New ideas for pre-school lunches?

Rabaab - posted on 04/29/2009

yeah i understand what you are saying. My daughter is the same, if i give her something different she will not eat it.. i mean here they go for four hrs only.. i end up giving her the same thing , i.e suppose i try something new and she does not eat it then i will make the same thing again for like two/three days and low and behold she will eat it at some point.. Try something like nuggets or samosas.. try mixing the meat with rice but mash the meat up.. if all fails, just give them the same thing everyday, as long as they eat it it does not matter so much, i mean i think they eat meat at home right?

Angela - posted on 04/24/2009

You could also try toasted sandwiches - then you could put egg and other proteins in them, toasted sandwiches can have 'soggier' ingredients because the toast absorbs the moisture. Very yummy!!

Angela - posted on 04/24/2009

I also have a mental 'list' - items that must go in - because it's important for kids to have 3 serves of dairy a day and 2 pieces of fruit. So I make sure the lunch contains milk (you can get it in a juice box kinda packaging with a straw. It's NOT a juice box, it's just packed the same way). Yoghurt, cheese, fruit, sandwich (vary the filling) and savoury biscuits. I also pack a big drink bottle full of water. One day a week he gets an lcm bar and a freddo frog so that his lunch is like the other kids. He wants those all the time but he understands now that it's important to make healthy choices. One day a week is ok because it's 'treat day' and hey, we all deserve a treat now and then for eating healthy !

Angela - posted on 04/24/2009

Sometimes I make 'pancake sandwiches' for my son. It's basically 2 little pancakes with jam or peanut butter (something he likes) between them. I make 2 pancake sandwiches (needs 4 little pancakes) and I wrap each sandwich individually in a piece of foil before putting them both in a snap lock sandwich bag and then into his lunch box. I make the pancakes using 1 egg, 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of plain sifted flour. That makes a lot of pancakes though. You can freeze extras like you would bread :) You can also put small savoury biscuits in a snap lock bag. Make your own 'chips' using ripped up pita bread, a bit of oil and some spices. Bake for 15 mins or until crispy in moderate oven (180 celsius, 350 farenheit). For protein you could try making scotch eggs. I don't have a recipe but I know it's a boiled egg and then some kind of sausage meat around it and I think you bake them too. You could research them on the net, or maybe some of the mums here know the recipe? Pancake sandwiches are always a hit at our house. They don't help with your protein much though....

Pam - posted on 04/10/2009

It's not easy when others are eating the processed stuff around your kid.  You may find some good ideas at www.kidseatgreat.com by Dr. Christine Wood, a pediatrician.

Kerryn - posted on 04/08/2009

for my daughter i tend to mix it up abit because i found out of other mothers keep them on one thing they tend to not want to eat anything but that blue berries are always good if you are into cooking you could cook up omletes cakes soups pies spagette is a great way to put alot of veggies into something nice when i was in school i had tones of kids wanting my lunches and half the time it was just extre my mum cooked up for dinner thoughout the week home made food is normally healther and taste better

Corinne - posted on 03/23/2009

Try the favorites with a twist.  For example you couldmake a pinwheel sandwich out of the turkey and cheese.

I sometimes make little pizzas on an english muffin for my son.  That way I can put in the purees of healthy foods.  sneaky sneaky.

I hope you can use those ideas. 

Jennifer - posted on 03/13/2009

As a former preK teacher and from experimenting with my own toddler I have stopped worrying about varying my childs school lunch & just make him the same thing everyweek (which eveidently "different" from the other lunches too) because that is what he eats. When I vary it he doesn't eat it. I decided I leave the new things for home & then when he gets old enough he'll ask for something different. Most toddlers have food ruts anyway. I applaud you for staying away from the processed food. In collage I worked at a summer camp, we did a lot of out door activities in Texas heat. I forbid my campers from bringing lunchables & anything carbonated. I got flak at first, from the kids of course, but from the parents too, but once I educated them (the kids especially) about the processed food & how it worked against thier bodies enjoying the activities they got into it too. I was eventually commended by my director (who also questioned me in the beginning) for haveing an entire summer without one child becoming ill from activity/heat. So can you imagine what it does to little toddler bodies?

Margaret - posted on 03/01/2009

I know I always hated when my food looked different, cause it got so much attention (unwanted) from the other kids.  So maybe your focus should be on making things that look the same as lunchables, nuggets, etc.  I have a cook book by Jerry Seinfeld's wife (Jessica) that basically teaches you to hide veggies in your regular everyday foods.  So you could make mac and cheese and add pureed squash or sweet potato to it... That doesn't help with the protein though.  I recently tried a new recipe that went over pretty well with a feww kids on the block.  They're basically cheese fries.  So you boil potatoes, and then mash them up with stuff like cheese, eggs, and maybe some other veggies.  You end up with a dough that you can roll, cut and then bake - like a french fry.  Another high protein food: beans.  Maybe "weiners" and beans?  I like to use good quality uncooked sausages with no fillers or preservatives when I make it.  Hope I haven;t overwhelmed you - but you touched on a subject that I think about ALL the time.