Food for Toddler's Lunch

Nutrition wise, fruits and vegetables have very similar vitamins. At her age, milk is still the most important food as long as it's not the only food. Give her what she wants most of the time. And if she really won't eat anything good for her, just withhold all snacks and junk food until she's so hungry, she has to eat what you offer her. A wise older lady told me when I was raising children, no child presented with healthy nutritious food will starve themselves to death. It's really true; however you have to be strong enough not to give in to the whining. Good luck.
A.

I have to kindly disagree with the woman below - two year olds are NOTORIOUSLY picky, stubborn and strong willed: with many children, it doesn't matter at all what you yourself eat, they will still like what they like and not accept anything else. However, you control everything that goes into your child's mouth (with the exception of the snacks she has with grandma) - and a toddler will not starve themselves, so you have to be willing to try a variety of things out on your toddler, but make it a point NOT to be her short order cook.
I have a 2 1/2 year old who has more or less been a bottomless pit since the day she was born, with the exception of a 1-3 times a week lunch pickiness just for the sake of being picky. There are some all time favorites that she will never fail to eat: baby peeled carrots raw and/or dipped in a little bit of lowfat salad dressing, turkey lunch meat "rolled" up, lowfat string cheese, yogurt, strawberries, bananas, pickles, olives, campbell's soup, mac n cheese and spaghetti. I get creative with her meals and try all sorts of little groupings of things on her lunch plate - tomatoes, raisins, mandarin orange slices, pieces of plain pasta..... it goes on and on. Just try a variety of things on her palatte, and now that she is 2, ASK her to pick a few things out at the store when you grocery shop that she might want to try.
There is NOTHING wrong with relying on an old favorite that you know she will eat when you need too, and I am a total advocate and practitioner of the " You get to choose what you want to eat (within reason) and I will make it, but I will not make you meal after meal until you decide on what you want." There is no short order cookery in this home! Ultimately, she will eat what you put in front of her when she is hungry, but sometimes, you just have to accept the pickiness and just move on. Missing a meal here and there will not hurt her ;)

Hi L.,
I also get bored packing/making the same lunch over and over. I have used the cookbook "The Petit Appetit" quite a bit. It has tasty recipes that incorporate healthy ingredients without fooling the kids.
Sometimes all it takes is one new item and the whole lunch feels "new." Good luck!

you know your daughter best. just remember that whatever she sees her parents eating is often what she will want to eat. Just because she doesn't like a veggie today doesn't mean she might not like it tomorrow. Pack them anyways. Carrots are usually a good place to start, or celery with peanut butter. Kids at that age do like to dip things so maybe looking at the store for veggies with dip.

-dips: yogurt, hummus, etc. with lightly steamed veggie slices and small florets.

-cutting cream cheese and veggie sandwiches out with cookie cutters and having her help sprinkle julienned carrots or shredded broccoli on the spread cream cheese.

-steaming veggies so they are very soft and palatable, but not to the point of falling apart.

-If she really digs fruit, you are halfway there. You can even experiment with different/sweeter veggies, like sweet potatoes and jicama and tomatoes.

-get her to help make salad, she can be the one who puts the sliced veggies in the big bowl and mix it up with her hands.
(my kid made salad, but didn't actually eat it, until she was at daycare and playing hard and around other kids who ate it regularly.)

-eat lots of veggies in front of her! mine always wants to try things off my plate.

-tape the Yo Gabba Gabba with the song "try it-You'll Like it (if you try it you will like it)" and "there's a party in my tummy (so yummy so yummy)" since my kid sings that to herself when she tries something new.

I've been cooking from Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook DECEPTIVELY DELICIOUS. She has great recipes that both kids and adults like and all of them have vegetables in them, including the desserts. My husband was not a fan because he feels you shouldn't trick children into being health eaters but he has never had to deal with a picky eater and most of the food would be pretty health without the added veggies. It certainly didn't stop my husband and his father from gabbling up the lemon blueberry muffins (with summer squash) I made. By the way, my husband hates squash of any kind and he was eaten is about 5 times in the last 2 weeks. Shhh.

My 21 month old son loves the all-natural sausages at Costco. Most recent favorite is the Chicken, Apple, Gouda flavor. Best part of all - they are pre-cooked, so all I do is take a minute to heat them up!

For veggies, he's really picky, but he loves peas (I buy the frozen and defrost small amounts as needed), artichokes (I scrape the meat off the leaf with a spoon), and that's about it! He eats lots of fruit though, and will sometimes try a bit of carrots or lettuce.

For lunch on the go, I do some all-natural jam (I think the brand I like is Crofter's) on a piece of organic wheat bread, and he devours it, no problem.

Also at Costco, look for a box of individually packaged dried fruits. I can't remember what the brand is, but there are two varieties in each box: apple and strawberry-banana. These are really good, and don't have any preservatives!

Hope that helps!

I had to make lunch 4 days a week also while my son went to preschool. I tried lots of things usually a few I knew he would eat with a couple that I wasn't so sure about. Your child will not starve if she doesn't eat everything.

Our pediatrician indicated that as long as my son was eating fruit and I was offering veggies that I shouldn't worry too much. Also, the doc said it was okay for my son to miss a meal once in a while if he didn't want to eat what I fixed.

With that said, I have put in his lunch the following: cold quesadillas, cold pizza, a couple of slices of salame with cheese, the baked crunch peas that go on salads, carrots, grapes, bananas, apples in all forms, pb&j, edemame, string cheese, cubed cheese, sliced cheese, crackers, jello, yogurt, gogurt, celery w/peanut butter, graham crackers (plain & with peanut butter), anything snacky that is a finger food he seems to like. I try to put the things in his lunch I know he likes.

He eats what's there, or he waits until dinner time. Same thing at dinner time, and we expect him to eat what we are eating. He has a choice within reason at snack time. We don't force him to eat, but we say, "This food is what mommy and daddy are eating. It is dinner. If you are all finished, that is fine, but no snacking after dinner."

It works for us.

Hi. I have heard it helps to take them through the whole process of making food. Grocery store, then preperation, etc. you could even have them go to the cook books with you! That way it is fun and they really get into the process and want to experience the finished product!
Another idea is to have fun with the food. Ants on a log is peanut butter on celery with raisins (This may be pushing it for a picky eater)
You can make peanut butter and jelly and use two different kinds of bread. Cut a shape out of one piece of bread with a cookie cutter and the same with the other bread. Then switch the cutouts.
Mini pizzas, mexican sushi, the list is endless! I am sure you can find tons of ideas online! Good luck. J.

PS Staples for us are apple sauce and hummus. They seem mellow and most kids like it!

Try going to a farmers market and letting her pick a new fruit or veggi to try. they often have samples to taste. Or if you can let her grow some veggies in her back yard. Another note remember you can't ask her to eat anything you won't eat yourself so alway remember to set a good example and that goes for Dad too. Good luck

You didn't say what your normally give her. But try sliced up cucumers or minit carrots for veggies. My 2 yr old loves them. You can use guacamole for a good healthy dip. or hummus. You'd be surprised what healthy things kids will eat when presented with the opportunity, esp when they see you eating it on a regular basis. or try throwing veggies into other favorites like adding peas to mac n cheese. We also eat a lot of lentil soup which is quick and easy either home made or straight from a can. (Trader Joe's has a good brand). A good book with other healthy suggestions is Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. Keep up the good work!

In addition to the previous suggestions, my kids really like the butternut squash raviolis. Butternut squash is also great mashed and added to macaroni and cheese. I also have the Deceptively Delicious cookbook, but haven't felt the need to hide that I'm adding veggies. I really just wanted to make some of the things we eat healthier and they've seen me making spinach puree to put in birthday cupcakes.

well think most kids like peanut butter in celery always a fun snack in a lunch. have you tried snap peas those are fun as well and not your usually veggie or even edamme she might have fun getting them out of their pod so more like a game forgetting it is a veggie.

if she liked baked potatoes maybe slices of baked potatoe a lil butter salk and pepper might be fun or even make your own french fries on a day you have more time like a weekend. tomoatoes are a veggie so maybe cherry tommatoes with a little container of ranch to dip them in could be fun for a 2 year old as well.

vienna sausages are a hit with kids or a tuna sandwich with a little celery may be good. or maybe even try the v8 fusion juice has veggies in it or she may even like regular v8 juice

If you make a little extra dinner each evening, you will have a convenient way to provide a tasty lunch for your daughter the next day. This will give her variety in her diet and will minimize the effort you need to put into preparing lunch. I would pack some vegetables, even if she isn't fond of them. She will get the idea that vegetables are part of a meal. She probably has some vegetables that she'll come to tolerate, if not love. Best wishes.

Hi L.,
My son was such a picky eater at that age, and I had to pack lunches for him, too. He usually ate slices of medium cheddar (not American) cheese. He also would eat most things if dipped in ranch dressing. I found packages of baby carrots paired with ranch dressing at Trader Joe's. Quartered grapes are good at that age. My son liked graham crackers a lot. He would not eat sandwiches but loved turkey slices (we found preservative free ones). Are you sure your daughter is getting bored? Quite frankly, my son liked the monotony! He would eat yogurt every day for two months and get upset if he did not have yogurt in his lunch (wouldn't throw a fit, just would mention that he wanted it). Then, out of nowhere, he would declare he no longer liked yogurt. Who knows. I highly recommend the book "Child of Mine" (Ellen or Ellyn Satter). It explains how to approach feeding children so that they develop a healthy relationship with food, and it helped allay the anxiety I was feeling about whether my son was eating enough/the right things. Our pediatric gastroenterologist recommended it (said she thought it should be required reading for all med students going into pediatrics), and two nutritionists who spoke over the years at my son's preschool recommended it as well.
K.

I have the same issue with my 3 yr old! Please publish the advice you get. Thanks. S.

Hi L.-

I have a 21 month old daughter who went through a phase of being a picky eater. At first I would just keep trying things till she ate, then I realized that I needed to serve her meal once and if she didnt eat it then she must not be all the hungry. The doc told me to pick a veggie and offer it once a day for about 7 days. You can offer other foods as well, but after about 7 days they will acquire a taste for them and eat them instead of refusing them. I am working on green beans right now and I just serve them differently every day (plain, green bean casserole, cooked with other veggies) We are on out 6th day and she will eat them every time they are served now. I also did this with zucchini, squash, carrots and corn. I also puree some veggies and add them to casseroles or use as a dip. And I make little pizza’s on English muffins with spaghetti sauce (sometimes I add pureed veggies to the sauce) and mozzarella cheese, olives and pepperoni. She loves to dip her foods (ranch, catsup, mustard and yogurt) My daughter also loves snacks like gogurt, mini string cheese, crackers, raisins, toddler lunchables, Gerber graduate turkey stew, applesauce, pretzels and I could go on forever.

Good Luck! It can be for frustrating.

Hi L.,
My kids love Asian food. My mother-in-law taught me a simple recipe for rice porridge.
I make one batch on Sunday and one on Wednesday. It keeps in the refrigerator for three days. Reheat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Even though I don’t like it, they also eat Tofu. You can dice it up and heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds. If you are interested in more recipes send me a message.
Good Luck!
Angela

Rice Porridge
One part cooked rice, one part frozen vegetables (any kind) and two parts water. Put all ingredients in a pot on the stove uncovered until it starts to boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring every five minutes. You can add cooked diced meat but it is more work for you.

I give my son Spinach Raviolis from Costco. They do not have preservatives and have cheese and spinach inside. I don't cook them very long, just a couple of minutes past boiling. I cut them up and serve them, knowing he is getting some vegetable matter. They are in teh freeezer section.

They taste really good and are very easy. I haven't met very many kids that don't like them.