I never used to know what to make for lunch for my toddler, so I came up with a few ideas that I knew she loved. I made a menu for her and referenced that, constantly. Here are few lunch ideas for toddlers, and a sample menu at the end!
I used to stress about my daughter getting enough calories. I used to worry she was not eating enough, or eating too much of one thing, and I stressed.
Silly me.
She was only eating bananas, so I started buying blueberries to make sure she could digest. This became my solution. After some trial and error, I figured out what worked for my daughter.
Or maybe she just started liking more things. I’m not sure.
Anyway, here are a few go-to lunches for my toddler.
Charcuterie Board
I absolutely love to just give her an assortment of food groups and call it a day. It’s easy for me and she loves it because she gets to eat with her hands.
Burrito Bowl
Along the same vein, I offer burrito bowls or a deconstructed burrito that she can pick apart herself. We are just now getting to the point where she will eat it all mixed together, which is really exciting!
Frozen nuggets/fish sticks and a veggie
I am NOT above frozen chicken nuggets, or chicken tenders, or fish sticks. They are so quick and easy and she loves them. I make sure to always serve with a vegetable. My daughter loves peas and broccoli so those are our go-tos.
Roasted potatoes with rice
When boiling rice I like to boil cauliflower pieces in it so no one even knows it is there. The potatoes can take a while but if you have a toaster oven or air fryer you can cut that time in half.
This is a short post but I have attached the reference sheet I made when my daughter was about a year old. If I couldn’t think of anything to make, Id check the menu and see what I had on hand. I highly recommend doing something like this because it takes out a lot of the guesswork!
Links for recipes I use:
Broccoli and cheddar rice muffins
If you are looking for meals that freeze well, I have a post for that too! Speaking of freezing, let me say this before I forget: batch making muffins and then freeing them was my greatest hack for the first year. There are so many healthy muffin recipes out there and having one ready every single morning was so so so convenient. You can also freeze egg bites and quiche bites and baby pancakes! I know this post is about lunch but breakfast can be just as easy!
Thank you for reading!
