats all she gets and if she takes it apart I dont care, and she doesn't get sny puddingy bits until she's eaten a reasonable amount of the sandwich.

To be honest, I never really care if they fill up at lunch, If they don't eat it all they only get healthy snack in the afternoon whereas if they ate all lunch they get a biscuit. They usually then eat a big tea if they haven't eaten much at lunch.

Good luck, I'm sure he will get there in the end. The more of a fuss you maske about it the more he will do it for attention (learned this from bitter experience with my son) so try not to let it wind you up, he wont starve himself. I know thats easy to say

60north

If you use a tortilla wrap spread filling of choice on it - roll it up and cut it in slices you have little pinwheels think of name that appeals ..and see what happens.

cold thick omlette can be very tastie - can have any filling - and any shape

evilwitch

my little girl loves noodles. She either has them cold with some cucumber or stir fried with veggies. We share a plate full for lunch often.

She's not overly keen on sandwiches either but will eat them if left to her own devices and can wander around the house with a sandwich in one hand and a bit of 'treasure' in the other.

We also share soup quite often. She's rather keen on vegetable and lentil. Otherwise a jacket potato and beans/cheese/tuna or beans/spaghetti hoops and toast for dipping.

Have you tried cutting the sandwiches into different shapes. i know you can get animal/train cutters and with my eldest he wouldn't eat a ham sandwich but he'd eat a train sandwich as long as I told him it was Percy or Gordon. Didn't like Thomas sandwiches:rotfl:

sausage rolls/little pasties. Can make these dependant on what you have in rather than buy the shop ones with the extra salt. Missa loves these and also little (or large) cold sausages.

I haven't given her egg yet. Both me, H and DS intently dislike it and I really can't face serving up scrambled egg and her trying to feed me some to share as she usually does.

If she doesn't eat alot I usually don't worry as she'll soon be along and wanting some fruit. Then she'll polish off a banana or something. Keep trying although its hard when you've spent ages making some delicious concoction and said toddler turns nose up without even a bite