Great Lunch Ideas

I think Sandy did a great job to list different ideas! Those are so healthy and easy to give to that age group.

If you need even more ideas - I put together a collection of other people's recipes just for kids:

http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=93092&ls=o

I just added that Tahini Blueberry Icecream... it looks so yummy and it's got the right oils/fats for growing minds.

I'm not sure what your kids will eat, but some ideas:
Calcium and protein:
- yogurt (usually vanilla) or cottage cheese,
- sliced cheese, (my kids love gimmicks and so like the cheese wheels in wax or string cheese sliced into circles)
- ginger snaps and monterrey jack cheese or dates and monterrey jack cheese

Protein and Veggies (plus some iron):
- hummus and sliced veggies (bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, cucumber, broccoli),
- peanut butter (or almond butter if you guys are avoiding peanuts) sandwiches cut into shapes,
- pita with hummus or tuna
- bow tie pesto pasta, (add spinach or broccoli for iron!)
- black beans and cheese,
- peanut butter crackers (whole grain or graham)
- hard boiled eggs

Protein and Veggies or Fruit:
- corn or edamame
- grapes or bananas or cherries or blueberries or raspberries or dried mango or watermelon
- popcorn (air popped if you can swing it), with nutritional yeast = high in folic acid and iron

there are some responses here, too- look for mine!

http://www.mamasource.com/request/8404409499238072321

1. speghetti O's, jello with fruit in it, milk or juice
2. chicken nuggets, banana slices, milk or juice
3. mac and cheese and fruit cocktail, milk or juice
4. if they eat fish--fish sticks, fruit, milk or juice
5. you can make mac and cheese and put in a can of tuna(drained) and a can of green peas. this gets them to eat fish and peas.
6. pizza bisquits made with canned bisquits, take the can bisquit and flatten the middle kinda loke a hollow then put on pizza sauce or speghetti sauce and put on mozz. cheese and some pepperoni and bake until bisquits are done and cheese is melted.
you can do this with breakfast like egg-muffins, or bagels too.

My kids love apple slices with Peanut Butter to dip it in (fruit plus protein).
Make a standard PB & J and use a big cookie cutter to cut it into a shape. You can do this with sliced cheese, too.
Also:

- celery sticks with PB filling in the "crease"~ some folks add raisins & call it ants on a log
- cut up some chunks of seedless watermelon
- whole wheat Ritz crackers with cheese on top
- black olives (or green ones with pimentos)
- fresh sliced cucumber (some ranch dip might encourage them)

My son's favorites:

Hummas and olive tampanade sandwich with yogurt
cottage cheese and fruit with trail mix

My 3yo's favorite is ham, turkey and cheese rolled up on a tortilla shell (strange child doesn't like bread).

M kids love to "be involved" in lunch and they think they are when they "construct" their sandwiches - I give them (separately, so they can do it themselves) crackers, cheese cut up into small pieces, and either ham or turkey cut up into small pieces as well. They have fun with it. They also love apple wedges with peanut butter, cream cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, they love steamed broccoli right out of the frige. I love this frozen line called Amy's - nice organic options. My kids love the spinach pockets (mmm, me too!) and veggie pizza and some others too. Hope this helps. My oldest is about to start VPK and I need to figure out what to pack for lunches - packing lunch is new to me!

Just keep 3 things in mind. Kids love finger food, they will eat it if they help make it, (and they love to help), and you can still keep it healthy even if you make it fun. Looks like you will have plenty of recipes from all the other mamas.

Have you tried ants on a log? Celery with peanut butter in it and raisens on top. I let my girls make their own. Also the biscuit pizzas are fun for them to make and easy to do. There are a lot of great things you can do to get them to eat. Always let them help when ever possible. That alone will encourage them to eat more. My girls loved helping in the kitchen If you are going to use potatoes let one of them wash them for you. There are a lot of little tasks in the kitchen they are big enough to do.
Also the Family Fun magizene always has great ideas for children for every month. I used to read them at the doctors office.
My youngest always wanted grilled cheese sandwich, cheetos and chicken noodle soup for lunch every day. As long as she wanted it that's what she got. The doctor will tell you let them eat what they want as long as it is healthy. Both of my girls loved fruit. I would cut the fruit up and put it in seperate bowls. When it was time for fruit I would let them put what fruit they wanted in their own bowl. Sometimes we would put a dab of cool whip on top. Like I said the more they help the happier they will be at meal time. The better they will eat.

Celery filled with peanut butter and raisins: "Ants on a log." Half of apples filled with peanut butter and use raisins to make a smilie face. We take tortillas and melt cheese in them sometimes to make pizza shaped cheese sandwiches. This is more of a fun desert. Take a slice of bread and cut off the crust and flatten with a rolling pin. Put a little butter on it so that a cinnamon/sugar mix will stick when you spinkle it on. Then roll it up and slice into mini-cinnamon-rolls. These will then fit on the child tea-set plates for a mini-tea party. Can do the same with PB & J but if you spread on too much it's messy.

Hi J.,
Try grilled cheese, baby carrots with dressing dip, macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets. My daughter who's 3 is a big fan of cheese sandwich.Hope this was some what helpful.
C.