Healthy Lunch Ideas 3 Y/o

I'm kind of in the same boat with my 3 yo daughter and 17 month old son. Both of them are so picky even though I have consistently offered them all kinds of foods since they were able to eat regular foods. I found a website that I love and my kids usually like the recipes I make from there, although there is one mac and cheese w/ chicken recipe they don't like. It is www.weelicious.com. I just made the apple and banana muffins yesterday...delicious!!! The recipes are easy and I usually have a lot of the ingredients on hand. Good luck!

I have a 3 1/2 yr old :)

My daughter likes raw veggies dipped in hummus. I usually make the hummus, but pretty much everywhere sells it, and Trader Joe's has a reasonably priced organic hummus as well.

We do some veggies, hummus, hard-boiled egg or deviled egg or egg-salad sometimes, along with some fruit (apple, berries, banana, etc in rotation) and sometimes guacamole or plain avocado, and salsa w/organic chips on the side.

We often do leftovers too- pasta, shredded meat from dinner, etc. If you can do tortillas, you can wrap this up. We like lettuce wraps here since we are gluten- and corn-free.

For a little treat, since she is burned out on eggs, how about making custard? You can whisk up and egg with a lot of milk and a little bit of honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and either microwave or cook in the oven until solid. Very high protein and if you keep the sweetener to a minimum, healthful.

You can blend up organic yogurt or coconut milk, some frozen fruit, and either avocado or organic extra virgin coconut oil and make a hearty smoothie (or freeze for popsicles.)

I have a food blog if you are interested. We have a lot of food restrictions though and eat organic/grass fed and according to Weston A Price guidelines too, but maybe it will spark some ideas...
www.chickiepea.wordpress.com

M.

Hummus and cottage cheese are great sources of protein. You could make your own chicken and slice it up for a sandwich so it's not processed. You could do pasta with butter instead of tomato sauce. You could introduce more dippable veggies in addition to carrots like celery, peppers, cucumbers. There are lots of soup options, which may not be as appealing as it gets warmer, but it's an option. You could do peanut butter on apples too, my 3 y/o likes that sometimes. Instead of just doing plain eggs you could make a quiche or a strata and serve that for lunch too. That way you could get some veggies in there too, maybe.

My son is slightly older (5 yrs old) but some of our lunch ideas include:

-Avocado tacos
-Hummus tortillas with cheese (or with tomatoe, etc)
-Miso soup with tofu
-French toast
-Black bean soup with yogurt (Lentil soup is a big hit too)
-Fish nuggets- yes they are processed but the ones from Trader Joe's are super addictive and a nice alternative to chicken nuggets
-Eggs (soft boiled, scrambled, omeletes, "eggs in a basket", egg salad sandwich)
-Leftovers from the night before!

Also- if you're 3 yr old doesn't like tomatoe sauce, you could try making pizza using pesto sauce instead- your little one can help with whatever toppings you choose

Good luck!

HI there - our three year olds like canned chicken for sandwiches. A little lite mayo makes it tasty, and on wheat bread it is not too bad. They are not big on canned tuna but the canned chicken is a hit! What about a granola bar, too?

I have this book checked out from the library called real food for healthy kids I just checked it out but the recipies look easy simple ingredients & tasty for those picky eaters & us moms who want the nutrtion packed foods for our kiddos

I don't have any suggestions. My kids like something one day and not the next!

Cold chicken drumsticks, other raw veggies--red peppers, celery, green peppers, olives, cucumbers, tuna or tuna salad on a bun/crackers?

You have some great suggestions! I will make a roaster chicken - one that is too big for our dinner meal. After dinner, I will clean the meat off and make chicken salad from it. My kids love to eat this with a spoon. Also, you can portion the chicken and freeze it until you are ready to make the salad. Make the salad with your favorite veggies - we like onion and celery in ours but other things like grapes and nuts taste really good in it too.

I know you asked not to suggest cheese, but my kids love cheese and crackers for lunch and snack. We also don't eat deli lunch meats because they don't taste good to us and all the nitrates and processing, so often our lunches look like large snacks.

Mac and cheese, or soups, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets. What about tuna?

Go online and check out cook and food books for children, there are many recipes that are fun and tasty to little tummys.

Cook up a chicken and cube up the meat for bite size pieces. I do the same with beef and nitrite free ham. Stir fry lots of veggies and a little protein and quick. Beans and rice. Soups..my 3 yo loves his soups and they can be made ahead and frozen in toddler servings,

That weelicious.com website was great! Thanks to whoever suggested it. Lots of receipes that are healthy and easy (the key in my kitchen)!

Celery and cream cheese or celery with peanut butter in it. (since he/she obviously likes pb)