This is driving me nuts

February 22, 2023 9:13 AM

I am seeking ideas for school lunches for my seven-year-old son. Difficulty level: no nuts.

He doesn't have any nut allergies, but the school has a blanket no-peanuts, no-tree-nuts policy. Fair enough. However, it leaves us without the easy option of a PB&J sandwich for lunch. He's a little fussy about food, and he does get tired of things if he has them frequently, so we're just looking to expand our repertoire. Other information and constraints:

• We're just looking for main courses/protein options -- snacks and treats are pretty well covered.
• Rather than a single lunchtime, his school has two "nutrition breaks" around 11am and 1pm, so stuff that can be easily split into portions is helpful.
• We are ~80% vegetarian and we don't keep lunch meat around (he also doesn't really like lunch meat anyway). As far as vegetarian protein goes, he will eat beans and tofu at home (somewhat grudgingly) but I don't think he'll eat them at school. We are in principle open to meat options.
• There's no access to a microwave, so nothing that needs to be heated.
• Things that we currently give him and that he enjoys: tuna salad, pizza, pasta salad (often with a little sliced-up sausage), veggies and hummus (although he seems to only eat the hummus occasionally).
• He doesn't seem to eat sliced cheese these days (eg for crackers and cheese), although this is probably just a phase.
• He is not into alternative nut-free butters/spreads. We've tried sunflower seed butter and soy nut butter, neither of which was a hit. (I mean, if you know one that's really good, we'll give it a try...)
• Of course, the easier/quicker it is to prepare said lunch, the better.

posted by number9dream to Food & Drink (50 answers total)

Response by poster: And yes, I've searched previous questions on this, so no need to link to those. (The schoollunch tag is helpful, for other folks looking for similar questions.)
posted by number9dream at 9:15 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

egg salad? either in sandwich form or in a tupperware for scooping with crackers.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 9:18 AM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Our kid's school also has a no-peanuts policy. Their friend likes PB&Js and, seemingly, loves "wow butter", which claims to be peanut butter-free...

Their website indicates it's soy-based, though. So, YMMV.

Good luck...
posted by gofordays at 9:23 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

For quite a while this year, I was eating hummus sandwiches. all the convenience of PB&J, only tastier.
posted by leahwrenn at 9:23 AM on February 22, 2023

I was about to say omelets or hard-boiled eggs - can go in a sandwich, be mixed in with pasta or veggies, etc.

Will he eat cheese sticks, if not cheese slices?

Veggie burgers or patties
Chicken salad
Beans/ tofu/shredded cheese together with other things in a burrito
posted by trig at 9:25 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Tortillas rolled up with grated carrots and cheese and black beans, or cream cheese and cucumber, or smashed chickpeas and bbq sauce, jam and cream cheese.

French toast fingers with jam or syrup to dip into.

I make a variety of empanada or samosa type mini pies with curry or spinach and tofu fillings or cheesy broccoli - whatever we eat at home baked in. Also mini quiches.

Potato salad is an option too, or sweet potato salad.

My kids eat pastas, chilies, curries, and fried rice out of thermoses - it’s not really hot, more warm but they are fine with it.

Sun butter can be an option (I always included a note but warning - it’s got extra fats and sugar.)
posted by warriorqueen at 9:27 AM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Oh and sweet potato and black bean tacos (soft tortillas.)
posted by warriorqueen at 9:28 AM on February 22, 2023

Consider soup or some other either warm or cold liquid stuff in a thermos if that is allowed? I have a wide base/wider mouth Nissan stainless steel vacuum flask one that keeps stuff well, has its own cup/top, and I would think that would work especially well for that 11 AM break.
posted by gudrun at 9:31 AM on February 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

I didn’t see tahini on your list—what about sandwiches with tahini and either jam or honey? The flavor is really close to peanut butter in some applications. There is even chocolate tahini which is fantastic on bread.
posted by oxisos at 9:32 AM on February 22, 2023 [6 favorites]

Cold cheese tortellini or maybe gnocchi, with pesto or whatever sauce he likes?
posted by MadamM at 9:37 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Quinoa salads! Add cucumber, tomatoes, rocket, salt, pepper, and roasted almonds (lightly roast these for some crunch) to quinoa. And pack along a small container with hummus. Alternatively, a tahini sauce - tahini mixed with lime juice and a dash of water to loosen it up.
posted by bigyellowtaxi at 9:44 AM on February 22, 2023

Farro makes a very good base for a room-temperature salad. Throw anything in that he likes, such as veggies, greens, allowable nuts, feta or other cheese, and any animal-based products that are ok without refrigeration.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 9:47 AM on February 22, 2023

Hummus burritos with feta!
posted by tafetta, darling! at 9:58 AM on February 22, 2023

What about hard boiled eggs. Our small person would eat the whites at the very least, which have good protein.
You might try different flavors of hummus to see if any are more to their liking - roasted pepper and lemon are favorites in our house.
What about a soft cheese spread - you could mix your own flavors or buy pre-mixed cream cheese to put on crackers or a bagel. Dave's bread makes some higher protein content bagels that are good.
Bags of roasted chickpeas or roast your own. Crunchy, snacky and full of good protein.
You can get little party sized samosas at Trader Joe's that have potatoes, cheese or chicken in them. Pre-toast and eaten cold might work.
Popcorn chicken. The kara-ge style from Asian super markets can be good. You can heat them up in a toaster oven the night before and then eat them cold with a little ketchup or barbecue sauce.
posted by brookeb at 10:09 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Wraps. Chose a few of tuna, egg salad, cheese, refried beans, guacamole, salsa, leafy greens, shredded carrots, any vegetables, hummus. Easy to have 1/2 in the 1st break, etc. I like adding something like hummus to help it hold together. If you mix leafy grams with a small amount of dressing, you can really pack it in the wrap for flavor and nutrition.

Sliced apple, melon, any fruit you have, etc.
posted by theora55 at 10:13 AM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Credit to K. C. Davis: toddler food. Great for getting calories into people that are low on time and executive function.

So:

Yogurt pouches with sliced fruit on the side (if you leave in a crazy hot climate, get a lunch box that has a compartment for ice. Otherwise, it's fine).

Cold mac and cheese.

Baby carrots and cucumbers with a really yummy dip. If hummus is hit-and-miss, try a yogurt base with salt, pepper, parsley. Introduce this at home, first.

A sandwich with cream cheese and jam? This is seriously delicious. Like raspberry cheesecake.

Chocolate or strawberry milk. Yes, this has a relatively high sugar content. That's okay - if you're very worried, skip dessert after dinner on school days.

Also:

Try cheese cubes or Babybel? Kids like to graze.

Try a nut-free organic chocolate spread?

Don't underestimate how little food he needs. If he's filling up on snacks and treats, he might simply be full, and that's fine.

Consider adding a bit of juice to his water (successful hydration is important, too).
posted by toucan at 10:15 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Another hummus suggestion here--the go-to for my kiddo is a hummus, cucumber and swiss cheese sandwich. If you have access to these Costco hummus cups, they are great (better than other pre-packaged hummus) and make school lunch packing very quick.

Also, my kid likes cold leftover french fries just as well as hot, so I cook an entire batch in the oven early in the week and send them several days in a row.
posted by mjcon at 10:17 AM on February 22, 2023

My kid liked a mix of canned corn and canned chickpeas for her "main" when we couldn't do sandwiches for similar reasons. Very easy, reasonably nutritious. Can sub black beans if kid likes those better; can add diced peppers or a little bit of mild salsa for brighter flavor (but many kids are all about mild flavors.)
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:18 AM on February 22, 2023

One of my friends had a nut allergy and I was always jealous of their lunch.

They always had: Chips and carrots and hummus, a few babybell cheeses, olives, and sugar snap peas.
posted by bbqturtle at 10:25 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Sunflower seed butter is our sub for the nut free sandwich - Trader Joe’s is our source. the kid shares a class with severe nut allergies kid and there was some big pushback/ bullying from other kids because our sandwiches simply resembled a pb&j.
posted by zenon at 10:32 AM on February 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

--Tempeh BLT (lightlife smoky tempeh strips are DELICIOUS)
--cream cheese & olive spread on lavash, then rolled and sliced into rounds
--mini peppers stuffed with herbed cream cheese
--breakfast for lunch: Trader Joe's silver dollar pancakes with scrambled eggs, fruit cup
--cheese and grapes and sausage skewered on toothpicks to make mini kebabs

My kids also always liked "build your own" type lunches -- mini pitas with sauce and cheese separate to make little pizzas, mini tortillas beans, rice, and salsa to make tacos, etc.
posted by apparently at 10:37 AM on February 22, 2023

Will he eat tzatziki as a dip with veggies? I make it with greek yogurt and it's almost straight protein. Super easy to make, you can put it in a little container with baby carrots, cucumbers, etc. along with some flatbread or naan and you're good to go.
posted by dancinglamb at 10:42 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Rice balls. Tamago (egg) and inari sushi. Gimbap / rolled sushi. Fried tofu puffs from the refrigerator case. There are lots of little veggie and/or fish side dishes in bento box recipes that can either be a side or get stuffed in the rice ball. Seaweed is optional if your kid doesn't like it.
posted by momus_window at 10:45 AM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

I know you said you didn't think he'd eat tofu at school, but since he eats little pieces of meat, I'm wondering about these baked tofu bites. To me, the texture is a lot like pieces of chicken.
posted by FencingGal at 10:54 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Chunks of spanish omelette or frittata sound like they'd do nicely.
posted by artisthatithaca at 11:05 AM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Our kiddo hates every peanut butter alternative we've tried, and we're mostly vegetarian too. This has been a real struggle this year. Here are some things that have worked for us that can be served cold but are better warm, so if you can get a lunchbox with a thermal compartment (we have this one and it's pretty great) that might help!

Bean and cheese burritos
Egg and cheese burritos
Chicken (or meat-substitute) nuggets (bonus: we get to use up all the ketchup or other dipping sauce packets we hoard from delivery stuff by throwing it in the lunchbox with the nuggets)
A stir-fry or rice-and-beans dish
Quesadilla

When I was a kid, I remember my mom getting very frustrated with trying to find something I'd eat at lunch until she realized I'd always eat just about any kind of soup, toast, and carrot sticks. There are tons of insulated lunch box / bento box soup thermos options out there these days!
posted by erst at 11:33 AM on February 22, 2023

My 5yo happily ate cold burritos at school, I used refried beans, cheddar cheese, chili powder, and cumin, melted altogether in a toaster oven and rolled up at home even though it was room temp by the time he ate it.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:37 AM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

The quickest, easiest lunch is the one served by the cafeteria. It might not be the most delicious or healthy thing your kid eats each day, but it will be extremely low friction for you, and will more or less keep him going for an afternoon of learning. Take all the time you currently spend thinking about nut-free foods, preparing lunches, washing little plastic bento boxes, etc., and channel it into something else. Or go for a set-it-and-forget-it hybrid approach. MWF is school lunch, Tuesday is a bagel, Thursday is yogurt and crackers. He won't get tired of nice bland kid foods served once a week.
posted by juliapangolin at 11:51 AM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

UGH. I feel your pain. I've found one of the problems with school lunch is also that it also has to be easily eaten very fast. Either because lunch break is too short or because kiddos are having too much fun talking to friends, I'm not sure... But having a bento-box style container that opens everything out in one go, then lots of little toddler-food style bits to pick up and eat, seems to have done the trick.

Anyway. Here are my go-to options for a 7 year old who currently hates any meat other than pepperoni, all cheese, and all hummus, and who picks apart any wraps/sandwiches he's given.

Protein: pre-made falafel balls, peeled boiled egg, pepperoni slices.
Carbs: popcorn*, tortilla chips, occasionally a small savory muffin.
Fruit and veg portion: green beans, blueberries, apple, blackberries, baby tomatoes.
Treat: small cake of some sort.

*Either use the savory shop-brought variety of your choice. Or put a handful of kernels in a paper bag, microwave for a minute, add salt & spray oil, then stick in the lunch box.

He recently started requesting sushi for lunch, which seems a tad too much work. But I might do rice balls.
posted by EllaEm at 11:58 AM on February 22, 2023

The trick is to find things he will actually eat without wandering into sweetened stuff.

Consider the plain old mayonnaise/tzatziki and lettuce sandwich, add some green onion and he might find it quite palatable. It won't have protein, however but if he is getting protein with breakfast and dinner and the bread is a robust whole grain he won't need protein at lunch.

Consider making your own cold cuts, by poaching chicken breast or baking an eye of round roast. A chicken salad sandwich can involve very little chicken if it also involves chopped apple and chopped celery.

Consider canned tuna, canned salmon or sardines.

Consider a salad made of chickpeas, olives and tomato.

Other people have mentioned egg salad and boiled eggs.

Consider mussels or clams, bought shucked and frozen and thrown into boiling water, drained and then turned into a salad with the veggies he likes most, or combined with macaroni.

The trouble with beans as a sandwich filling is that they need to be something more than just mushed beans, so you'll need to experiment to find out what makes them delicious in his mind. You can make your own mush or buy hummus and experiment to see what he likes. Often hummus is very tart and full of vinegar, so try making your own with canned un-salted chickpeas if he discards his sandwich made from store bought hummus. You can scale down the vinegar or omit it entirely if he doesn't fancy it. The addition of some gentle spices or onion powder is likely to please the young palate.

Look for recipes of protein cookies. Oat cakes have a fair bit of protein, especially when eaten with milk and there are a lot of recipes out there that create a pleasant sort of drop cookie which incorporates bean mash or lentils for the protein, and apple sauce or squash for the vegetables and ingredients of that ilk. If you find a recipe he likes, make a big batch and freeze them in individual lunch portions. They should still be mainly grain, but that combines with the smaller proportion of beans to make a complete protein. Sugar in these cookies can be absolutely minimal.

If he is not eating the hummus it may be that it is too much trouble for just a bland or tart bit of gloop, especially if his young fingers struggle a bit to open the container. It's faster to just eat the carrots and keeps his hands and attention free for playing while he eats. Test the containers with him in the kitchen to make sure he can open them without trouble. The problem with the hummus being untouched may be that it's either a bit of a challenge or requires some adult intervention. He might be willing to eat it in a wrap or a sandwich even if he leaves it untouched as a veggie dip.
posted by Jane the Brown at 12:00 PM on February 22, 2023

There are two products made EXACTLY for parents in your situation who need a nut-free peanut butter substitute:

a chickpea butter in a jar (no nuts!) made to mimic peanut butter

and a chocolate chickpea spread (no nuts!) made to mimic Nutella.

Website link to the company is here.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 12:10 PM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

My first grader just has a variety of snacks most days - we have a bento style box with I think five separate compartments plus a mini treat compartment, so we’ll do one fruit, one veggie, one treat in the mini compartment, and three other snacky items. I don’t worry about protein since kids really don’t need that much, but I do make sure that there’s something with a decent amount of fat to keep her full.

Snacky item ideas:
- various types of crackers
- olives
- mini mozzarella balls (my kid doesn’t like things like cubes of cheddar, but she likes these)
- dry cereal (usually cheerios or frosted mini wheats)
- black beans with a little olive oil
- hunk of bread / mini bagel
- granola bar
- dinner leftovers

Yogurt would also be a good option but my kid won’t eat it at school.
posted by maleficent at 12:21 PM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

I put a half of a cheese sandwich in my kid’s lunch each day. She doesn’t always eat it. It’s just a slice of wheat bread (I like the thin-slice kinds) cut in half with a little mayo and some thin slices of cheddar off a block. I then cut the half sandwich in half. She will eat this even though my she doesn’t want cheese and crackers.

Very occasionally, I do chili in a thermos.

Mine also likes edamame.

You could try roasted chickpeas.
posted by vunder at 12:24 PM on February 22, 2023

Just dropping a tip if you decide to go the thermos route (which, as mentioned, is excellent for soups, chilis, pasta, and so on): Preheat the thermos while you're getting ready in the morning by filling it with boiling water and letting it sit (covered) for five to ten minutes. Dump the water and put in your hot food. My kiddo says that her food is always still warm at lunch five-plus hours later.

One of her favorite lunches is pesto turkey meatballs (homemade) over penne or rice, and the thermos works great for that.
posted by timestep at 12:32 PM on February 22, 2023 [5 favorites]

I think my girls would have loved this, but I didn't know it when they were your son's age: A sandwich with tahini and date syrup. Tahini on its own might have a bit of a texture and bitterness issue for a picky seven-year old, but then you drizzle date syrup over it, and it becomes a delight. We strongly prefer tahini that is imported from the Middle East, but you should do your own taste testing.

An Italian restaurant near us makes a bean paste out of cannellini beans that is absolutely delicious, and sweeter than hummus. The restaurant serves it as a dip, but it would probably also be good in a sandwich. This recipe is probably close to what they are doing. Nobody is going to force you to put chili flakes or all the garlic in your version.

Little hand pies made with pre-made puff-pastry, spinach and feta were extremely popular when mine were small (and they are still met with greedy joy). Obviously, you won't be making pies on a Tuesday morning, but you can make a batch and freeze them unbaked, and then either bake them the night before or in the morning while you have breakfast directly from frozen. Specially easy if you have an air frier. I can buy them ready made from the Asian markets here, but I normally make them myself. Now I make them with onions, garlic and lots of herbs along with the spinach, and always a goat or sheep feta, but back them, I just mixed cooked spinach and a mild feta with a bit of oregano before shaping the pies.

And I too have good experiences with little thermos pots with soup or stew.

Finally, I agree with the person above who mentioned that a seven-year-old doesn't strictly need protein in their school lunch. I personally had issues with the odor of most proteins when they had spent time in my lunch box (egg, fish, lunch meat, sausage, cheese and sometimes bean-based products), so I preferred cucumber sandwiches. I would eat chicken though, which can be quite easy if you buy rotisserie chicken. I spoilt my kids, so I sometimes made wings for them, and again, they are good for freezing and making in the air frier the day of.
posted by mumimor at 12:46 PM on February 22, 2023

Make a Frittata or Spanish Tortilla and serve it over a few days, a slice or two at a time. You can eat it with sides like veggies or salad, or between bread, as is often done in Spain, as a sandwich.

I do this once a week and it lasts me a few days. It's also dead easy. Here's a 12-egg, 30cm frittata I made with peas, spinach, potato, and onion, that's basically a combination of these two dishes.

If you have a convection oven or air fryer you can cheat it as the second step in either — that is, instead of putting the frittata in the oven, do it in the air fryer, or instead of flipping the Spanish tortilla, and doing the second side on the stove, do it in the air fryer (requires one less pan and no flipping).
posted by dobbs at 1:38 PM on February 22, 2023

My picky third-grader uses an insulated container and will eat ramen, chili, and tortilla soup.

We use the smaller Hydroflask insulated container.

They like the squatty-shaped container better than the taller, narrower container they used before because it's easier to get the food out.
posted by smoochbelly at 1:53 PM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

> Sunflower seed butter is our sub for the nut free sandwich - Trader Joe’s is our source.

Seconding the Trader Joe's recommendation -- it's the brand my peanut-free people recommend. My kid who is not peanut-free, but eats lunch with someone who is, likes it.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:56 PM on February 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Non-veg, but pork floss is shelf-stable, easy, and often beloved by children. I often eat butter and pork floss sandwiches as a low-effort option.

I love the Sunbutter No Sugar Added sunflower seed butter, not sure which you tried before, but if it wasn’t this one then give this a shot.

Does he like cream cheese? Cream cheese, cucumber, and sprouts is a nice combo.
posted by music for skeletons at 3:16 PM on February 22, 2023

sunbutter, apparently sunflower seeds are safe at schools and their is a whole niche market to fulfill that.
posted by couchdive at 3:28 PM on February 22, 2023

I am in the same boat so taking note of suggestions here. I offer the following:

1. Waffles - you can waffle anything and stick it in the lunchbox. I got a Dash waffle-maker and make two waffles for lunch. Typically, a broccoli, cheese, egg and chicken waffle and/or a sweet potato egg waffle. In principle, you can waffle any vegetable as long as there is some binding agent (egg, oats, flour, water, etc.) inside.

2. Tortilla rollups - I echo the suggestion above about using tortillas and rolling them up and you can cut them into segments that look like pretty pinwheels. I use cream cheese and some sort of filling inside.

3. Fried rice - I usually cook salmon or meat or tofu with rice the night before and the leftovers can get fried up with sesame oil, sesame seeds, onions and scallions for a pretty good dish even served cold. The sesame oil gives a nice flavor kids enjoy. I also sprinkle nori flakes on top.

4. Quesadillas - similar to rollups you can do lots of combos with cheese plus veggies plus meat.
posted by ichimunki at 3:29 PM on February 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

Little e's favorite days are thermos lunches. Veggie burrito bowls in a thermos can pack a lot of protein: shredded cheese, sour cream, and beans with rice. Seconding the recommendation to pre-warm the thermos with boiling water.
posted by eirias at 3:30 PM on February 22, 2023

Pita bread with a little butter and cold torn rotisserie chicken from Costco . . . Decadence.

Pita bread with spready feta (French or Bulgarian feta) and jelly or honey

Dry cereal in a Tupperware and a carton of milk
posted by meemzi at 3:57 PM on February 22, 2023

I make a lot of muffins. They're easy to change up and add veggies and fibre to and things like that. They can be sweet or savoury. Lunch is usually muffin, yogurt, cheese, some pretzels or crackers, and a granola bar.
posted by synecdoche at 4:35 PM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Using a blender you can make tasty toasted pumpkin seed, cocoa and honey nutella. It is one choice for sandwiches. Neufchatel cheese is higher in protein than cream cheese, and it makes nice sandwiches with cucumbers, and whatever other veggies your kid likes to eat, you can also stir stuff into it to liven it up. Sweet strawberry sandwiches are nice. Moon Pies are tasty and come in banana, and chocolate flavors. Grapes and bananas are nice. Turkey ham is also tasty. There are a lot of more healthful snack boxes on the market, with cheese, and crackers, and dried fruit. They are also putting up a lot more smoked but uncured meat. Shrimp are also nice one bite items. They can go in to a lunchbox frozen, and will thaw by meal time.
posted by Oyéah at 5:16 PM on February 22, 2023

Full fat Greek yogurt mixed with fruit - we do mango (defrost frozen chunks) or blueberry a lot.

Hate to say it but our picky kid has had strawberry jam on oatmeal/nut bread a bunch because it was all he would eat.

Make Mac & cheese or pasta the night before - zap in the microwave in the morning and put in a thermos.

Crackers and cheese has worked for us occasionally.
posted by jdl at 6:14 PM on February 22, 2023

For us, lunches got a lot less dramatic once we established a regular menu and wrote it on the fridge. No decisions to make day to day, less resistance from kiddo. Ours is the same every week. You might find your kid gets tired of stuff less quickly when there's a menu structure, or maybe you'd prefer a 2-week rotation.

Our menu, for a decidedly un-adventurous 7yo:
Monday: cream cheese and jelly sandwich, a few baby carrots, side of fruit
Tuesday: hummus and cucumber sandwich, side of fruit, dried seaweed snacks from Trader Joes
Wednesday: avocado and tomato sandwich, side of fruit, pretzels
Thursday: Greek yogurt and fruit
Friday: PIZZA DAY!!! (Buy lunch and we get the morning off from lunch prep).
posted by hovey at 8:43 PM on February 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Would it be possible to serve any left overs from dinner?

Canned chickpeas can be heated on the stove with a bit of oil, some spices, and/or sauce of one's choosing. Lentils are a bit more work, but the same principle applies.

Jack fruit perhaps? I like the offerings from the Jack Fruit company, but obviously it's possible to DIY it.

I've made "vegan" palak paneer with tofu instead of cheese. However, the non vegan sort found in pouches may be suitable as well (although I think this option would best be served warm in a thermos).
posted by oceano at 9:23 PM on February 22, 2023

Response by poster: Great suggestions, thanks everybody!
posted by number9dream at 10:49 AM on February 24, 2023

Is he old enough to get involved in shopping or making his lunch? When I babysat my nephew, I found that if he chose the options at the store and assembled things for the lunch on a given day, he tended to eat more of it.

The hits were one-bite veggie muffins, frozen Gogurt, berries, Babybel cheeses and various chips.
posted by answergrape at 8:14 AM on March 14, 2023