Nursery/school lunch ideas for very fussy 4yo

[walkinginshadows]

DS(4) is starting Reception this September and having seen the current lunch menu on the website of the school he will not eat one single thing on the 4-week rostered menu (excluding the desserts, unfortunately).

He an extremely fussy eater who refuses to eat or even try anything other than toast (no sandwiches), crumpets, milk, yoghurt, porridge, apple, grapes, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, baked beans, sausage, egg, houmous, peanut butter, Marmite, breadsticks, rice cakes - however, from this list he is always rejecting some of it from one day to the next.

We will of course see how he gets on with school lunches and make the teacher aware that he will quite possibly eat nothing (he will go hungry rather than eat, and so far at nursery he has not bowed to peer pressure to eat anything new either) which concerns me that his behaviour and learning could deteriorate if he is starving hungry.

So from the list of food above does anyone have any new ideas for lunches please? Something aside from fruit salads and yoghurts, chopped sausage, houmous & breadsticks. I always add in things for him to try like vege sticks, cheese but they go untouched. Nursery currently make him toast but obviously school won’t do this.

He saw a dietitian & is due to be seen for a follow-up next month but she wasn’t bothered about his food intake. Occupational Therapist assessment says no sensory issue- just fussy

Although my 4yo isn't particularly fussy, the list of stuff he will eat at school is massive by comparison to what he'll eat at home. I hope you're pleasantly surprised.

That’s actually quite a big list of lunch type items.
I’d just put in a lunchbox:
Breadsticks and hummus - maybe swap for pita bread? Or cut up bagel pieces.
Yogurt and fruit
Water
Peanut butter on rice cakes or marmite.
Add in various things each day in the hope that he may try it
Chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Cubes of cheese
Plain biscuits
Plain pasta

Do they do a cold option? My son is currently in year 2, and has always been fussy about school meals. His school offer a cold option which is mainly cheese, ham, or chicken sandwiches/rolls, he then gets to pick sides such as plain pasta, carrots etc. He seems happy enough with that.

Sorry, just reread your post and realise sandwiches are a no go. Does he like jacket potatoes? Most schools seem to have that as a daily option....

I doubt he’d be allowed peanut butter at school. Wowbutter is made from toasted soya and is almost identical to peanut butter in its taste and texture. You can get it in Holland and Barrett. If you let the teacher know that that’s what it is, I’m sure it’ll be allowed.
Try toasted bagels.
If he likes marmite and breadsticks, perhaps he’d like Twiglets? You can also get marmite flavoured cheese bites similar to Babybel from Tesco.

Have you read about food chaining? It might help you to find some new foods to include. You basically make small changes gradually to move you to a new food. I'm currently trying to chain from cheese triangles to cream cheese (we've got stuck on Dairlea dippers but I'm hopeful about him eventually trying Philadelphia dippers). There's a good Facebook group called Mealtime Hostage which I've found helpful.

Does he eat cold toast? If so then send that or cold toasted crumpets. My son wouldn't eat salad etc but would eat cold cooked broccoli, peas, carrots and sweetcorn so I sent that. It helped to think outside the "packed lunch box" (groan) and just think of what he'd normally eat. Needing them to be hot was my thing, not his thing.

Write yourself a categorised list of carbs, protein, fruit & veg he'll eat and just make sure you get something from each list in every day, bento style. Don't worry about whether it makes sense as a meal - crumpet and sausage, fine. Breadsticks and hard-boiled eggs, why not?

I make mini breakfast "frittatas" which are basically scrambled egg baked in muffin cases with bits of chopped sausage etc in. The recipe says add spinach,chilli flakes, parmesan etc but you could obviously adapt it to what he'd eat, even if that is just plain egg. It might open up the option of adding a little flour down the line and then you are working towards savoury muffins. Silicone muffin cases are best,or if you use paper ones you may need to grease them.

The desserts might be a mixed blessing. School desserts tend to be made with very little sugar so they might not taste as nice as he is expecting. On the flip side if he does eat them, they'll be healthier and more similar to a savoury lunch than you'd think.