What to send in a very picky kid's lunch?

Question

He doesn't eat meat and won't eat PBJ. He ate muffins everyday last year. I need new ideas!!!

Answer 1

Bowl of cereal and a spoon -- he can get milk from the cafeteria, right?

Cup of yogurt, crackers and fruit

Short, wide-mouth thermos with soup, pasta, rice & veggies, etc. -- anything moist will keep hot for hours if you heat the thermos up first.

Toothpick "kabobs" with cubed cheese, veggies and bread. You can try to slip some mild meats on there, too, like turkey.

Cold pasta salads in a bowl -- farfalle, orzo, couscous, etc. -- or whatever else he eats at home.

Tortilla treasure maps -- get some of those food-coloring markers from a craft store. Draw a map on one side of the tortilla and then roll it map-side out around cheese, veggie strips or something like that & wrap in plastic wrap. Make it different every day, or just write jokes or draw pictures on it. My son totally loves those.

Ask him what he wants to eat and get him to help you pack his lunches. "Ownership" will lead him to eat his own meals.

Answer 2

Cheese and Peanut butter crackers. Muffins (again). Carrots and celery with dip. Fruit salads with fruit dip. Nutrigrain berry bars (for some reason my picky kids love these). Spaghetti in an insulated cup (just save from the night before and heat up in the morning). Double Noodle or Jimmy Neutron chicken noodle soup. Ravioli in an insulated cup. I even heard of a mom last year putting chicken nuggets in the insulated cup.

However, the best thing for him is for you to have him try more food this summer.
I tell my kids "1 bite, chew it up and swallow then give me your honest opinion." It's amazing the things they found out they liked the past few years.
Just make it a rule- 1 bite of what I'm having at all lunch and dinners.

Answer 3

You know the foods he likes, so just incorporate them into his lunch.

For instance, my son hates cheese. Won't touch it. He takes a homemade lunchable that is just crackers and meat.

My son hates all condiments, including PBJ, but he loved cold pizza. So I sent leftover cold pizza with him.

Also, a thermos full of soup along with some crackers is a great lunch. Chips and salsa. Tortilla roll-ups. Fruit and dip. Raw veggies and dip (even if that dip is just ketchup).

As long as it is satisfying and healthy, you can come up with a bunch of concoctions. Also, strongly encourage him to try new foods. I have a rule of trying something new each month. he doesn't have to like it, but he does need to chew it and swallow it. (My son is SUPER picky) Eventually, he develops a taste for it. But I've seen where his dad's parents coddled to his pickiness and he eats nothing but junk food now and refuses to try anything healthy (he's now 5'10" and 280). So keep plugging along...it'll be worth it!

Answer 4

My kids are picky, too. They go through phases. For a while, I would give them cinnamon bread with cream cheese and some fruit. And even if they won't eat a cheese sandwich, they are more likely to nibble on some cheese cubes and a crusty roll. I have also sent a little box of cereal for them to eat with milk.

Answer 5

My son had the same issue when he was in elementary school. I sent him to school with those little snack size bags (usually 6 or 7) filled with something different in each one. Crackers, pretzels, cereal, bologna cut into heart shapes with a small cookie cutter, fruit, jello jigglers, cold pizza cut into bite size pieces (he loved this one), and anything else that I could find to fit into one of those small bags! One of his teachers finally asked me, "Why does your son lay out a small feast at snack/lunch time?". She understood when I told her he is so picky that at least if I pack his lunch like that I know he will eat something, anything for the day!

Answer 6

I agree with asking him what he would like.Make it fun for him.Have a buffet experiment one night.The both of you go grocery shopping and let him pick out some foods he might like to try and some he knows he likes.Make small portions of each of the foods and try them out like a buffet so he can figure out what he likes and dislikes.Let him know what this little experiment is about and hold him to his decisions.
If he's still in a muffin phase you can mix that up a bit as well.My daughter LOVES muffins.She will eat most types.Ex. pumpkin,zucchini, carrot cake ,banana,and so on.You can throw one in occasionally as a reward.
Good luck

Answer 7

ask him what he would like in his lunch. how about a salad? or a pita. what does he eat? veggies, fruit, tuna? mix it up don't send the same thing everyday. also sometimes you have to make children try things. it will make it easier for yourself and for him. my brother hated mexican and won't eat it. my mom just let him eat the american food when we went there. one day i took him there myself ordered him a taco and cheese thing and made him try it and guess what he loves mexican now. he actually asks us to go there. sometimes kids just need to be pushed a little.

Answer 8

My mom used to pack me cheese and crackers (put them in separate bags, or the crackers will get soft) and fruit. You could also put in things like banana or zucchini bread, hummus and veggies, or those little tuna salad kits.

Answer 9

cheese and crackers or lunchables are always good. celery with peanutbutterand raisins. you could send him fruit cups. sounds like he likes sweets since he ate muffins send him an oatmeal pie but its important he gets some protein in there too.

Answer 10

Crackers and cheese?? Maybe some different kinds of salads? Good Luck thats a tuff one!