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

I got one of these from TK Maxx a while ago and now DD has spaghetti hoops or Mac n cheese or soup. Then on the side some cherry tomatoes, a mini wrap to dip in the hot food and a little yoghurt. She eats all her lunch now whereas before she was coming home with stuff left over

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermos-FUNtainer-Food-Flask-Floral/dp/B007V2G23O/ref=sr11_5?crid=3VJOQXRNXNPXU&keywords=Thermos+food+flask+childrens&qid=1642269338&sprefix=thermos+food+flask+childrens%2Caps%2C89&sr=8-5

Mine won't touch the bag of chopped apples but when I slice one for him he eats it 🤣

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo

I got one of these from TK Maxx a while ago and now DD has spaghetti hoops or Mac n cheese or soup. Then on the side some cherry tomatoes, a mini wrap to dip in the hot food and a little yoghurt. She eats all her lunch now whereas before she was coming home with stuff left over

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermos-FUNtainer-Food-Flask-Floral/dp/B007V2G23O/ref=sr11_5?crid=3VJOQXRNXNPXU&keywords=Thermos+food+flask+childrens&qid=1642269338&sprefix=thermos+food+flask+childrens%2Caps%2C89&sr=8-5

This is a good idea because he won't eat anything like pasta cold

Hot cross bun
Wraps
Pasta salad
Croissants

@mlj123 it works really well, just fill it with boiling water and leave it to get hot 5-10 minutes then fill it with whatever you've made for lunch. It stays hot according to DD. I fill it about 8am and she eats about 12.30pm.

To stop apple slices going brown, cut with a really sharp knife, put in a small lunch bag then suck the air out with a straw before sealing the bag.

You can put hotdog sausages in a flask, and the rolls and ketchup in the lunch box, then they can make their own hotdogs for lunch.

@mlj123

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.

What about the mini cucumbers ? Lidl and Tesco do them?

I have bentos boz for each of mine and they get

Crackers and a baby bel
Or sandwich
Or rice cakes

Apple or tangerine or grapes

Bag of popcorn (small)

They might eat a yoghurt but I tend to put in a small pot of custard so that if it's not eaten it's not wasted at room temp

Box

I wouldn't stop his treat as he would be better off having some calories for energy if he isn't eating much of his sandwich, but maybe opt for healthier treats. Something that still gives him the energy for his afternoon but with more nutrients.

DS3 went through a phase of not liking bread. I'd give him things like pizza or a chicken drumstick. He would also eat French toast fingers.

Sounds like my 6 year old who also has the fun of being lactose intolerant. He likes slices of salami or chorizo, a plan wrap, crackers with vitalite on. Bear paws or yo-yos- not great but a form of fruit. Plus he is more willing to eat fruit if it is chopped up - he won't just eat an apple for example.

Honestly I feel your pain but try not to let it stress you out. My 12 year old was similar at that age but she is now starting to eat new things/ give things a try.

DD doesn't like sandwiches. She has a lunchbox with compartments and gets basically a carb, a protein and a veg. So half a bagel/ a pitta bread/slices of baguette/crackers/bread sticks with cheese or something veggie (no meat) and usually carrot sticks. I occasionally substitute celery or cucumber but she's not that keen! Fresh fruit doesn't travel well, she'll occasionally have a few grapes but dried fruit goes well (strawberry is a particular favourite) a cake/biscuit and box of juice. Occasionally a frube. She seems quite happy with plain lunches.

We had a bit of a song and dance with lunches with our dds. They didn’t want the hot lunch so we’d say that they’d have to make their own lunches and have those. They make their own lunch with little supervision now their 10 and 12. Only because they’d put loads of crap in if they have their own way.
Maybe take ds shopping for lunches and help him make them the night before? Otherwise he can go back on school dinners.

My son doesn’t eat sandwiches at all - he’ll eat the components separately but not together. He’s fairly picky. For his pack lunches i have Tupperware with four segments that I try to do different things in:
Carb - depending on what’s in the house this alternates round wrap, rice cakes, crackers, crusty roll
Protein - often tuna mayo (with fork to eat it!), or chicken pieces, pepperoni, ham
Fruit/veg - super picky here so it’s either apple, carrots or sugar snap peas
“Treat” - biscuit, cookie, choc covered rice cakes, fruit leather.

I find the pick and mix approach works well for him since he likes to eat things separately

My daughter has a croissant sometimes with different fillings in.

I used to use a little thermos flask and fill it with soup or pasta

Bhaji, samosas, quiche slice, pate, are a few things mine like

Your son has said he wants packed lunches because he doesn't like school dinners... but he doesn't like packed lunches either! The only thing that this has changed then is him getting more play time and you getting more worry. How about him going back to school dinners?

Would he eat cold pizza squares? Maybe try him with them at home first for a weekend lunch perhaps, no pressure or punishments if he refuses them, just eat them yourself & visibly enjoy them. You could maybe start him with them with normal pizza sauce then try adding a small amount of vegetables into the sauce after a while, you can use a small blender to liquidise them - things like a slice of red pepper or courgette, if he asks the green skin is "pizza herbs" which of course he's already eaten before. It worked with DD when she was avoiding vegetables.

We tried this method with DD for new foods - never pressure or punishment for not eating new foods but she always had to at least give it a go, even if she didn't get any further than putting it to her lips or even just smelling it, she still got praise for trying. She's 9 & is still discovering foods she likes, we've had 3 successes since Christmas, think she's finally getting less picky.

Loads of good ideas here (I've noted a few to use for my dd!). Just wanted to add that the book Getting The Little Blighters To Eat is really good and full of useful tactics so might be worth a read.

My son is in also a fussy eater and he's on packed lunches because he wouldn't et school dinners. He has little variety:
... 4 mini sausage rolls (just a mouthful, you get 18 in box) or half pot of chicken breast ( called protein pots in Asda).
… Carrot cut into batons
… A pot of grapes
... A peeled Satsuma or an apple (which he rarely eats)
… A yoghurt or a frube
… mini packet chocolate rice cakes or mini cookies
... Bear fruit yo-yo or fruit Winders

If he Doesn't eat any of his fruit or carrots, he eat these when he gets in the house before he has anything else.

I'm glad other people are saying that their dc are the same and it's not just my ds. Maybe it's just a kid thing🤷‍♀️. There are a lot of good suggestions I will go through them and try some of them.

Instead of a processed sweet snack, sometimes I put a handful of dried mango or apricots in the lunchbox