Can you believe fall (and school) is right around the corner?! My daughter starts at 3K next week and I can’t believe how fast this summer went by 🥲. In June, she also started her first summer camp. She needed to bring her own cold lunch every day, which was new for us. They didn’t have access to microwaves for the camp, so we could not rely on hot dinner leftovers for a back-up plan.
If you’re like me, your daycare may have provided all food during the day (breakfast, lunch and snacks!!), so this “bring your own lunch” may be throwing a big wrench in your weekday morning routine. As a night owl, I planned for this change by making a nightly to do list to prepare for the following school and work day. Now, I’m sharing all the best quick cold lunch ideas we tried over the summer.
This post shares toddler school lunch ideas that make it easier to get out the door on time in the morning!
Top Tips for Your New Routine
Pack your child’s lunch the night before.
No matter how tired you are, this step is worth the effort. As I’m writing this, I did NOT pack my daughter’s lunch for tomorrow and I’m already regretting my extra morning task. However, the ideas below are EASY so even if you procrastinated like me, your morning doesn’t have to be chaotic (or more chaotic than usual).
Get your child a lunch box/bag system they can handle independently!
We went with this lunch box with dividers (i.e. a bento box) or this newer version looks great too! I love it because all components can go in the dishwasher! We have two of these bento boxes because I can throw the one we used for the current day into the dishwasher and make lunch the night before with the 2nd one! The seal between compartments is amazing too. I have put a liquid like applesauce or cottage cheese in the box alongside a sandwich with no cross contamination. Nobody wants soggy bread!
Lastly, we got this utensil set which is easy to clean and even my 3 year old can open and close on her own – make sure to test with your child before sending them to school! Lastly, we zip the lunch box and utensils inside this lunch bag which has built in ice packs. Make sure you put it in the freezer every night after you empty the lunch bag from the day. My daughter loves the colors of her lunch bag, and I love that it keeps her food cold until lunch! Win, win!
Keep it nutritious, but give yourself grace.
You can’t be perfect all the time and your child doesn’t need you to be. If you have a bad day and your child’s lunch is missing a veggie or fruit or protein, go easy on yourself. One day of a lackluster lunch doesn’t make you a bad mom or parent. However, you CAN use how you felt and adjust your routine going forward to ensure you aren’t missing key ingredients in the future.
Have fun with it!
If your child wants to help make their lunch – let them! It gives them some control and shows them what goes into preparing their lunch. My daughter loved doing it for about 3 days…so it’ll be short lived 😂
School Lunch Ideas
MAINS
Sandwiches
For young kids, I typically make a half sandwich and choose from the following options. However, if your child has a big appetite, is going through a growth spurt, or even depending on how big your bread is, a whole sandwich may be best! Just experiment with what works best for your child. Sometimes I send a full sandwich and she will eat it all, other times she barely ate half.
- Pick your Protein & Cheese
- My daughter usually chooses ham or turkey, obviously choose whatever meat your child likes best!
- Veggie & Cheese
- Here is how I prep various veggies for a sandwich:
- Carrots: I use a veggie peeler to make thin strips of carrots to put on the sandwich. Gives it a great crunch but not too hard for the kids to bite into!
- Cucumbers: thinly sliced
- Bell pepper: thinly sliced
- Tomatoes: very thinly sliced; if it’s really juicy I may remove the juices and seeds so the bread doesn’t get soggy. Nobody enjoys soggy bread.
- Avocado: thinly sliced
- Lettuce/Greens: for toddlers a small leaf is less messy than chopped thinly
- Radish: ok, I’ll be honest, I’ve never used this on a toddler’s sandwich, but I have on adult ones! The crunch of a radish is quite tasty and fun on a sandwich – there could be youngsters out there who is obsessed with radishes! I slice these thin-medium thickness for sandwiches
- Onion: I would stick to a milder onion if your child loves them, but if that’s obviously up to you! I would cut the onion in half width wise so that you have onion rings. Then you can either keep them in rings, or cut those rings in half to have little slivers.
- Here is how I prep various veggies for a sandwich:
- Sandwich Toppings:
- Any of the veggies listed above
- Add your child’s favorite sauce. My daughter loves mayo or butter. Other options could be guacamole, miracle whip, ranch, plain or flavored cream cheese or hummus
- Laughing Cow cheese wedge – sometimes I spread this on when I’m out of cheese because not many 3 year olds (especially in Wisconsin) say no to cheese! My daughter would probably just eat this on bread and be satisfied…keep that idea in your back pocket for when you’re in a real pinch! 😅
- Pickles
- Apple slices are great on a turkey sandwich if you child likes a little sweet and savory combination
- Peanut (Sun Butter if Nut-Free) and Jelly – an American classic!
- A Smucker’s Uncrustable would be a great quick option for when you’re low on time, again only for nut-friendly classes
Hard Boiled Eggs
Cold Pasta Salad
Possibly for more adventurous eaters, make a big batch on the weekend so you can quickly scoop portions into one of the containers sections
Bagel with Cream Cheese
Choose your toddler’s favorite bagel and cream cheese flavor! Here is a blueberry with plain cream cheese combination. We also love the mini bagel options or bagel thins! It makes it a little easier for little mouths to eat!
SIDES/SNACKS
Some schools ask parents to provide a snack bin so the children can grab a snack each day during a morning or afternoon break. In our case, we need to keep a 6 quart storage container stocked with non-perishable goodies.
- To-go Pouch
- Yogurt
- Applesauce
- Fruit & Veggie Blend
- Goldfish
- Ritz crackers, or similar
- Pretzels
- Chips (Baked, Kettle or Regular) or Veggie Straws
- Cottage Cheese
- Fruit
- Fresh fruit (perishable) – we love grapes, apples, oranges, bananas, melons and berries
- Fruit cups (perishable)
- If you want to save a little money, scoop canned fruit into one of the lunch box compartments! Once the can is open though, it’s a perishable item so do not put the opened canned fruit in containers in the snack bin.
- Dried fruits – raisins, craisins, cherries, apricots, mangos, etc.
- Fresh Veggies (perishable)
- We love cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes! I do give her a little veggie dip if I send cucumbers or carrots, just because she enjoys them more that way – don’t we all?!
- Can serve with a dip like my favorite Marzetti’s veggie dip or hummus
- String cheese (perishable)
- Granola bars
- Mini muffins
NUT-FREE DISCLAIMER
If your school or class requires the lunch to be nut-free make sure you understand the severity of the allergy present. In my daughter’s class, someone’s allergy is so severe, we cannot even pack items that are processed in a plant where nuts are present, even if the actual item doesn’t have nuts! For example, my daughter likes Quaker’s chocolate chip granola bars…even though they do not have nuts, since they have nuts in the processing facility, she knows these are only an “at home” snack.
So, if you’re in a nut-free class, check the label on any packaged food that you’re sending to school. You can never be too sure so I recommend erring on the side of caution and checking EVERYTHING packaged. I have found things that I would expect to be made in a facility where nuts also are present, but then I am pleasantly surprised and the opposite is true too!
