Nursery food for 12 month old - new rules!

[MrsJaneyLloydFoxe]

DS turned 1 last week and nursery have said he will now move up in to the toddler room. DD went to the same nursery a few years ago but she moved up rooms around 13/14 months iirc.

There is a rule that toddlers cannot take hot food and must only take a packed lunch with (e.g.) sandwich, yogurt, fruit, crisps etc. The lunch rules are different for the baby room and DS usually takes an Ellas Kitchen pouch, sandwich, yogurt, fruit purée, and a banana. He eats all of this (he is enormous and always hungry). He doesn’t have milk anymore during the day.

Things were different when DD moved up to the toddler room as they used to provide a cooked hot lunch, but they no longer offer that at all. Concerned DS will be hungry if all he has is a sandwich when normally he has all of that plus a heated up pouch? Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

TIA

Anyone?

Will he eat the pouch unheated? I send fruit and veg pouches and they get eaten but proper meal pouches, which granted, taste better warmed don't get eaten.

However, at one you might want to move away from pouches altogether. I tried to and mostly did but my son is awful with vegetables and so it's the only way I can get any in him. Brocolli, peas and pear is a favourite!

Give more sandwich.
More fruit.
A hard boiled egg?
Cheese and crackers?
Bigger yoghurt.

He already has a sandwich made with two slices of bread - I’m just not sure he would eat more sandwich? he doesn’t eat boiled eggs unfortunately as that would be handy. He’s also doing the milk ladder so isn’t having cheese yet.
it just seems really young to just be having mainly a sandwich for lunch to me!

That sounds like a bigger than normal sized lunch for a young toddler, even without the the pouch.

Cold packed lunch doesn't need to be a sandwich and certainly can be filling. DD has always taken a cold lunch and tea and as long as you pack something plentiful and well balanced they will be satisfied.

On rotation we have:
Cold pasta, quesadillas (mashed up black beans with a little seasoning and cream cheese and sometimes peppers/onions sandwiched between two tortilla wraps with cheese, dry fried so the cheese sticks it all together) cold homemade pizza, cous cous, omelette strips or omelette rolled up with cream cheese, buttered crackers with ham or cheese, savoury flapjack, quiche/frittata, savoury muffins. All supplemented with fruit/veg/yoghurt/banana cake or cookie (low or no added sugar).

Yes he does eat a lot, but he doesn’t have milk during the day when he’s there so more solids required. He is a large boy and growing healthily.

He should be having cow’s milk sometime during the day, as he would be entitled to it. My DC’s setting did this scheme www.coolmilk.com/early-years/
They all had it mid morning with a piece of fruit. They also got toast mid afternoon and I sent in a sippy cup of milk for dc to have with the toast. I made sure dc had a good breakfast before they went so I wasn’t too bothered about their packed lunch.

Thank you @daisychainsandrainbows that's the inspiration I was looking for! That all sounds lovely

Sorry should clarify he is still bf so has a feed when waking and before bed

If the only stipulation is that it's cold then you can surely pack as much stuff as you like? There's a huge range of cold lunch foods! Just substitute the pouch for something else: pinwheels, muffin, some veg sticks, crackers, a pasta salad, etc.

(Although v annoying nursery doesn't provide food!)

Yes v annoying. They used to and now stopped - no change to fees either!!

Cocktail sausages (cut up)
Cucumber / carrot sticks
Crackers / bread sticks
Different types of fruit
Cut up ham or chicken (Different to in sandwich)
More in sandwich eg. Extra slice of ham
Biscuit/ small cake
Pasta salad

I can't believe your nursery doesn't provide food!! I would hate having to send a packed lunch. That also seems really early to move rooms. Our DS didn't move into the toddler room until he was two.

What a pain they stopped doing a hot meal for them! I love that I don't have to think about food on his nursery days.

Sandwich with a few bits of cold pasta, veg sticks/homous, bread sticks. Lots of snacky type things with the lunch?

Put extra things in the lunch box then? Surely they don't only accept sandwiches.

Wraps, pizza pinwheels, egg muffins, carrot broccoli and cucumber sticks, bread sticks, ham, different berries, orange, crackers, biscuity type treat, cereals, quiche

That is an absolutely huge meal for his age! Is he walking yet?

I wouldn’t give pouched every day, especially to a one year old. It’s also a lot of sugar and not much substance, banana, yoghurt and fruit purée. Can you give him less of that, and more healthy and filling foods?

@Overthebow yes he’s been walking about 6 weeks now

Wraps, veg sticks and hummus, veg muffins, veg pasta salad, veg couscous, breadsticks and dip, crackers with ham, flatbread veg pizza, veg frittata.