Please share what do you pack for lunch for 2 year old

[Anonymous]

My kid is heading back to daycare, but this daycare center do not serve lunch. Please share ideas what and how much do you pack for 2 year old lunch?

[Anonymous]

The amount you send is the amount her normally eats at home now. I used to send cheese and crackers, sun butter/jelly sandwich ( our daycare was nut free) cheese sandwich. Then a couple different fruits/veg, and a “ dessert” which might be a few fruit snacks, yoghurt covered raisins, an Oreo….. I used a Bentgo box with the 5 different compartments.

[Anonymous]

Above PP again… just to be clear, the first three items were what I rotated as the main part of the mail. Not all three at once..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The amount you send is the amount her normally eats at home now. I used to send cheese and crackers, sun butter/jelly sandwich ( our daycare was nut free) cheese sandwich. Then a couple different fruits/veg, and a “ dessert” which might be a few fruit snacks, yoghurt covered raisins, an Oreo….. I used a Bentgo box with the 5 different compartments.

Yes, almost exactly this, though because we tend to go heavy on fruits (she is still not a big vegetable eater and generally won't eat them unless we are eating with her) I usually don't do a dessert. Also, our daycare has us pack a morning snack as well, so I use that to balance things out. Today I sent:

Snack: Apple sauce, popcorn

Lunch: Cheese, crackers, salami slices, strawberries, dried apple rings

A good rule of thumb is just to make sure there is a protein, two servings of fruit/veggie, and one bread product.

[Anonymous]

Same as above. I also got a little thermos and would sometimes pack chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, ravioli, or meatballs. Mini bagels were usually a hit too.

[Anonymous]

My kid cant do any dairy so we are super limited. There is no heating or cooling for lunches so I use 3 lunch boxes: 1. normal has no cool or heat 2. has a freezer pack base to keep things cool. I put the lunch in the fridge the night before with what needs to keep cold and then add the freezer pack to the bottom. 3. one has an internal thermos with a leakproof lid so it can be hot or cold. Hot requires 10 minutes of boiling hot water and then the addition of hot food. For cold food the metal goes in the freezer the night before and cold food goes in the morning off.

PBJ with fruit veg snack/sweet
Uncrustable with fruit veg snack/sweet
Turkey pepperoni with crackers pouch veg/fruit
Hummus with 2 veg and fruit pita
Oatmeal with fruit veg pouch/snack/sweets
Hard-boiled eggs with fruit veg etc
Rice and black beans veg/fruit/ with pita or tortilla chips
Leftovers- chili, beef and rice with "cheese" sauce, shredded chicken
Pasta salad- cold with veggies and cheese and cubed ham
Hot pasta medleys- lots of recipes online

[Anonymous]

I just send leftovers from dinner. If there aren't enough I often send beans (like black beans from a can) with pasta or rice and veggies from the freezer. DD loves beans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just send leftovers from dinner. If there aren't enough I often send beans (like black beans from a can) with pasta or rice and veggies from the freezer. DD loves beans.

I am jealous of this! Mine used to eat like this but all of a sudden she started refusing it all. Even beans, and rice and beans used to be her favorite dish. But she has entered that toddler phase where they don't like combined foods. So we do a bento box and each section has a single item -- kiwi, cheese, bread, green beans, etc. It was so much easier when she'd eat things like a chicken stir fry or lasagna. I hope this phase doesn't last too long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just send leftovers from dinner. If there aren't enough I often send beans (like black beans from a can) with pasta or rice and veggies from the freezer. DD loves beans.

I am jealous of this! Mine used to eat like this but all of a sudden she started refusing it all. Even beans, and rice and beans used to be her favorite dish. But she has entered that toddler phase where they don't like combined foods. So we do a bento box and each section has a single item -- kiwi, cheese, bread, green beans, etc. It was so much easier when she'd eat things like a chicken stir fry or lasagna. I hope this phase doesn't last too long.

Ugh I'm sorry. TBH I tend to cook things for dinner that I know she'll eat (not lasagna or anything saucy). If I make a one pot meal I have to separate each part of the meal into the compartments in her lunch box because she also doesn't like to mix things. She's our only so that helps. But we are lucky she does eat a variety of foods.

[Anonymous]

My 2 year old is pretty picky and right now we're living on pita and hummus (usually with canned chicken or veggies mixed in) and quesadillas (bean or chicken with veggies mixed in). Usually some sliced fruit or veggies and dip but those come back half the time.

I also do veggie muffins but those have been coming back uneaten recently. Ugh.

Daycare does breakfast and snack.