Need Ideas for Lunch for 3 Yr Old-who Is Picky!

My 2 1/2 yr old loves cold pizza or peanut butter & jelly for picnic lunches (in addition to the standard snacks/fruits/veggies you listed above)! Good luck!

I get what you're saying, but I think what your daughter already eats for lunch is fantastic. She's eating a variety of fruits, veggies and whole grains with a dash of protein (peanut butter). Who says she has to have a traditional lunch?

Make it fun - string cheese, yogurt, whole grain crackers with PB, veggies with ranch dip, grapes, apple slices. It may seem just like snacks, but she's really eating a balanced meal. Does she like pasta salad? Maybe some of that too - in a cute little container.

Would she eat a veggie wrap or taco? How about chicken? They have pre-cooked chicken strips that you could tuck into a whole grain tortilla with some shredded carrots and a wee bit of ranch dressing.

My 3 year old is really picky too. What about cold pizza or those packs of crackers w /peanut butter? Would she like cheese melted into a quesadilla?? My 10 year old LOVES to bring a cold quesadilla in her lunches.

Hi L.,

Would she eat cold noodles? Maybe with the ranch, some grated carrot, any other veggies she might eat as part of a mix? Even with chopped apple and carrot, she might go for it. If she likes mac&cheese, you can just send that. Cold seems revolting to us but not necessarily to young children. Cold pizza is practically guaranteed to get eaten. Does she like any other grain/legume combo? Whole wheat bread and peanut butter is a dandy complementary protein. If she'll eat lentils, you're home free.
Also remember that she gets protein at other meals and w./milk, so maybe it's not so urgent at lunch. My boys were pretty picky and one still is (at 22!!!) but both are ridiculously healthy and eat enough variety that I never worry any more.
Good luck!
S. (mom to 2 strapping lads!)

You could try some wraps -

1 pkg (box) frozen spinach
1 8 oz container light cream cheese
10 oz sliced lunchmeat (I use turkey) diced
6" tortillas

Heat spinach in microwave, according to directions, don't drain. Stir in cream cheese until it is creamy, then stir in lunchmeat. Spread mixture thin onto most of the tortilla, and then roll it up. Chill in fridge for at least 2 hours, then wrap up and serve for lunch. If sending along, you'll want to put it with an ice pack to keep it chilled until lunchtime.

There are also lots of different flavored tortillas out there and flavored cream cheeses that you could use to switch it around. I've also heard of using ranch or other dressings instead of the cream cheese.

There is a great website about packing lunches in a style called bento lunches. It's made by a mom who packs lunch for herself and her preschooler. Plenty of good ideas on here.

http://lunchinabox.net/2007/11/14/bentos-and-the-picky-ea...

This will give you ideas to help with picky eaters, but browse the site for cool lunch ideas.

I know you said your DD doesn't like cheese, but would she eat a soft pasteurized cheese like laughing cow brand or maybe whipped cream cheese? Both of those make nice sandwiches and most kids like the soft spreadable stuff.

Also, as a kid I used to love butter and cucumber sandwiches, as long as the cucumber was peeled and sliced real thin. I liked butter and pickle sandwiches too - though those may not be as nutricious.

If she likes hard boiled eggs you could also make a butter and sliced egg sandwich.

As far as veggies go, my niece and nephew (2.5 and 4.5 years old) love to snack on sweet peppres, as long as they're red, orange or yellow (no green peppers for them -lol!) And another thing that kids might like a lot is Jicama -- it's crunchy and sweet like carrots and the white color doesn't scare them off like other vegetables do.

We had some challenges with sandwiches too until we started using cookie cutters to cut the sandwiches (about 3 - 4 per reg. sandwich). We used smaller heart and flower shaped cookie cutters and sold them as "princess" sandwiches and she literally started eating them up. It's a fun way to send lunches and if it works you can find all sorts of shapes to use - we spent some time in florida and when we returned we had sea shell sandwiches. Also, english muffin pizzas (you could omit cheese) are easy and fun too - maybe she could help make lunch. Good luck.

My 9 yo doesn't like bread or cheese or milk so this has always been a challenge for me- pb&j sandwiches were never the easy option. Will he eat hummus? He can have fun spreading it on crackers or pita bread and also dip his carrots in it. Cold pasta has always worked for me. Soup in a thermos? They sell mini thermos now. My daughter will also eat pepperoni on crackers. Otherwise, don't worry too much about the same thing everyday- they can get variety at dinner & breakfast. My 13 yo got a pb&j sandwich every day from pre-school until 4th grade when he discovered he did like lunch meat after all. He survived.

What about egg salad, chicken salad or any kind of pasta (like a macaroni salad) which can be eaten cold?

you could see if she likes hummus, which has a lot of protein.

Your daughter sounds like mine. She won't eat lunch meat, however this past school year she discovered she liked bologna. She hates cheese unless it is in mac and cheese, but then it cannot be too cheesy either. lol She will only eat carrots with ranch dressing. She is 8yrs. old. For school lunches I have made her bagel bites, mini hot dogs, mini corn dogs, soup, spaghetti o's, and mini bagel dogs. I would give her crackers w/pb, or plain crackers, and fruit. Good luck

I'm mostly vegetarian (I eat seafood), and pack my daughter's lunch at the same time as mine, so I try to find non-meat protein sources that she and I can share.
1. Yogurt and cottage cheese. There are many yogurts geared toward kids, with various characters on the packaging. I drop a cold pack or two into my daughter's plastic lunch sack to keep these items cold.
2. Another big hit has been hard-boiled eggs. I peel and salt one most mornings, and put the egg in a small plastic container that is easy to open.
3. If your daughter likes carrots, she might want to dip them in hummos. You can buy brands with various flavors, though we usually stick with the original kind, which is very mild.
4. Tuna is another option. My daughter will only eat the white chunk tuna. There's a brand (Chicken of the Sea, maybe?) using individual plastic packaging that kids can open themselves. Or, you can open a can at home and put the tuna into a plastic container. I tried this once, but my daughter said the tuna tasted "yucky" this way, so I had to go back to buying it in the expensive packaging.
I hope these suggestions help.