Snack and Lunch ideas

[konapoppy]

I’m in a rut. When Covid hit, we had to start providing our own snacks at daycare, in addition to lunch. My kids have also become very picky.

I know we do these threads a lot, but what kind of snacks and lunches are your kids liking these days? We have to be nut free at school, but can do nuts on the weekend.

[boiler717]

Sandwiches or wraps
Soup — chili, lasagna soup, tomato, chicken noodle are faves here
Mac and cheese with tuna and peas
Rice bowls (protein, veggies, and rice) — easy to prep ahead for the week
Chicken nuggets
Snack plate (pepperoni, cheese, pretzels and hummus)
I make fruit and veggie boxes at the beginning of the week to serve with whatever we are having. I use the sistema divided snack boxes and do veggies on one side (mini peppers, cucumbers, carrots) and fruit on the other (berries, cuties, kiwi)

[acr]

We don't usually have to send lunch, but every now and then daycare asks for a packed picnic lunch. My daughter likes "pickle sushi" (http://thecookingcardinal.com/recipe/pickle-roll-ups-aka-lutheran-sushi/) or a pbj sandwich made with sunbutter instead of pb.

[shauni27]

oh man, my kid is so picky. He basically eats the same thing daily. In his lunchbox he gets:

Yogurt
some sort of fruit (cherries, nectarines and pears are his favorite)
some sort of secondary fruit (pouch, dehydrated, etc)
sandwich or PBJ OR tortilla with PB and honey
granola bar of some sort
small treat (chocolate covered pretzels, a few gummy bears, etc)
some sort of snack food like goldfish, pretzels, pirate booty, trader joe's baked cheese doodles, etc
One other protein snack like a few pepperonis, hummus and carrots, cheese stick, cashews and raisins

It is basically the same blue print daily but with changes to the flavors

[lessel]

DS1 (6y) is requesting salad lately. 🤷‍♀️ So I do a handful of bagged salad, with shredded cheese, and cut up a hard boiled egg and then a little thing of ranch or Italian dressing. Then just sort of assorted sides...pepperoni slices, cheese stick, pretzel chips, yogurt squeeze, apple.

We also do sunbutter/jelly sandwiches sometimes.

[redheadbaker]

For lunches at camp, I send buttered pasta, along with sliced fruit (alternate between berries, peaches, melon, apples, etc.) and raw veggies (carrot sticks or bell pepper cut into strips). I also include a treat, like a packet of gummy candy (fruit snacks, Annie's gummy bunnies, or fruit roll-up) or a small bit of candy (Skittles, M&Ms, etc).

At home, he'll have a cheese quesadilla, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, Annie's mac and cheese, a peanut butter sandwich, or "cracker stackers" (Cracker Barrel slices, pepperoni and Ritz crackers), along with fruit and/or veggie.

[gerberdaisy]

This has been the bane of my existence this summer. DD's camps are nut free and she's a vegetarian, lots of fruit/veggies, hummus, snack and cheese.

So I'm following along for any ideas!

[cricketwife]

These threads always make me feel like the worst mom, lol. Based on a recent rec here, I bought the Sistema containers that are split into two compartments and have been sending fruit on one side and some sort of pretzel/goldfish/veggie straw type carb on the other. It’s not the best because there’s no fat but it’s the best I can do between no nuts and what my kids will actually eat. 🤷‍♀️

[186momx]

DD is older and has in the past been able to use a microwave at school. So she gets lots of leftovers from the previous night dinner.

Tri-colored pasta salad with veggies and olives, lunch meat and cheese are her camp go tos.

[mbcdefg]

I have better luck serving DD (and myself!) small quantities of a few items, like a bento box or tapas plate or whatever you want to call it.

She pulls sandwiches and wraps apart so I just avoid those. She won’t do olives, tomatoes, or anything she thinks is spicy.

Hummus and pretzels
Babybel cheese
Cheese slices and crackers
Fruit - grapes, apple slices, berries, sliced pears
Granola bars with peanut butter
PB&J (or a replacement for PB; or cream cheese + jelly)
Bagel with cream cheese
Cereal or oatmeal
Bread and butter
Annie’s boxed Mac and cheese
Campbell’s chicken noodle soup
Grilled cheese
Pizza (homemade, on a bagel, takeout)
Flatbread or pita triangles with tzatziki
Cold cut roll-ups
Scrambled eggs or hard-boiled egg
Cold pasta salad
Ants on a log
Corn chips and mild corn/bean salsa
Waffles (I make a big batch for weekend breakfast and freeze the leftovers)

[konapoppy]

This is helpful. A few new ideas for sure! I feel like I do so many of these things, but then nothing gets eaten. One in particular basically won’t eat anything I give her. One day she ate an egg bite, and one day a quesadilla. But then she stopped eating them. Protein is so hard. She won’t each cheese sticks anymore. Ugh…

I really shouldn’t complain because I was a picky kid 😂

[al dente]

Real Easy Weekdays from kids eat in color is my go to. It has three meals and two snacks, and is nut free I think? If not there's an allergy component that comes with it that is def all nut free.
A lot of snacks are muffins or baked stuff you make, but then freeze. My kid loves all of the snack ideas. Lunch is more hit or miss but at least I didn't spend the mental energy coming up with it.

[konapoppy]

Jul 20, 2021 20:05:13 GMT -5 al dente said:

Real Easy Weekdays from kids eat in color is my go to. It has three meals and two snacks, and is nut free I think? If not there's an allergy component that comes with it that is def all nut free.
A lot of snacks are muffins or baked stuff you make, but then freeze. My kid loves all of the snack ideas. Lunch is more hit or miss but at least I didn't spend the mental energy coming up with it.

i might try this!