Cold Vegetarian Lunch for 20months-3years

[NotQuiteCockney]

As of the new year, I will sometimes need to provide a cold vegetarian lunch for a group of kids.

It needs to be healthy vegetarian food. I can expect nut allergy issues (although I'm hoping to avoid all that), I'm hoping for no other allergy issues.

All I can think of is sandwiches, or vegetables and dips. Cold soup?

(Hopefully, after a few months, we'll move back to hot food.)

Can you pre-cook veggie sausage rolls and serve them? - could try mild samosas and spring rolls (my kids would eat them but I guess a lot would't).
Mini-cheeses are good and you can vary the bread for sandwiches - pitta pockets with egg in etc.

Oooh, veg quiches ... that could work.

(I have a bit of a shortcrust pastry phobia ... not eating it, just working with it. But I plan to share any ideas with all the other parents involved in this, some of whom are great with pastry.)

Not sure about homemade cheese straws ...

Well, the thing is, it's ok if they don't eat loads. At this age, they often don't. It's just good for them to have varied diet options. And sometimes they eat things they wouldn't normally eat, out of peer pressure.

Oh, there's always guacamole.

It can be precooked stuff. Just not anything that requires any prep work.

Sorry, I mean any prep work right before serving. Prep work the night before is fine.

do a picnic thing:
cheese straws
cheese cubes and pineapple (was going to say on sticks, but not at that age!)
raw carrots and houmous
marmite sandwiches
pitta breads warmed up and cut into a small hand size with dips
cream cheese sandwiches
dairylea stuff (can't bear it myself but dd loves it)
avacado chunks
crisps are vege!

also, what about vege sausages (although I'd avoid soya if poss - same food family as peanuts)
healthy potato wedges (bake in oven with olive oil)

you can get vege burgers too (cauldron do spinish, cheese and something else - but again, avoid the soya)

you could do a big vege tomato pasta thing and cover it with cheese.

sorry - didn't get the no prep message until after i'd posted mine!

falalaala, lots of yours are cold.

I like cold rice salads, but I get twitchy about food hygiene with rice ...

Rice should be fine if you aren't reheating. My standard rice salad is:

• one red, one yelloe, one orange pepper
• bunch coriander
• red onion
• 250g brown rice
• tbsp olive oil (chilli-infused is nice)

Chop first three ingredients finely whilst cooking the rice and put into a bowl. Drain rice and add to chopped ingredients. Add oil. Stir together and chill before serving.

You might want to miss out onion for small children.

Couscous with peppers, mushrooms, peas and sweetcorn? Or, Greekish pasta salad with olives, feta and tomatoes?

Felafel and hummus

Bumping this, as I'm about to summarise all the ideas to the parents involved ... any more suggestions?

And one more bump, as I am finally actually writing an email based on these lovely replies ...