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Not only are these toddler lunch ideas easy, but they are heat-free making them daycare friendly as well as nut-free!
Easy toddler lunch ideas
When my son started going to Daycare, I needed to figure out the best toddler lunch ideas. I just packed a PB&J and some crackers or fruit and he was happy. Recently, we were notified that one of his friends has a nut allergy and that child would have to sit alone at lunch if we did not make adjustments. I cannot even imagine my child having to sit alone at a table to eat lunch. I knew when I read the message about this that I would be making every effort to make my son’s lunches nut-free so he could join his friend.
If you are not at the toddler stage yet, maybe you could get some tips over at How I Save Over $600 On Baby Food A Year!
Best Toddler Lunchbox
Bentgo has the best lunchbox. I am going to talk more about the Bentgo Box shortly, but one problem I tend to have is finding a kid’s lunchbox that holds his Bentgo Box and his water cup. This lunchbox is the perfect size to hold both! It is currently on sale on Amazon (however, this could change if you don’t act fast!)
Snack box
One of the best toddler lunch boxes to make lunchtime fun is a Bentgo Snackbox! The Bentgo box is such a great asset to my sons’ lunch box each day! It is BPA-free and the insert is dishwasher safe making clean up easier. This is the one that my son has however there are so many different colors to fit your child’s favorite things. There are monster trucks, rocket ships, llamas, and mermaids so there are plenty of options to get your child excited about lunchtime.
Veggie muffins
One way to get your toddler to eat their vegetables is to hide them! You can find this great recipe for Easy Veggie Muffins to send to daycare or school with your child! These muffins have both broccoli and carrots without your child even knowing.
Ham and cheese box
Trying to get your child to eat meat for added protein can be challenging to say the least (or at least for me). However, your child may like ham and cheese rolled up! My child loves cheese, and if you hide the meat, they may actually learn to enjoy it!
Yogurt and Granola
Another toddler favorite is yogurt. Adding granola adds protein and fiber that your little one could benefit from. It is practically a healthy dessert! The other great thing about yogurt is that you can have dairy-free yogurt if your child needs that.
Easy Toddler Bentgo Box Lunches
What You Can Include in Bentgo Lunch Box
- Yogurt Pouch
- Babybel Cheese
- Annie’s Gold Bunnies
- Berries (Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries), and other fruits
- Pretzels, fat-free
- Earth’s Best Toddler Bar
- Yogurt covered raisins
- Cucumbers
- Cheerios
- Fruit Cups
- Blueberry/veggie muffins
- Cheese stick
- Clementines
- Veggie Stick with Hummus
- Pita Chips with Hummus
How to Make Lunches Fun
One of the best tools I have found to make food fun for my toddler is this Food Cutter! I use these all of the time to make my son’s toddler lunches fun! You can cut sandwiches into hearts or Mickey Mouse heads! You can cut stars and hearts out of his cucumbers or cheese slices which he talks about when he gets home!
Bentgo Lunch Options
Here are some examples of lunches that we use every week for daycare!
Lunch #1
- Yogurt Pouch
- Babybel Cheese Round
- strawberries
- 2 Muffins (blueberry or veggies0
- Pretzels
Lunch #2
- Yogurt Pouch
- Clementines/Strawberries
- Cucumbers
- Yogurt covered Raisins
- Goldfish/Gold Bunnies
Lunch #3
- Toddler Bar
- Cucumber
- Yogurt Covered Raisins
- Cheerios
- Mandarin Oranges
Lunch #4
- Ritz/Teddy Graham
- Berry Medley
- Cucumbers
- Cheerios
- Yogurt Pouch
Lunch #5
- Berry Medley
- Yogurt Covered Raisins
- Cheerios
- Pretzels
Lunch #6
- Yogurt Pouch
- Pears
- Berry Medley
- Yogurt Covered Raisins
- Cheerios
- Pretzels
Lunch #7
- Sandwich of choice (my son loves PB&J, but we do not send it to daycare to support his friend with a nut allergy)
- Gold Bunnies
- Clementines
- Berry Medley
Lunch #8
- Yogurt Pouch
- Gold Bunnies
- Yogurt covered raisins
- clementines
- berries
Lunch #9
- Yogurt Pouch
- Toddler Bar
- Raisins
- Pretzels
- Blueberries
Lunch #10
- Applesauce Pouch
- Annies Bunnies
- Clementines
- Berry Medley
Lunch #11
- Applesauce
- Berries
- Teddy Grahams
- Cheerios
- Cheese stick
These are all of the recent lunches my son has taken to daycare. I try to stick with snacks he loves. Our daycare is so amazing and provides two snacks a day for them. This is where he gets to try new snacks such as rice cakes, veggies with dressing, and oatmeal.
Toddler Lunches At Home
I have mentioned a few toddler lunch ideas to take to daycare or on the go. The Bentgo box has made sending easy toddler lunches to daycare. There are more and more moms living their dream of being a SAHM! This means that they do not have to worry about daycare lunches! LUCKY YOU!!
Before my son went to daycare, he ate mostly fruits and vegetables. I would buy fresh fruits and vegetables. My toddler loves everything from broccoli, pears, grapes, blueberries, sweet potatoes, peas, and carrots. This is only a small list of all of the fruits and vegetables I would prepare for him. I would cut everything bite-sized to make it easier to heat and give at mealtime. Anything that needed to be steamed such as broccoli or sweet potatoes was prepared that way.
Here are the items I used to prepare this:
- Plastic cups with an attached lid to store in the freezer until use.
- Grape Cutter
- Steamer basket and instant pot which talk a lot about in How I Save Over $600 On Baby Food A Year
I try to make toddler lunches as easy as possible. There are so many other things that are hard about parenting, this just does not need to be one of them!
Conclusion
I am just not sure why figuring out what to give our toddlers becomes such a problem. Toddlers are just so picky, especially mine! My advice is this:
- Choose Healthy Options
- Make Vegetables fun with shapes and muffins
- Introduce new healthy food options slowly
- Let your toddler pick out their lunch box
- Invest in a Bentgo Box, they are fun and help to organize their meal
Feeding our child does not have to be hard!