Kids and Toddler Lunch Ideas and How to Get Kids Involved with Planning Their Lunch!
I must say when it comes to packing my toddler school lunch box it gives me a little bit of anxiety as I feel the pressure from daycare, schools, family and friends am I giving them all the nutrients they need is it healthy enough is it enough will they go hungry will it fill them up, I wonder what the other kids are eating, will the teachers judge me and it goes on and on in my head.
You have this little human being to care for and you are doing your very best but it is constant worry all the time and feeding them is another worry as you don’t want them to be a picky eater either so you try and give them a variety of things but sometimes ‘Mrs Hubbard goes to the cupboard and it is bare’ you have a carrot, sultanas and some strawberries!!! Healthy BUT that is not going to fill them up, at least it is better than chocolate biscuits and chips you tell yourself.
At the moment with majority of children being at home with the world situation and you still want to keep a routine up and structured day, then now more than ever is the time to get your kids involved with planning their lunches. You can even pack them in the morning still and put them in lunch boxes if that suits your routine or maybe take and extra break at lunch time and that can be like a class learning to cook and bake.
However you decide to structure your day then it is perfectly fine. Most of the points below are still very relevant
First, Get Organized:
Start With A List And Go Shopping
Start by sitting down with your older kids and come up with a list of lunches they like. This could include sandwiches and wraps, or even homemade lunch-able, but it doesn’t have to stop there. If you add a thermos to the mix, you can suddenly pack reheated leftovers, homemade soup and the likes. The key is to find lunch foods and snacks that your kids will eat that are also easy to pack.
Make sure you have appropriate containers, and then head to the grocery store to pick up everything you need for the week. Don’t forget about snacks and drinks as needed. The list should make this much easier. Once you have several different lunch ideas your kids like and will actually eat, you can simply rotate through them and make the ingredients part of your weekly shopping trips.
Prep What You Can As Soon As You Get Home
When you get home from the store, keep lunch foods out and see what you can do to prep things ahead of time. Instead of putting that bag of grapes away, go ahead and wash and store them in little bags you can grab and toss in the lunch box. The same goes for things like carrots and even salads. Slice cheese as needed and just thing about what you can prep as soon as you get home.
Pack Lunches The Night Before
Mornings are busy and not always the perfect time to have to worry about packing lunches. Trust me here you don’t want to be rushing around trying to get lunches ready along with breakfast, cleaning teeth dressing, shoes on, as you are sure to forget something. Try making them the night before. Try packing them after dinner at night.
Get the kids involved and have them help with lunch prep and clean-up after. You can store cold items in the fridge and have everything else sitting in the lunch box ready to go.
It won’t take you long to get into a rhythm of preparing lunches while you’re cleaning up after dinner. You’ll appreciate this new habit in the mornings when all you need to do is grab a couple of things from the fridge and put them in the lunch boxes.
Sandwich Cutters for kids to make lunchLittle Kid and Toddler Mealtime Lunch KitBento Lunch Box Containers
Get In Kids Into The Habit Of Cleaning Lunch Boxes As Soon As They Get Home From School or Daycare.
To make lunch prep even easier, get the kids into the habit of cleaning out their lunch box as soon as they get home from school. Even the youngest can help with this it is a great opportunity to show them to be responsible for their own things. Have them toss any uneaten food and bring the containers to the sink to be washed.
Older children can easily clean their own containers, while you’ll probably have to do the washing for your youngest. Having everything clean and ready to go will make it easier to pack the new lunches later in the evening.
Stick to these tips and it won’t take you long to get into an efficient lunch packing routine that will make it a snap. Don’t forget to get the kids involved and put them in charge of much of the preparations. Not only will this make your live easier in the long run, it will give them a sense of ownership over their lunch.
==> Perfect Lunch Boxes For Kids and Toddlers
20+ Kid Friendly Lunch Ideas
20 plus Kid Friendly Lunch Ideas for Back to school these look really yummy and appetizing and quite simply to make check them out here at A Moms Impression.com.
Get Creative With Healthy Lunch Ideas for toddlers and Kids
There are quite a few options for lunch ideas that are not just the normal sandwiches. Having insulated lunch bags and Lunch boxes with compartments make it easier to put in foods that can stay cool by adding an ice block and still taste great, also the compartments are great so foods don’t have to be individually wrapped in cling wrap so that saves the planet as well as makes it easier for kids to eat.
Some fun and creative lunches for the kids (or yourself). Cut the sandwiches in cute little shapes, make some fun roll-ups, and get creative with fresh fruit, raw veggies, cheese and the likes as sides.
If you are ready to get even more creative, do a quick search on Pinterest for toddler lunch ideas for daycare. You’ll find ideas from gourmet food to fun and quirky kid-friendly lunch ideas. Who knew that you could shape rice and make it look like an adorable panda? You’ll find entire Pinterest boards and Instagram accounts dedicated to creative toddler food ideas and also Fun Kids Lunch box ideas.
Little Kid and Toddler Melamine Feeding Bowl,Kid and Toddler Blossom Butterfly Insulated Food JarKids Insulated Boys a Lunch Bag
Of course there’s no need to go all out. You can make delicious and eye-pleasing lunches by taking just a little care with how you place the food in the compartments and taking advantage of simple little tricks like pouring gold fish crackers or raisins into paper or silicon cupcake liners.
What I like best about compartment lunch boxes is that it gives you the opportunity to pack several small, snack like items into one lunch. Your child will have fun picking and choosing for lunch and you know he will still get a healthy meal.
Plus what child doesn’t love a bunch of colorful finger food for lunch. Heck, you may even convince your picky eaters to try new fruits, veggies, cheeses and the likes if you cut them into cute little shapes.
Pack School Lunches That Your Kids Will Actually Eat
That is the million dollar question how to we get our kids to eat what we pack them I am not a fan of buying from the tuck shop even though they seem to have healthier options these days I just find it too expensive and I am all about saving money so this is one things I do like to have have control over, even my husband gets a packed lunch as I cannot justify $50-$70 a week on coffee and take away lunches. So part of that routine in many households is packing school lunches.
When you’re looking for a little more control over your child’s lunch, packed lunches are the perfect solution. They offer what most schools don’t and let them enjoy their own food without feeling left out!
For the child that has dietary restrictions or food allergies, packing lunches is a must. It allows you to include healthy foods your child will actually eat and it doesn’t have to cost any more than what you would be paying for lunch at school.
Of course packing a lunch every day doesn’t do any good if your child doesn’t eat it or ends up trading most of it away for junk food. The key then is to find things that your child loves and enjoys eating.
The best place to start is to get your child involved. Depending on the age of your kids, you could even put them in charge of making their own lunches. Not only do you know that they’ll pack something they will eat, being in charge of packing lunch will teach them responsibility.
Lunch Box for Kids Bento BoxLittle Letters for Lunch Notes18-Piece BPA-Free Flatware Set, Multicolored
Start by talking to your kids about what they want in their lunch box. Make a list of options and then head to the store so you have everything you need for the first week of school. Getting the kids as involved as possible will make sure that they end up with lunches they will eat. For older kids that may mean making their own lunches (under your supervision of course).
Younger children can help. Even your little ones can wash grapes and put them into a container, or pick a snack for her lunch box. Get in the habit of making lunches together the night before. Over time you can give the kids more and more responsibility for their lunches. This alone will help make sure they eat what they’ve packed.
After all, it’s the lunch they made. Along the way you’re teaching them independence and important life skills.
Of course you want to encourage your kids to pack and eat healthy foods. Insisting on all healthy, organic food options all the time may not be your best strategy though. Strike a balance and make compromises. If your kids pack and eat a healthy wrap or salad for example, let them have some cookies for dessert.
Teach them to make good choices, but don’t freak out if they decide to pack some Cheetos or a pack of Oreo cookies. Your goal is to get them to eat fairly healthy and make smart food choices, not restrict all access to junk food, causing them to trade with friends for forbidden Twinkies.
Lunch Love Notes is the last thing I put in my kids lunch boxes and this makes my heart sing. I love my kids to pieces and I tell them everyday so I always want them to know that I am thinking of them and so I put some Lunch love notes in the their lunch boxes for them to read and hopefully put a smile on their faces.
100 School Lunch Ideas
So you think you cannot come up with a couple of lunch ideas for your toddler or kids, well here are 100 Lunch ideas that your kids will want to eat. Now there is no excuse. If you have a look they have managed to give you 100 school lunch ideas- Don’t they look yummy. Check them out here at One Crazy House.