toddler lunch idea

It has been so busy for papa and I that there has not been too much cooking going on. We've managed to get in a chicken stew and a turkey stir fry which is not too bad because that's really 4 nights of eating home cooked food since I always make enough for leftovers! From Monday to Friday I need to make sure Molly goes to day care with a nutritious and well rounded lunch. On busy weeks the ideas run short and it is too tempting to send PB&J every other day. While these toddler lunch ideas are not culinary gems, they hopefully will help inspire busy moms to keep giving good food to their kids for all their meals. Thank goodness Molly loves fruit and will always eat any fruit I send! I've been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and I'm so appalled at what moms put in their kids' lunchboxes! It was gross stuff like those Oscar Meyer pre-packaged lunches (coldcuts or chicken nuggets, crackers and cheese) which are full of preservatives and are really expensive! So I offer some ideas for quesadillas which all kids love. It is inexpensive to make and really yummy and good for your kiddies! Please share your toddler lunch ideas!

Quesadillas!!

always use whole wheat tortillas and good quality shredded cheese

filling ideas:

low sodium sliced turkey (we like trader joe's brand)

ground turkey sauteed with spinach puree and tomato paste

green peas (yes, Molly likes these now)

sliced hard boiled eggs

Toddler lunch idea - rice balls

It has been so fun watching Molly eat and enjoy food. Now that she's a toddler in full swing, she definitely has more to say about what she wants to eat. To my surprise she said "mmmmm wice" when I asked her if she liked her lunch today! She ate everything that you see above in her lunch box. I try to get all food groups into her meals, as much as possible. This was a good one with protein, fruit, veggie and grain. You already know about my challenges with getting her to eat veggies. I was sooooo excited when I discovered she likes seaweed paper. She eats it like potato chips. If you have a child in daycare, you'll know how hard it can get to come up with fresh ideas that are nutritious for your little one. Believe me, I've relied on the old stand-by PB&J way too many times! I hope you find this helpful and I hope your baby is as good of an eater as mine is!

Molly's Rice Balls

japanese short grain sticky rice (1 cup uncooked)

seasoned rice vinegar (2 tablespoons)

cooked chicken cut into tiny pieces (just shy of a cup)

seaweed sprinkles (tiny shreds sold at Japanese mkt) 2 tablespoons

furikake (I used a few shakes of a veggie mix, make sure no MSG!)

Cook rice, mix in vinegar, mix in rest of ingedients, form balls with damp hands

I made hers the morning after when the mix was cold and the balls were easier to form. The rice was room temperature by the time she ate them. Next time I'm going to try adding some broccoli puree. Let's see if she likes that!