The real food lunches we're feeding our toddler
I’ve always been super passionate about serving my kids good food. I like to eat good, wholesome food myself, so of course I’d want to make sure my babies are getting that same level of nutrition and care. When Nash was first born, I knew I wanted to commit to making his food. No weird, soupy baby food in a jar. Nope, just real mangoes, sweet potatoes, and avocado, among other things.
It was more simple than I imagined…start by just buying a few fun things at the store or farmer’s market. I’d usually try to keep things in season, so it would be fresh and not as pricey.
Some things I would cook - either steamed quickly in the microwave or roasted in the oven. Some I’d leave raw. I’d puree it with a small blender and store it in little containers. Besides giving him the very best food I could, I saved so much freaking money.
Those little jars of baby food add up quickly…even more so if you’re in to the snazzy, organic pouches they offer now.
Years later, when I found I was pregnant with Nova, I knew I’d want to do the same for her. I was convinced that Nash’s early experiences with real food were what made him a pretty good eater even years later (to this day, dude almost always eats his veggies first and loves asparagus and broccoli). Unlike with Nash though, Nova would be going to daycare only a few months after I gave birth (and still goes five days a week). So I had to accept that I would likely be adding in some “convenience” foods since I now I had to balance the demands of an older child, a working husband, my own stressful job, and this new baby. Let’s not forget about keeping a clean house, sports, self-care, etc… But I still wanted to make sure she got real food…and a good variety of things, so she’d grow up with a well-rounded preference.
Examples of Nova’s lunch and two snacks for the day.
And it worked. The ladies at her daycare have said on multiple occasions how she’s just this great eater. Not only does she eat on her own with very little assistance, but she generally eats most of what I give her every day. Generally speaking she eats a small meal in the morning, lunch, and one or two snacks in the afternoon while at school. I try to give her some variety, so that if she doesn’t prefer one thing, she still has other nutritious options to choose from.
Some things are packaged - make no mistake. But I try very hard to give her as much fresh food as possible and aim to pick better packaged options. Organic, whole grain breads and dye free treats. I aim for a variety of textures and make sure she has as many fruits and vegetables as I think will keep throughout the day.
It’s a bit of a process in the evenings to pick up the kids, make dinner, bath, bed, etc…, so I’ve got to have a system to streamline the whole lunch prep thing. One of my favorite Instagram mom’s, Amy Lou Hawthorne, listed these bento boxes in her stories one day, and they seemed just perfect. They have either three or four smaller compartments and seal completely between sections. This would allow me to give Nova a variety of foods like I wanted and make sure things didn’t get soggy or all mixed up.
Beyond the main lunch box, I needed some smaller containers for snacks. I used some of the same small containers from Oxo Tot that I used when I was making her baby food (small ones here, larger glass ones here), as well as some reusable ziplock-type bags (the ones pictured from Target and my new favorite Stasher bags work great). Finally, I got some more use out of these little silicone cups I added on when I got Nash a Planetbox lunchbox a while back (which are great and all, but NOT watertight, so it leaked like crazy). I use those to further section the bento box containers when I give her small portions of treats or dried fruit or whatnot.
How we label our lunches. Freezer tape and a Sharpie for daily items and Lil Labels to put her name on everything.
As with most daycares, we have to label EVERYTHING. I stumbled across these lil’ labels and just love them. They have this little strip of clear covering, so once you write your kiddos name on them, you pull off the paper backing and stick the clear cover over the top of the label. This makes it waterproof, and let me tell you, those suckers last! I’ve had the same labels on Nova’s stuff for MONTHS and it’s still perfect. I used them on her bottles originally, now on her cups, her forks, her lunchboxes, etc…
For the snacks and other things, I just use regular old freezer tape and a sharpie. It’s inexpensive and sticks well to just about everything. I keep all the bags, the sharpie, and the tape in the drawer right next to the counter where I prep her lunch, so I don’t have to go searching everywhere for things. Having that sort of “drop zone” makes it super quick in the evenings when I’m ready to just crawl in to bed.
Then I toss everything into her lunch bag and stash it in the fridge until morning. Before Joe runs out the door in the morning, he pops in a small ice pack and she’s good to go!
Hope this post gave you the confidence to know you can make healthy, simple meals for your daycare kiddo and showed you some awesome products that make it just that much easier. Let me know if you have any other lunch prep or healthy eating tips I can use!
