Help me feed my child!

[Lilacmintgreen]

Normally my toddler is at nursery during the week but I now have him home for the summer and am part time next year, so could do with more imaginative meals. Breakfast and dinner aren’t a problem but I struggle with lunch. He doesn’t eat sandwiches - no idea why as he does at nursery. His dinner is normally pasta or rice or some description. So does anyone have any suggestions? A lot of quick easy meals that are fairly healthy involve some form of bread and I’ve no idea why he won’t eat it but he just throws it around.

Hello , just a few thoughts (i have 3 children and its a battle!)
Wraps
Panini
Cheese / ham on toast
Beans on toast
Scrambled eggs on toast
Omelette

Just a few that spring to mind

Crackers or bread sticks in humous
Pasta salad
Wraps
Pita pizzas
Baked potatoes with either chilli, tuna Sweetcorn, cheese or any topping really
Beans on toast
Banana pancakes

Thanks so much but he just throws the bread/toast around - I have no idea why, he scoffs it happily if he is holding it and we are feeding ducks and he eats it at nursery!

Thanks, some good suggestions there, he might well enjoy breadsticks.

How about...

Fish fingers, peas and chips
Sausages and mashed potato
Macaroni Cheese
Spaghetti Bolognese
Spaghetti and meatballs
Spaghetti Carbonara
Chicken nuggets with vegetables of your choice
Chicken egg fried rice
Pizza
Sausage, chips and beans
If they can tolerate mild spice, chicken in Chinese style curry sauce with rice
Tinned beef ravioli

I know you said they don't eat sandwiches/bread, but if they ever change their mind, you could always try these...

Sandwiches: Egg Mayonnaise, Cheese, onion and mayonnaise, Ham and tomato, Tuna, sweetcorn and mayonnaise, Jam, Beef and horseradish sauce.
Soft boiled egg and toast 'soldiers'
Hot dogs
Beef/Veggie burgers

Good luck on your quest for meals!! :D

Thanks so much, good inspiration for dinners there too.

Jamie Oliver breakfast pancakes. I add grated cheese and delicious.

Jacket potato with baked beans

Cheese and ham toastie

Wraps with chicken and salad

A dippy egg and soldiers

French stick with pate

Scrambled eggs and fish fingers or nuggets

Sausage in bread finger

Pot noodle

Cheese and tomato potato waffle www.birdseye.co.uk/recipes/potato-recipes/cheese-and-tomato-potato-waffle (you can also do potato waffles in the toaster)
Cheese flapjacks www.thefoodteacher.co.uk/recipes/easy-cheesy-flapjacks/
Savoury muffins www.tamingtwins.com/savoury-muffins-recipe/
Sausage rolls realfood.tesco.com/recipes/the-ultimate-sausage-roll.html - these can be frozen if you make too many

DS has never been keen on bread so a few things I'd make when he was a toddler;
Bubble and squeak
Sweetcorn fritters
Savoury pancakes
Quesadillas
Omelette
Savoury muffins
Ploughman's lunch

Would he eat pita bread or a wrap if presented as a pizza? Really quick and easy to make too, you can use wholemeal varieties if you prefer.
Also, if you think breadsticks could be a winner try cutting pita into narrow strips, spread on a baking tray and bake until crisp, then use to dip into hummus, cream cheese, guacamole etc. You can do similar with wraps, cut into triangles and baked to give tortilla chips. Could either be used with dips or loaded up to make nacho's. Or top with beans and cheese.
Baked potato or sweet potato and toppings

For lunch DD usually just had a plate of picnic type stuff. Cherry tomatoes, grapes, cucumber slices, chunks of cheese, rice cake (she like the cheese snack a jacks), crackers with butter, wrap with butter, slices of chicken.

Like yours she won't eat a sandwich but she will eat the constituent parts if not assembled, so a slice of cheese and a slice of bread and butter is good, a cheese sandwich is bad 🤷‍♀️

We do alot of 'Picky lunches' some sort of meat chicken/cocktail sausages, some veg and fruit and boiled egg/cheese or something sweet so she gets a good mix of all the food groups. Noodles, fishcakes, cottage pie, pasta boiled in veg stock then mix in cream cheese so easy and delicious, fish fingers, chicken nuggets just with some frozen veg. My toddler is fussy too just make it up as I go along haha. She also loves scrambled egg with cheese and ham

I usually throw a selection of whatever salad sort stuff on a plate for lunch. So today it was a handful of mini breadsticks, bit of leftover roast chicken, cucumber sticks, a couple of cut up cherry tomatoes, a spoon of hummus, spoon of tzatziki.

My dd was like this from a young as 10mo!

presented with a sand which she would disassemble it and pick at the constituent parts.

presented with bread and sliced cheese she would painstakingly construct a sand which and eat it.

i simply stopped making sandwiches and gave her the pieces.

Same with things like shepherds pie, given mash, mince and gravy and peas she would mix it all together and eat it.
Given shepherds pie she would poke at it a bit and declare herself full.

many young children prefer not mixed together foods so they can identify what they are eating

These are brilliant - thanks - and glad I don’t have the only bizarre child!

What about having the fillings seperate to the bread so he can create his own. See what he likes do it in characters he's into Peppa pig etc. Let him help create his own pizza. Sometimes when children play with food they are more relaxed. They are more likely to try it.

Pizza rolls are always popular with kids.

bit of puff pastry, whatever veg/ingredients you want in there. ours is usually standard pizza ones, marinara base and cheese and veg or pesto and veg.

Frittatas
Egg muffins

egg fried rice with ‘rainbow’ veg, if they have rice the day before make extra to use leftovers for lunch next day