Daycare lunch and food ideas?

[Super~Single~Mama]

My 1yo just started going to daycare. He's not eating babyfood anymore really, he just doesn't like it.

So, I need some creative ideas!! I can't send anything with peanut butter or peanuts b/c its a peanut free zone -so I can do almond butter and jam sandwiches, but not PB&J.

Any other ideas? He does pretty well with chewing, but obviously things like carrots are out unless cooked. I was thinking about trying egg salad, or tuna, but I need more ideas than just that! He's in 2days/week so I need snacks and lunchs and maybe breakfast food (I send cheerios) for 2days/week. And, I'm poor so nothing expensive please!!

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Does he like yogurt?

Gerber makes the freeze dried fruit bits, like bananas and apples and strawberries. I don't usually care for Gerber products, but my kids LOVES THESE. Especially my 1 year old because he still only has barely 4 teeth.

Does he like soup? My older son loved soup at that age.

Rice? pasta? raisens? I am just throwing out ideas as they come to me. hehe

[Comtessa]

I nannied for 2 babies the same age as your LO whose parents (2 families) prepared a truly boggling quantity of food for their children every day. I loved it! One family had these great, tiny Pyrex dishes with tight-fitting plastic lids that were SO easy to transport, clean, store in the fridge, then pack up at the end of the day. If you get a whole set of these and always send your LO's food in them, it would make your caregivers' lives so much easier!

Anyway, here are the sort of foods they sent with their kids:
- all kinds of fruit, with seeds/skin removed and cut in small pieces: pears, apples (VERY small pieces), peaches, avocado, grapes, cherries, melon (cantaloupe was a really big hit for weeks), blueberries, strawberries (another big hit), tomatoes, bananas, oranges.
- canned fruit (packed in water, not syrup), especially peaches and mandarin oranges
- steamed or roasted veggies, cut in baby-appropriate sizes: green beans, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, squash, potatoes, etc.
- fresh cucumbers, with seeds and peel removed (a very big hit)
- Cheerios or other kinds of non-sugary cereal
- sliced canned black olives (no kidding; they loved these)
- brothy soup with pieces of vegetable/meat/dumplings/noodles - I'd just fish out the finger-sized bits and put them on the baby's tray
- small cubes of cheese
- canned beans
- cooked rice
- cooked pasta (with or without sauce)
- slices of buttered toast or pancakes, cut in small pieces
- slices of turkey or other lunch meat, shredded into small pieces
- hot dogs, cut up in very small (ie NOT choking hazard) pieces

They often just sent along leftovers from their dinner the night before, which I'd warm up and cut into little pieces for the babies. Things like soup, chili, and pasta were always a pretty good bet.

I'm a vegetarian, and always appreciated not having to actually prepare any of the meat food beyond warming it up. However, I'd check with caregivers if you're planning to send anything that might be controversial or problematic... I was truly horrified when I discovered I'd been feeding the Jewish baby bits of pork hot dogs because they were sent by the Catholic family. As a veggie who never eats that stuff, it never occurred to me that they might be pork.

HTH!