3.8yr old wont eat sandwiches

[oneofakind]

my ds 3.8 has never really liked cold foods and I am getting so fed up of having to cook hot meals for lunch and dinner every day. anxious also about when he starts going on school trips re; packed lunches. how can I encourage ds to eat a sandwich occasionally? - makes it a bit of a nightmare if we are out anywhere or on a journey or picnic not to mention expensive (as invariably half of the hot meals we order in a cafe/restaurant he does'nt like/not cooked like mums etc).
he will eat a soft finger roll or burger bun and a banana seperately or dip it into hoummus (but is going off this). does not like ham, cheese, cold meats etc. Any ideas or anyone with a shared experience?

what about mexican style tortillas - you could roll something up in one, and heat it up in the microwave before serving.Or toasted sandwiches?
Or spanish omelette (can be served hot or cold)
Or potato wedges.
savoury muffins/scones...cheese straws...pasta.

have a look at the snacks section in the MN recipes.

Have you tried making them with him?

Or giving him jam or nutella sandwiches at a time you would normally give him a biscuit so he gets used to the idea of a sandwich?

My dd eats sandwiches when they are cut into shapes.

With a cookie cutter, I mean. Rabbits and starts and hearts and fish and stuff.

dd1 was v similar, she's now 5.5 and still v limited in her sandwich preferences. I found she was/is better with fairly thin bread and a moist filling, eg hummus.

When were out in cafes etc, if I pulled the sandwich apart so it was like an open sandwich and cut it into small pieces she was more likely to eat it. I would also order side orders rather than full meals for her.

Re packed lunches I just packed a box with breadsticks, oat cakes, cheese cubes dried/fresh fruit.

Oh, and by the way, all of the above were hit and miss, sometimes they worked, sometimes not

My dd 8.5 is similar. She is happy to make the sandwich it is the eating she has issue with. Every day I send her to school with a small bridge roll - the filling is invariably marmite or nutella. She absolutely refuses any sort of cold meat or cheese despite being happy to eat it at home.

I am not a big fan of sandwiches because I find most sandwich bread very dry, even with butter/mustard/mayo/whatever on it. What I do is toast the bread, and then its crunchy and lovely to eat. Or I splurge on a nice crunchy roll to eat it on, rather than just a regular loaf.

i think this is fairly common, maybe they are a bit thick sometimes to get the smaller mouth round.

ds suddenly decided they were a good idea at about 4.2. he also finally embraced tuna so my life was a lot easier, one can usually get an emergency tuna sandwich anywhere. he also likes the chicken bacon and stuffing sandwich filling stuff from waitrose.

he still won't eat any cheese but parmesan though.

My nephew doesn't like sandwiches although he is a good eater generally. My sister gave up with sandwiches after a couple of weeks of him starting school.

She batch cooks and then freezes pasta and rice dishes and freezes them. Then she re-heats them in the mornings and puts them in a thermos funtainer. She says it is much, much easier than making sandwiches. He also has things like melba toast or crackers and cheese.

My DD2 is 20 and has never eaten a sandwich - even in MacD's she eats the meat and then the bun separately! It may be that some just don't like the combining of textures. However she's always been willing to eat a plain roll, bagel or even dry toast - some of her friends were the same - some just don't like buttered bread around their filing.

It must be challenging to fill ye olde lunchbox daily, especially if he won't eat ham and cheese on the side to a plain roll, which would make you feel you were supplying a 'sandwich', albeit disassembled! Breadsticks or other wheaty carb a good plan alongside some protein item, cold chicken breast perhaps chopped up (no good if to be left in warm place all day though) or those dry crispy bacon strips? (a bit salty maybe and very expensive.)

As MaMight says, sometimes buying those tiny shaped sandwich-cutters as for cocktail parties can be a good investment - one bite-sized, appetising, pretty little mouthful can be tempting for a child.

It's a right pain though I agree in our society where a sandwich IS a packed-lunch staple. I hope you find some alternatives - - but your DS may well change and not be set in his eating ways forever! Hope so, good luck.

dd1 (10) is the same - will not eat sandwiches! Sometimes I can get her to eat the 'disassembled' sandwich that Apples mentions - ie a plain roll with cheese on the side. She won't touch cold meat either! Aagh. It is very tricky for lunches, but at least she eats plenty of fruit and vegetables! I suppose you can't have it all...

My DS isn't too keen on sandwiches. For lunch he usually eats pitta bread with dips (houmous, guacamole) or we make it into a pizza (cut in half, tomato sauce, cheese and whatever is in the fridge, usually mushrooms, under the grill for a few minutes.

He also likes oatcakes or rice cakes with various spreads. Usually nut butters, sometimes cottage cheese.

Here some different ideas for sandwiches that you could try. Also try different breads?

Mashed hard boiled egg and watercress
Mashed sardines in tomato sauce
Marmite and cucumber
Cottage chesse and sweetcorn
Grated apple and cheese
Tuna and sweetcorn
Tuna mayonnaise and cucumber
Peanut butter and jam
Cashew butter and grated carrot
Mashed banana and tahini
Almond butter and molasses
Walnut butter and chopped celery

thank you for all of the replies - like the cookie cutter idea - will search one out tomorrow and let ds pick it. did'nt realise you could get thermos food containers either - that might be an idea as i can maybe send him in with warmed fusili and chicken on the side or a whole boiled egg or rice with something. he was/is so faddy with food but lately has been a lot better so was hoping the sarnie thing would improve but judging by some of your older dc's, maybe not! thanks again - glad to know I am not alone

my ds (3.11) is not overly keen on sandwiches, but like someone else mentioned, I use cookie cutters to make them into fun shapes like people. Then we play a game 'don't eat dad's head, legs, arms etc'. In his packed lunch he often brings sandwiches back, so have started giving him crackers- you could give him chopped up sausage, grated apple, egg slices, pineapple, chicken strips- possibilities endless. There is also cold pasta or soup in a thermos flask with a wholemeal roll.

My dd wasn't into sandwiches either though I must admit I didn't really give her much choice, always cut them small and funky tho with colourful things round the outside like carrot sticks n apple and wd play games with her such as..bet u can't eat all that n similar tricks. On a bad day though I just left her to it. She wd eat bits from the plate she did like n leave the rest. No fuss no bother seemed to work for me! I threw the rest away n that was that! She never went hungry-i'd give her a snack maybe an hour or so later..one day she started eating them n the rest is history-shes 6 now n all the food she avoided as a toddler she eats fine! (I also sat with her at mealtimes n she sat there for as long as it wd of taken to eat it..sometimes sh'd get bored n hav a bite or 2)!
Always remember if you hav a child who is food fussy-theres children in poor countries eating wild cabbage for months n they dont starve themselves..the more choices you give the more they take..it's kinda making a rod for yr own back by pandering 2 it..best of luck hope it works out.