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Lunchtime is typically where my day starts going downhill.
A big part of it is that putting lunch together is never in the front of my mind.
Now that the twins are eating all of their meals, I have been trying to put together a list of some toddler friendly lunch ideas.
Lunch hasn’t ever really been a strong suit for myself. Ever since I started staying home with the twins, lunch has pretty much been non existent. I typically just snack through the day and drink too much coffee. So I kept finding myself getting more and more frustrated when the twins would get anxious for lunch.
I was also just kind of stumped. Like, what do people eat for lunch? There is no way I am going to be cooking each and every meal. Nope. Not me. But they also aren’t old enough to hold sandwiches, soups or salads which are my typical go to’s.
So what else is there?
I started putting a lot of thought into it because I was just throwing things together from around the kitchen. Those meals weren’t all that nutritious, and while I am in no way opposed to the twins eating chicken nuggets sometimes, I don’t want that to be the only thing on their plate.
I have this theory that if I always offer them a few different foods at meal times they won’t end up to be super picky. I could be totally wrong, but it makes sense to me. I try to vary what we eat for different meals so that they are exposed to all sorts of flavors.
However, the list I have come up with is for EASY lunches. Not super exotic fancy lunches. I don’t have time in the middle of the day for that. We save the new flavors and such for dinner time.
Lunch time is for the easy, balanced(ish) meals.
These are the seven meals I have come up with so far.
Seven Easy Toddler Lunch Ideas
First, we have what I call “the snack plate”.
Graham crackers, cheese, little bit of lunch meat, and some sliced grapes.
This is a great lunch for on the go, or if you are tired of cleaning up huge messes.
Next up is the homemade lunchable.
Crackers, cheese, and sliced fruit. You could even throw in some prepackaged pepperoni or salami!
Then some banana peanut butter roll ups.
This is also known as banana sushi. I am not sure why. But if you search that on Pinterest, these roll ups come up. All you have to do is thinly spread some PB over a tortilla, stick a banana towards one side, and roll. Then cut. Easy peasy. I serve with fruit. As you can see by now, my kids love fruit!
Grilled Cheese
Simple. Classic. Mess free! I serve (obviously) with fruit!
Corn Dog Muffin Bites
This one takes minimal prep, but prep none the least. I save this one for a day when we are all home for lunch. Mostly because my husband loves them too!
All you have to do is mix up some corn bread mix, line about 15-20 muffin tins, and pour the mixture in. Fill about one third. Then add one chunk of hot dog to each muffin. I slice hotdogs into six pieces each. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes, check for doneness.
Chicken Nugs
Homemade orrrr from McDonalds. Your choice. I like to keep a bag in the freezer for a quick lunch. They only take about ten minutes to cook. Pop them in when the kids wake up, and they’ll be done after diaper changing and getting them clipped into their high chairs!
I serve with fruit and cheese. I think I would also serve with yogurt if my twins were a little older and understood how to eat yogurt.
Super Easy Cereal and Berries
Lunch doesn’t get any easier than this. I pour some Whole Grain Cherrios onto their plates, toss in some berries, and add a cheese stick. Boom. Two minute lunch WITH clean up!
Okay, did I do my job? Did I inspire you?
Or at least give you some cheap and easy toddler friendly lunch ideas for this week? I would love to hear your thoughts!
And as always, if you’d like to see more of these kinds of posts on Twins and Coffee, let me know 🙂
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