simple packed lunch ideas for a 4 yr old no sandwiches

[littleblackdress26]

Just been told my son isn't eating much at school and I should think about doing a packed lunch. Trouble is he's fussy and in dreading doing this what with a newborn to think of . Can anyone suggest ideas that are simple he loves his carbs so i will prob base it around those but I'm open to other ideas . TIA

Pasta salads? Tomato, pesto, could add meat such as ham/chicken/tuna some veggies like sweetcorn/ diced peppers ect with some Mayo or Philadelphia is nice tossed in with pasta, you could use different shapes and types to keep it interesting, orzo is also really nice as a pasta salad

Wraps are another good one I find them more exciting than sandwiches and the fillings you could add in are endless

Some sort of savory muffin cheese/ham I make pizza muffins for mine which is just tomato and cheese and herbs ect you could make a big batch on the weekend and freeze so it saves u time during the week

I would go for something that involves no work for you at all. Would he go for a little picky lunch - things like

Couple of cocktail sausages or mini sausage rolls
Baby bel or some cubes of cheese
Little pot of hummous
Breadsticks or rice cakes
Chunk of cucumber/few little tomatoes
Satsuma/Handful of grapes
Squeezy fromage frais in a tube or pouch

Make a batch of pasta salad fr a few of the days.tortilla roll up.pastry pizza roll ups,lay bought roll of pastry spread tomato sauce,pesto etc,sprinkle cheese few slices of ham,roll up into sausage,cut ,cook,voila.
Carrot sticks.
Mine likes js those tins of mixed beans u can buy,either in their own vinigrette,or plain and then we pour bolognase sauce over.put in little tupperwares.fish finger sandwhiches

Why not sandwiches?

I make a bean salad that DS is really keen on. Basically a tin of mixed beans, with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, whatever, olives and sundried tomatoes are nice in it too. Add a bit of red pesto as dressing .
He usually has that with a couple of oat cakes, a bit of cheese and then fruit and some kind of sweet treat.

my picky 3 year old has one of these www.yumbox-uk.co.uk/, which keeps all meal components separate

What about wraps or pita pockets with fillings,
A little pot of hummous and sippy cut up veg or pitta strips
Pasta salads are the most successful- chopped veg / fruit in it.
Substitute rice or Cous Cous for the pasta with sweet corn and chopped chicken - cook the couscous in a little curry powder or stir in a mild curry powder for flavour if he ll tolerate it.

Sorry I said no sandwiches because he only eats cheese or choc spread in them . I like the idea of the pittas and tortilla/pastry roll ups though, they're a bit different other than bread.
mummyof2 do you have a recipe for those muffins. . Just thinking I could get him involved with making those which may help getting him to try those.
So many helpful ideas here thanks alot it makes it a little less daunting and interesting for me and him.