[Quirky]

My daycare doesn't provide lunches, and even if they did I would send ds' lunch because we're vegetarian and I want to feed him organic food. We're in a total lunch rut, though, which I think is partly to blame for ds becoming more and more of a picky eater. I'd love to get some ideas on what else I could add to his menu, without adding too much time and trouble to an already harried day.<br><br>
(Mods, please don't move this thread to good eating - this is really aimed at working moms with kids in daycare, not the general MDC populace).<br><br>
So here's what ds will get in his lunchbag:<br><br>
Main dish: an Amy's bean and cheese burrito, leftover whole wheat pasta and tomato sauce, a non-soy veggie burger, Annie's whole wheat mac and cheese, or a sunflower seed butter and jelly sandwich on WW bread (daycare doesn't allow peanut butter)<br><br>
Fruit - applesauce, kiwi, banana, grapes, tangerine (2)<br><br>
Dairy - yogurt, cheese stick, Danactive probiotic drink (he gets all 3 of these every day - he's a dairy fiend)<br><br>
Snack - TLC crackers, Annie's cheddar bunnies, WW graham crackers, organic cheerios (1 of these)<br><br>
We try feeding him what we eat but he generally rejects it (and so our leftovers don't go over well). Even stuff he will eat at home like broccoli and baby carrots go untouched at daycare. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"><br><br>
Any ideas for foods that a) are healthy b) travel well and c) appeal to picky 28 month old vegetarians? (Even if you're not vegetarian, though, please share what you do - someone else could get some ideas!)

 

[mamajama]

Wow, good food! I got some ideas from you!!<br>
I sometimes make pizza the night before and wrap it up cold for my kids, they love it. Veggie Samosas, I make a bunch at a time and keep them in the fridge. Does the daycare do heating-up? Or boiling water? If they do boil water, you could try those containers of bean soup and such. I sometimes stick a little packet of oatmeal in the kid's lunch the DCP make it for them. Hmmmm what else..<br>
Little containers of nuts.<br>
Popcorn<br>
Trail mix<br>
Perogies<br>
Rice cakes<br>
Rice crackers<br>
Dried fruit (bananas, apricots, apples etc)<br>
Homemade muffins with all sorts of yummy things jammed in.<br>
Cold pancakes.<br>
a container with cold cuts (you could substitute veggie), cheese pieces and crackers for make-your-own mini sandwiches.<br>
Yogurt and granola.<br>
Yogurt with frozen berries added.<br>
You may want to post this in the Good Eating section too. You may get some more ideas over there too..<br>
It certainly is challenging trying to keep it interesting.

 

[Jordansmommy]

DD is only 10 months so we're still in the soft-cooked phase, but she loooooooooves sweet potato chunks, baked potato, squash, green beans, pears...<br><br><br>
She rejected avocado, but I think it's delicious and plan to try again soon.<br><br>
Eggs might be cool too if you're not ovo-lacto. Scrambled are yummy, hard-boiled are easy to eat too.<br><br>
Good luck!

 

[ChasingPeace]

My 9 1/2 month old ds LOVES hummos and baba ghanouj (we make our own--I think it tastes better, but I think some stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joes may have prepared containers) with ww pita. He also likes tahini (sesame seed butter) mixed with yogurt.

 

[gokiamma]

Great Question! I was thinking of posting the same question as we need to send our 11 month old to day care in Jan. He will be 1 year old by then. We are Indian Vegetarians and this is what we give him currently:<br><br>
1)For breakfast I give him cereal<br>
2)For lunch he takes Rice + Lentils + cooked vegetables.<br>
3)For dinner it is fruits (Pears/peaches/apples) cooked in microwave and then ground in a blender since he has only 6 teeth..<br><br>
I also want to start him on toasts, macroni/pasta. at home I also give him the indian tortilla (Called Roti). I hope more mommies can respond to this thread for that will give us better ideas. Ds still drinks a lot of milk during the day.. >16 oz of formula..When we start sending him to day care I plan to give him Whole milk..

 

[Dakota's Mom]

These all sound like great ideas. But....... My son is allergic to almost everything you guys have listed. He eats rice, and a rice, and sometimes rice. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"> I'd really like to get more variety into his diet, but don't know what. I make corn or rice pasta, but he doesn't seem to like it. Never eats it. He takes the one Gerber toddler meal that doesn't have wheat or cheese in it. He takes rice with different veggies in it. Or he takes a turkey sandwich made with spelt bread. The babysitter does not allow peanut butter which he loves and is not allergic to. He loves beans and rice. But DH won't eat them so I don't make it very often. He takes those little containers of fruit for snacks. Especially mandarin oranges or applesauce. For breakfast he usually has wheatfree waffles with organic strawberry jam on them.<br><br>
I would love to hear more suggestions.<br><br>
Kathi

 

[Indigomama]

what we bring - most of these have been mentioned but i'll miss something if i try to sort it out as i'm working on a brain cell right now.<br><br>
carrots<br>
celery<br>
frozen peas/corn<br>
graham crackers + jelly<br>
cheese sandwiches<br>
ww pasta + sauce<br>
applesauce<br>
vruit<br>
frozen waffles + syrup<br>
quesadillas<br>
applesauce<br>
granola bars<br>
yogurt<br>
yogurt smoothies<br>
vruit juice<br>
couscous<br>
white rice (he'll eat whole wheat pasta/breads... but is very weird about any rice that isn't white)<br>
apples<br>
left over pizza every friday <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"><br>
cheese and crackers<br><br>
Why does it seem more diverse when I write it, but after packing 5 million different combinations of the above day after day i can't help but wonder - doesn't this kid every sick of this stuff??<br><br>
my dc doesn't allow peanut butter AND doesn't heat anything up.. so it has to taste ok cold. And oddly we're not vegetarian but ds is by choice <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">!<br><br><br>
I really like rice cake and muffins... we have them at home, but for some reason I've never thought of putting them in his lunch. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/duh.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="duh">

 

[cyncyn]

Lots of good ideas here! I don't pack food anymore, but did for 15 months so I know how hard it is to send good food with variety that will get eaten.<br><br>
My tip is to buy chunky organic soups, strain the liquid off, and send the chunks. DD loves the "5 Bean Vegetable" "14 Vegetable" and "Chicken Noodle" (I know that one won't work for you!). There is a large variety of natural soups available and it is quick and easy to prepare. Plus, you and DH don't have to eat it (for the bean-hating DH). I add a glop of extra light olive oil to them after draining, as many are fat-free and DD needs a little fat in her diet. She eats it cold or room temp. if we are at home.<br><br>
DD now eats the daycare food. One of the reasons I chose this place was the supposedly healthy food. 'Fraid not. She does get lots of fruit and veggies, but also too much processed food. She is a lot less picky there though, and will eat foods she won't touch at home. It is peer pressure!

 

[chiedza]

We are in something of a rut, too, but these are the things we rotate among:<br><br>
grains: whole wheat bagels, ww tortillas, ww crackers, frozen waffles, graham crackers, cereal<br><br>
protein: string cheese, cubed cheese, cream cheese, peanut butter, refried beans, salmon<br><br>
fruits & veggies: frozen mixed fruit, frozen peas, frozen green beans, raisins, dried apricots, banana, chopped apple, apple sauce<br><br>
Our preschool doesn't heat things up, so it all goes cold and is eaten that way.

 

[abranger]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Dakota's Mom</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">He loves beans and rice. But DH won't eat them so I don't make it very often.</div>
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Ga loves beans and rice too and I hate beans. I make a big batch of brown rice once a week and buy organic canned beans (black and kidney mostly) from trader jos, (rinse them off b/c they are high in sodium) and she eats that about 5 meals a week. The only other main courses she eats are pasta with meatballs (or ground beef if I am lazy) and fish sticks. Sometimes she really likes brocolli and cauliflower but it is hit or miss. She is also allergic to dairy but she can tollerate goat yogurt so she eats that. I actually sometimes wonder how she survives on such a limited diet.<br><br>
oh she east all kinds of fruit<br><br>
Amy

 

[kerc]

I don't send food to daycare. My dcp does a great job. Not everything I would fix, but you know she's got lots of mainstream kiddos eating spinach.But reflecting on what we feed dd when we are home and deleting what's already been said:<br><br>
if you're a meat eater chicken cooked and cut up.<br>
did anyone say dip? applesauce, yogurt, whatever the fav dip in your house is<br><br>
responding to the beans question -- my own dd, 26 months, loves beans and rice. I don't love it so much now that I've been eating it at least once a week for, oh 7 years. Beans freeze well. Open a can, rinse off the salty junk and then split into 4-5 containers. Mostly I've done this with black beans, but this week dd discovered garbanzo beans as well. mmmm.<br><br>
oh and my dd STILL won't eat avacado. everyone told me it was the best first food :LOL

 

[hhurd]

My ds loves a mix of dried cranberries, raisins and pumpkin seeds. Even if he won't eat the main course he'll eat what he call his "seeds" and I know he's got something nutricious inside of him!

 

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

I send lunch to preschool. Unfortunately, most of my ideas (other than some already mentioned) work for us because we aren't vegetarian. If you aren't opposed to eggs, we've had luck with mini quiches and devilled eggs. Cream cheese on banana or pumpkin bread. English muffin pizzas. That's about all I can think of.

 

[wawap]

We're in a bit of a rut, too.<br><br>
Generally I'll send a frozen whole grain waffle (toasted) and a half a banana for breakfast.<br><br>
I also pack some organic plain whole milk yogurt mixed with unsweetened applesauce and some cinnamon. I will also mix in some ground flaxseed, wheat germ, tahini, blackstrap molasses (one of these not all together - ick!)<br><br>
For lunch - I usually do a sandwhich with almond butter or sunflower seed butter and spreadable fruit. Then I will add some frozen green beans or peas as a side. Sometimes I send whole wheat pasta with spinach and/or peas in the tomato sauce (I have to sneak the veggies in sometimes). When I have them, I send the Annie's version of Spaghetti-Os.<br><br>
For snack - graham crackers, Annie's snacks, more fruit, popcorn, etc. Not very inspired... <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/eyesroll.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="roll"><br><br>
It's just so hard. He's just now getting to the stage where he realizes that it's different from what the others are eating. It's a VERY fine line I feel like I'm walking with him eating "good" food and being the "different" one. KWIM? I'm sort of lax nowadays with the snacks. I also let him participate in the monthly birthday party where they have junky food like pizza & juice. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/bag.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Bag">: I only do this because he tends to pitch a fit if others are eating something & he can't have some. It has helped OUR eating habits, though. LOL!<br><br>
Laura