Non sandwich packed lunch ideas for fussy 6 year old

[mlj123]

I'm really struggling with food for my ds for his packed lunch. He insisted on having packed lunches become he didn't like any of the dinners and also his friends were all on packed lunches and he wanted to sit with them. The only thing he will eat is cheese ( sometimes cheese and ham if he's in the mood) I alternate between white, brown and half and half bread to give him at least a bit of variety. I've tried Turkey, beef, chicken, eggs, tuna etc at home and he won't even touch it not even a bite. I always give him fruit ( but more recently he's started saying he doesn't like half the fruit I give him) and is eating it less and less. He recently will have cheese sandwich, grapes and a small treat like a small cake, chocolate or crisps. He keeps only taking about 2 or 3 bites out of his sandwich and then leaving the rest and I can tell he's bored with it. Trouble is he's so fussy I don't know what else I can give him. Maybe breadsticks or crackers? But then what can I put with it? Are these even healthy? He doesn't like jam either. I'm totally at a loss of what to do

Does he eat a wide range of foods at other meals?

My son insisted on a mono diet of cheese sandwiches and little else at primary, he’s a 6 foot 15 year old now.
Will he eat pasties/ pies/ scotch eggs/ quiche/ felafel?

Pork pies? Little scotch eggs? Cold sausages?

Is he not eating much because the quicker they 'finish' their lunch, the quicker they can go out and play? This was the case with my DS!

Anyway, on the sandwich front how about hummus or cheese spread ? Or a pasta salad (pesto or tuna pasta?). Sushi? (lots of kids seem to like sushi, either proper raw fish stuff or cooked fish/ meat versions). Also giving cubes of cheese, crackers and some chopped up sausage or ham?

At 6 my kids liked little bits of finger food type things rather than a massive sandwich.

@Icantremembermyusername

Does he eat a wide range of foods at other meals?

Not as much as he used to. I try a wide range of foods at home. He will complain about some of them sometimes but I make them anyway. I make things like different types of chicken, salmon, steak, wraps made into garlic pizza breads, for carbs he has pasta ( only plain won't have sauce), waffles/ alphabet letters/ minions etc, plain basmati rice. He won't touch veg or salad, so he's allowed one treat in the evening and if he's still hungry it has to be fruit. Now a lot of the fruit I buy he's started saying he doesn't like anymore. So it's normally grapes ( he will eat abit of melon or something if I'm eating it) or a banana. He's just getting worse

Will he eat pasta or rice? Sometimes I do a homemade ‘lunchable’ with crackers, cheese and ham. I agree with pp about bite size food. Have you tried a bento style lunch box with little portions of different foods?
My son much prefers pinwheel sandwiches, I flatten the bread with a rolling pin, spread with cream cheese (or whatever) roll up and then cut into bites.
Will he eat dips with veg and breadsticks?

DD sometimes takes a sausage roll. Either one big one or a couple of smaller ones, instead of a sandwich.

For lunches I just make sure my child is fed and full and worry about balancing it over the course of the day and week.

What about cheese cubes, crackers, cut up fruit?

@BelleEnderman

Is he not eating much because the quicker they 'finish' their lunch, the quicker they can go out and play? This was the case with my DS!

Anyway, on the sandwich front how about hummus or cheese spread ? Or a pasta salad (pesto or tuna pasta?). Sushi? (lots of kids seem to like sushi, either proper raw fish stuff or cooked fish/ meat versions). Also giving cubes of cheese, crackers and some chopped up sausage or ham?

At 6 my kids liked little bits of finger food type things rather than a massive sandwich.

You have hit the nail on the head there he has said that he's left things like his apples because it's playtime. I've told him that I'm gonna stop putting a treat In and I'll add extra fruit instead if he only has time for his treat. I have reduced the amount of treat etc to give him more time to eat his proper food. He's also now started eating his dessert first ( because his friend does and told him to do the same)🤦‍♀️

Does he like eggs? How about quiche or frittata?
Maybe also trying a “snack” lunchbox with loads of tiny compartments and something different in each - he might eat a bit of different things rather than a lot of the same? This worked well with my DS in his fussy phase (although it was simply fussy rather than avoidant, so may not be the same).

I used to worry about variety, but my ds(14) makes his own packed lunch and takes pretty much the same thing every day (bread and butter, twiglets, raisins, satsuma, yoghurt and a brownie/flapjack). So I was obviously worrying for no reason!

To the people that are saying little foods that he can pick at, that is definitely the idea I am having ( if I could think of what I can even put in). All I can think of is breadsticks, crackers, lunchables, and maybe different breads/ wraps etc, but apart from cheese and ham i can't think what else he can eat. He will eat a tangerine if I peel it for him, grapes a banana, or a bit of apple/ melon/ strawberries that's it. He has said if I give him chocolates spread he will eat it🤦‍♀️( I'm sure he will but that's not happening)

Could he be getting worse because you are encouraging him too much. You may be putting pressure on him to try different things which can cause a problem in itself. Try putting a small plate of little bits to try and walk away. Make no comment on how much his eaten you may find it improves

@Elisheva

Will he eat pasta or rice? Sometimes I do a homemade ‘lunchable’ with crackers, cheese and ham. I agree with pp about bite size food. Have you tried a bento style lunch box with little portions of different foods? My son much prefers pinwheel sandwiches, I flatten the bread with a rolling pin, spread with cream cheese (or whatever) roll up and then cut into bites. Will he eat dips with veg and breadsticks?

Pinwheel sandwiches sound a great idea!

Any meat slices, chicken goes down well in my house.
Yoghurt
Does he like salad bits? Cucumber, tomatoes, peppers with houmous
Peanut butter
Mini quiches
Pork pies with a sachet of tomato sauce

I have been having a lot of problems with his diet because ive always worked full time and mil looks after him when I'm at work. Her diet is horrendous and it has rubbed off on him a lot( I'm talking biscuits for breakfast, choose bars for dinner etc) she always gives him whatever he asks for and I've noticed him putting weight on. We've had this conversation many times and she agrees it's not ok but can't say no. It's been an issue enough for me to reduce the amount of days i work and now I'm doing all my 40 hours over 3 days. 2 of which are weekends when he's with my mum and dp too as I'm getting concerned about his health and how he's slowly starting to not want the healthy food I give him. I'm now trying to get back on track with healthy meals , reduced treats ( but still a few and a lot more exercise and activities).

My son used to only eat hot cross buns or teacakes with butter throughout primary school.

Mine will only eat chocolate sandwiches and quite happy to go without, if I try to force it. however he eats carrot sticks or rice crackers. Now he’s older I’ve started putting hot food in a flask and he sees that as a treat and so far is eating it all.

My DS won’t eat sandwiches at all. Plus he doesn’t eat meat so it’s really tricky. I rotate the following items and he picks at them:

Mini wraps (cut into 8 wedges, he can wrap anything else from the lunchbox in them)
Carrot batons
Cucumber batons
Celery batons
Teeny plastic pot with humous or dip
Quartered hard boiled eggs
Quorn picnic sausages
Quorn sausage rolls
Cheese batons or babybel
Pots of halved grapes
Pots of halved cherry tomatoes
Pots of peeled and sliced kiwi
A smallish pot of cold past with sweetcorn and grated cheese in it
A small slice of quiche
A mini packet of pretzels
Plain Greek yogurt with pot of halved strawberries and blueberries
Plain Greek yogurt with a tiny pot of honey to pour in
Mini packs of breadsticks
Ritz crackers in a little pot
Mini bag of twiglets

The containers are half of it. I’ve got some tiny pots with screw tops which are ideas for humous, dip etc. and some fractionally bigger which are good for chopped stuff.

Frankly it’s a pain in the arse preparing it, but I tend to base it on our evening meal. I.e if we are having salad, I’ll chop the pots with celery, cucumber etc. If we are having pasta he’ll get pasta with sweetcorn.

What about a wrap kebab. Roll it up, skewer it and then cut it into mouth size twirl pieces, then stick the kebab skewer through a couple of more pieces, before you cut. I cut the stick when it fits in the container. Normally 2 sticks 6 mouthfuls. If my boy had to put effort into anything, half of it would come home. I also made sarnies and used cookie cutters, like stars and circles, he never ate the crust anyway, so ur not wasting too much. Lunchables, but I made my own. Mini baby bels. Finger food. I even peel the tangerine, otherwise he wouldn't eat if he had to peel it himself. Something else that goes down well and also freezes. Get a ready rolled puff pastry, spread over ketchup and grated cheese, roll up and cut, about 2 cm wide. Cook til brown, a pizza whirl. Can also do cheese n ham, whatever topping he likes on a pizza. Cook em all and then freeze in pairs, grab one the night before to defrost. Everyone always ask him, what are they, when he is eating them, he feels proud everyone wants it, so eats it all on purpose. I just make it fun

@cherrypie66

Could he be getting worse because you are encouraging him too much. You may be putting pressure on him to try different things which can cause a problem in itself. Try putting a small plate of little bits to try and walk away. Make no comment on how much his eaten you may find it improves

I don't think so as a baby I made all his meals fresh and from scratch. He got worse when I went back to work and mil was looking after him ( I am great full that she does and has so I do t really have a leg to stand o. Bit she eats really badly and gives him way too much junk etc, and half of the time lies about it to me. Which really worries me. They went to Iceland and I said no junk ( they came back with a big packet of Pringles, a full bottle of coke even tho he's only allowed it occasionally with me like once every blue moon and biscuits etc) when I asked why she bought them when I asked her not to she said he was helping himself whilst she was on the phone. To which I told her just take them out of the basket and say no. Then my ds said no nanny you reached up and got them for me they were on the high shelf and I couldn't reach. There been so many instances like this where she has lied to me and gave him lots of junk and I can't do anything become I have to work and she's doing me a favour. But now he's getting a bit chubby and starting to get out of breath on short walks etc hence why I'm really trying to sort out his diet properly now

One of mine went through a stage of wanting just cold boiled potatoes or cold baked potato wedges, nothing on them. I did speak to the teacher about it, I didn't want them thinking we were too poor for anything else. She said that lots of children took odd things and as long as it wasn't all junk they wouldn't comment. DD would eat better at home thankfully.

Mine will quite often have crackers, cheese and apple for her packed lunch. I chop the apple with one of those ikea things and put it back together with an elastic band to stop it going brown.

He won't eat any veg or salad😢he did try some cucumber over Christmas to which I was happy about and asked him if he wanted me to get him some on his packed lunch and he said no. He won't touch any sauces ketchup or hummus etc.

@55mirabeau

Mine will quite often have crackers, cheese and apple for her packed lunch. I chop the apple with one of those ikea things and put it back together with an elastic band to stop it going brown.

I buy the bags of already chopped apples and 95% of them come back home🤦‍♀️