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Toddler Lunch Options

When you're transitioning from baby food to food fit for a big-kid-in-the-making, you'll want to prepare lunch that is both delicious and nutritious. Although their growing bones and muscles need proper nutrients, their finicky taste buds may say otherwise. Choose several lunch options for your toddler to give them variety and balance.

  1. The Main Course

    • Start your lunch with a hearty sandwich or soup. For new toddlers, small items such as a chopped turkey slices and cheese suffice as a sandwich substitute. Prepare ham and cheese pinwheels for older ones, cutting the wheels in half for smaller bites. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are always a hit, keeping in mind any peanut allergies your young one may have. Chicken noodle soup is an ideal alternative to sandwiches. Soups are easy to prepare and are available in a variety of flavors, allowing you to offer a few different choices each day.

    Crunchy Stuff

    • Potato chips complement sandwiches very well. For smaller crunchy snacks, opt for cheddar fish, pretzel sticks and popcorn. These snacks are healthy and filling and toddlers find them fun to pawn over while eating. Avoid snacks such a tortilla chips that may scratch your little one's mouth or combat the roughage by breaking the chips into smaller pieces, making them easier to consume.

    Sweet Snacks

    • For balance, if you prefer to offer a sweet taste as dessert following a hearty lunch, choose pudding and gelatin, or apple or banana slices. Avoid fruits such as grapes that are both slippery and small, and easy to choke on. Cut fruits into smaller, manageable pieces. Cinnamon graham crackers and marshmallows with chocolate sprinkles are other options for sugary snacks to accompany a yummy lunch.

    Juices

    • Select fruit juices with a high percentage of fruit and less sugar for your toddler. Not only is this a healthier alternative, but the high dose of sugar helps settle them when it's nap time. Water is always the better option, as are light power juices like Gatorade and PowerAde. These drinks contain healthy electrolytes to replenish them while they run around or play outside.

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