Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

i agree on the thermos - you can put anything in there and it will stay warm. I would put pasta or pastina with butter and mixed veggies in there.

not sure how old your son is, but once DS hit the toddler room, I started him on mini sandwiches, cutting them into small almost bite-sized pieces.

my son would also eat a lot of finger foods cold, like sweet potatoes. he didn't care that it wasn't warmed up (no way to warm them in our toddler room either).

I also did veggie pasta salad tossed with a little olive oil, mozz cheese chunks and pieces of tomatoes.

Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

When DS was that age in daycare we did a lot of fresh fruit, applesauce, yogurt, cheese sticks, veggies like peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower. Cut up cherry tomatoes, grilled cheese on whole grain bread, annie's organic mac & cheese in a thermos mixed with peas & carrots, cottage cheese, homemade mini muffins with zucchini or carrots mixed in, rice cakes with sun butter or hummus, cut up veggie burger with hummus, pasta salad. Quesadillas with cheese, chicken, & veggies. Leftover pizza, frozen organic yogurt tubes, homemade blueberry waffles or pancakes w/ fruit.

Re: Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

Meatballs (earths best are great)
Rolled up lunch meat
Chickpeas with cucumber
Black beans and corn
Brocolli
Asparagus
Green beans
Cheese cubes
Egg cheese spinach muffins
Roasted potatoes
Potstickers
Hard boiled egg
Homemade tuna or salmon patties
Roasted butternut squash
Edamame
Bell pepper strips
Praegers broccoli bites
Homemade quesadilla
Rice balls
Avocado
White beans with diced ham
Olives
Shrimp
Kiwi
Pineapple
Blackberries
Raspberries
Cuties mandarin oranges


Are you on Instagram? If so, search the hashtags "yumbox" "easylunchboxes" and "lunchbox". Lots of great ideas!

Eta: sorry just read it needs to be egg free.

Message edited 2/24/2015 10:00:49 PM.

Re: Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

Be prepared that when you switch over to all table foods, it will look like he's slowing down in his food intake, but it will most likely stay the same. Since he's been on mostly purees, he can probably put away a lot, but once he is on real food, it will be thicker and be more filling so he'll eat "less". Good luck!

Re: Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

Re: Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

Re: Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

I would include more protein: chicken cutlet cut up into bite-sized pieces, grilled chicken strips.. turkey, chicken, or black bean burger, turkey meatballs, shrimp, sausage, cheese sticks, beans, lentils, yogurt, cottage cheese and fruit... quesadillas are quick and easy. You can make a big batch of homemade chicken nuggets that are unprocessed and healthy and then freeze them so you have them on hand. Different kinds of veggie frittatas even served as a sandwich (you said school is egg-free but it's a quick healthy meal at home or on the go.)

Other ideas:
soups and stews
pasta (or spaghetti squash) with sauce, veggies (peas and broccoli), or butter and grated cheese
cold veggie pasta or quinoa salad
grilled cheese and soup
pita bread or crackers with hummus or white bean dip
avocado sandwich
homemade pizza bagel or french bread pizza
leftover pizza
oatmeal
cereal or granola
bagel with butter or cream cheese/jelly
mini pancakes, waffles, french toast
ham and cheese sandwich
diff combinations of grilled mixed veggies (sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips, beets, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, eggplant etc.)
mixed fruit salad

I know you said you're short on time, but I agree with others - pick a weekend and make big batches to use for the week. Make and freeze meals ahead of time, use the slow cooker... it can be done!

Message edited 2/26/2015 12:53:41 AM.

Re: Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

My dd is almost the same age. For the babysitter we do:
Cheese stick (she eats it whole now but I used to quarter it and slice it)
Fruit (watermelon, quartered grapes)
Veggie (cucumbers and chickpeas are a current favorite)
Sometimes pasta (ditalini with olive oil and cheese)
Sandwich (pbj, cream cheese and jelly, ham or turkey) - I cut it into small pieces
Chicken cut into small pieces
And always in case she is still hungry:
Squeezable Apple sauce
Banana

Re: Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

My dd had awful issues with gagging on foods when she was small so I can relate.

Things she really liked and still loves

Pastina or pasta cut really small with broccoli and chicken.
I throw the chicken and broccoli into the food processor for a few seconds so it chops it small. I throw a little olive oil in with it. My girls eat it cold or hot.

Chicken with cooked carrots cut really small and peas.

Spaghetti squash roasted in the oven. Scrape it out and cut very small. You can either add peas and paramaran cheese or add red sauce.

Re: Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

Thanks everyone!

I have used SO MANY of the suggestions already and I have a whole menu planned out to use all of the others. So far, he's doing really well.

When he's truly hungry he eats and if he refuses I just tell them to go back to it another time, no big deal. And they do and then he eats.

Thanks!!!

Need your help - HEALTHY meal/food ideas for daycare:

Hey there! When my son was little I used to make a meal and then divvy it up into little containers and freeze them so I didn't feel like I was always cooking. So, if I made a pot of sauce and didn't want to defrost the entire thing, I could just defrost a tiny container and be on my way. I did it for everything - soups, stews, chicken cutlets, meatballs, burgers, sautéed veggies - worked like a charm!! And if you plan that he's going to have the same thing each day or every other day for lunch, you can prepare it all on Sunday, so you don't have to make it each night. It worked well for me! Good luck!