So your baby's moved beyond jarred food, but he's still too little for PB&J. What do you pack for lunch that's healthy, safe, and convenient for you and the daycare center? Here, a handful of ideas to try:
Before age 1:
- Cut-up precooked carrots, broccoli, or green beans, all of which can be served at room temperature
- Cubes of ripe fruit such as melon, peaches, pears, mango, papaya
- Small chunks of ripe banana, rolled in Rice Krispies cereal
- Cubes of liverwurst
- Cubes of semisoft cheese and pieces of rice cake
- Soft granola bars (such as Nutri-Grain bars)
- Leftover macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, meat loaf, scrambled egg yolks, or baked beans, if you can keep it refrigerated at the daycare center.
After age 1, you can add:
- Hard-boiled eggs, cut up
- Tiny sandwiches of tuna or egg salad (1 slice of bread folded and then cut in half)
- Cut-up strawberries and grapes
- Frozen peas (they'll be thawed by lunchtime)
- String cheese peeled into thin strips
