When my kids were little they would eat almost ANYTHING!
Especially my youngest.
Peas.
Broccoli.
Rice.
Spinach.
All of the things that are so good for little growing children to have, he would eat it right up!
Life was good.
My babes were Healthy.
And then as he got older and the crazy busy schedules set in.
Life got hectic.
I became disorganized.
And sadly we made out way through more fast food drive thrus then I’d like to admit.
Not many kids will go back to eating spinach and Broccoli after their introduced to the McDonalds Happy Meal.
Who knows, maybe offering a toy with every side of Asparagus will do the trick. But that’s not really in the budget right now.
So I do my best to get the veggies in, either through reverse Phsycology at dinner time or mixed in with a shake at breakfast.
The fruit is really no problem at all for me.
But protein can sometimes be tough too.
Here are FIVE lunches I made over the past few weeks that my son (4) and my niece (3) both LOVED.
Meal #1:
I have been trying very hard lately to use up what we have in the fridge! I hate when my grocery store day comes and I’m cleaning out the fridge, dumping one thing after the next into the trash.
It feels SO wrong!
So for this meal I used up the leftover mac and cheese, ham and bread that we had at my moms for St. Paddy’s Day, then added some kiwi which is their new favorite fruit!
Meal #2:
At the beginning of the week I like to have some pre cooked chicken ready to add to salads, wraps etc.
So I took some of the chicken and cut it up really good, tossed it in some BBQ sauce and added it to a tortilla shell. Then roll it up, cut it into slices and drizzled some ranch dressing on it.
Served it up with leftover Roasted Potatoes, corn and strawberries.
Meal #3:
I wanted to use up more of the chicken but I don’t like serving up the same exact thing twice!
Variety is the spice of life after all! 😉
So I took the chicken and put it in a tortilla shell, added some shredded cheese and warmed it up on the stove top.
Served up with a side salad with tortilla strips, apple slice and a dollop of sour cream to dipping.
Meal #4:
And theres nothing wrong with a good old fashioned lunch of Turkey and Cheese sandwich, fruit, and goldfish. 🙂
Meal #5:
This one might have been there favorite!
This “Quesadilla” is filled with Peanut butter and Banana. Then I added a tiny bit of butter to a pan on the stove stop and crisped it up a little. Served with a cheese stick, blueberries, and banana yogurt with almond slivers. (a Chobani flip cup) One yogurt was the perfect amount to split between the two.
I used to try so hard to have things specifically scheduled for lunch. But I’ve been having a fun time just using what’s on hand and coming up with something new each day.
My son could live off of snacks, so I’ve been trying to be better at filling his belly at lunch time so that he’s not asking for snacks so much during the day.
Comment below and let me know what your go to Preschool Age Lunches are!!