Toddler lunch

[Hollytrees1]

My son who is two starts nursery tomorrow and he has to bring a packed lunch. Any lunch ideas, I thought for fruit cut up grapes, wpidl this be OK or a banana.

Have the nursery not given you any guidance on food? Most, if not all, settings are nut-free so no peanut butter, Nutella, pesto, etc. crisps can be a bit of a hit or miss depending on how strict they are. Any fruit and veg is acceptable. Bananas go a bit manky/slimy when you cut them so leave whole if at all possible. Grapes need to be quartered lengthways and blueberries halved. Try to limit the sweet stuff, things like malt loaves are okay but not cupcakes with big spirals of icing. Snacks like cheese and yoghurt are good.

My son had a cream cheese sandwich, malt loaf, kiddilicious fruit bar, cheese stick, fruit and a yoghurt pouch in his lunch box most days and that was generally sufficient

No no guidance at all. OK that's great thank you for your help and ideas

I can tell you what my two year old gets for tea at nursery on the days when it's more or less packed lunch stuff rather than a jacket potato or something on toast-

Sandwich or soft round roll, usually ham or cheese. OR crackers and cheese OR bread sticks/pittas and humous. That kind of thing.

Fruit- whole banana or sliced blueberries/ grapes/ strawberries/ raspberries. Cucumber sticks and/or chopped up tomato
They do sometimes have apple or satsumas but I don't think I'd put them in a lunchbox at that age (if nursery choose to peel and serve 15 satsumas then that's on them 😂)

A yoghurt or fromage frais type of thing- most supermarkets do small fruit yogurts in their basics kind of range that are a nice size for a lunchbox.

They do have a biscuit sometimes but again I'd be wary about putting one in until you know about allergy policy etc. My daughter's school is nut-free but they only ask parents to avoid peanut butter, Nutella, cereal bars etc rather than checking if something might have a trace of nuts in, rightly or wrongly.

We pack a sandwich (usually turkey or cheese), a box of raisins, Liga and a little bowl of chopped up grapes and berries.

I usually give DS a sandwich (cheese or cream cheese), dairylea dunker or babybel, crisps like quavers or pom bears, malt loaf or organix oat bar, raisins, grapes (quartered lengthways) or blueberries (halved). Sometimes a yoghurt or some crackers or breadsticks.

It's a lot but he likes to graze and he usually has whatever he doesn't eat for lunch as a snack on the way home.

Thanks for all your suggestions
He didn't eat a thing at nursery today 😢

He will once he's used to the environment. It's a lot for them to deal with all in one go. He'll get there 😊