Ideas for kids cold tea

[coffeemonsterrrr]

My DC4 has hot dinner at school and then another hot snack at after school club - ususally something like beans on toast. At home time (5pm ish) he always likes a snack at home and can often be fairly hungry. He is fussy though and will reject a fun dinner if I make it, but likes carby stuff like sandwiches and sweet stuff if he can get it!

I usually do a picky plate containing a mix of things but I'm looking for new ideas and ways to keep things healthy. I make my own bread so I know that's decent, and usually make a sandwich along with sliced apples, cucumber, carrots etc and a yoghurt.

What else could I give him to keep it varied and stop him getting in a rut?! He won't eat eggs sadly.

Pizza.

Homemade bread/crudites with dips/hummus.

Cheese and crackers

Fruit salad

Charcuterie type stuff with your homemade bread.

Falafels cold.
Hummus with pita.
Apples sticks with peanut butter.
Cheese and crackers.

Falafel houmous pitta and pepper sticks
Soup (microwaved for a couple of mins, doesn't count as cooking) with a cheese sandwich
If you made a big batch of savoury muffins would he eat a couple a day? Courgette & cheddar are yummy.

Cheese and Bacon Turnovers... @Here.

Wraps?

Pasta with peas and sweetcorn

Couscous with diced chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, sweetcorn etc.

Pasta salad with chicken, ham or tuna, peas, spinach or other wilted leaves

Mixed bean salad, or puy lentils, or chickpeas, or any combination of these, with chicken ham or tuna, grated carrots, diced peppers, grated courgette etc etc.

Quiche?

Unfortunately he's super fussy so won't eat any of this. We eat it but he turns his nose up. Nothing where food is mixed together basically, everything separate! 🙈

hard boiled eggs

potato salad with a bit of tuna

rice or couscous or pasta salad with veg (and or tuna or boiled egg)

grated carrot with vinaigrette (could add raisins)

tortilla de patatas

chopped peppers, cucumbers, celery, carrots, with radishes and cherry tomatoes

different cheeses

natural yoghurt and fruit

dried fruit

glass of milk or hot milk or hot chocolate

apple or pear compote

homemade granola/muesli

chicken drumstick

Our picky plate is cheese, crackers and apples/grapes.

That said, mine would probably still be pretty hungry after that on a normal school day. They have a hot lunch, plus sizeable snack plate at home about 5pm and then we still have a big cooked dinner at 7pm. But if they really won’t eat dinner, then cheese/crackers and fruit or hummus/flatbread with salad, fruit, boiled eggs. Or something breakfast-y, porridge or toast with fruit.

Does it have to be cold?

What's wrong with soup and bread/sandwich or a toastie?

Based on what he has already eaten I would simply offer what you are eating with you, so much better to all eat together. If he chooses not to eat it then he's not going to starve, he's already eaten.

This, why cold? Soup, pasta, toasties, fish fingers in a wrap, sausages etc. All light, does it matter they are hot?

Oatcakes

I forgot to say he won't eat soup. He very rarely eats any hot food at home but will occasionally eat pasta. It's very difficult!

I know that you said he doesn't like eggs but I'm just going to say that my youngest, who always said she didn't like eggs (not even quiche) loves a soft boiled egg and soldiers with salted butter: so I would say that if there isn't an allergy don't necessarily cross eggs off your list.
If he doesn't need to eat much and you just want to mix it up a bit I recommend iceberg wraps: you can make any mixed chopped sandwich filling with veg and protein and even carbs if you want and it can be served on spoons of gem lettuce or on iceberg leaves to roll up.

A slice of a cheese or meat and veg pie (My DC loved the filling of spanakopita but not the filo, so I would make a big flat one with a shortcrust base and a flaky top; always popular.
For my son (2nd of 5) who was troubled about texture (eventually diagnosed ND), we came up with a mezze plate of all sorts, laid out side by side, but eaten with a set of plastic tongs, so each bite didn't include any other stuff. Things like grapes, grated carrot, bits of feta, prawns, tinned potatoes, all sorts.
This also reminds be of 'the dip years' where he ate almost anything with a dip, and almost anything in a dip; cubes of cheese with a tomato purée dip, or sugar snap peas with a cheese spread dip, for example.
TLDR: it sounds like your DS's evening snack is already great. As he's already had 3 meals it is just about tempting his palate, so you can do anything and just concentrate on making it fun and widening his tastes to make it easier later. Variety is key to make sure that no food becomes comfortable and none 'too unfamiliar. ' . Good luck!

Pancakes with fruit
Cheese on toast
Crumpets with marmite
Toasted bagel with cream cheese
Homemade flapjack or granola bars
Homemade sausage rolls or similar

Pizza
Nuggets
Wraps
Noodles
Egg and soldiers

What does he eat at the weekend, how about a smaller version of that?

He could just have a small portion of whatever dinner you're having, assuming he's not actually that hungry if he's had beans on toast at 5 pm, rather than doing something different so that's cold.

There's no limit on the amount of hot food a person should eat in a day despite a lot of people seeming to think that way.