Hellobee Boards

Will your provider heat up food for you? We have to send lunch for Xander 1-2 times a week because they are serving something with dairy, and I usually send stuff like frozen chicken nuggets and sausage (his favorite) or sometimes even vegan pizza. Our provider has a microwave and will heat up food for him.

@Cherrybee: This is right up my allley, because I packed 2 snacks and 2 meals a day for 1.5 years for my oldest. Will they heat up foods for you or not?

We ended up investing in an asian-style bento thermos. It's different from the bento lunchboxes that are featured on HB a lot. The one we bought was like this and I would pack LOs breakfast in one container, lunch in the second container, 1 snack in the top container, and then typically a second snack and her water/almond milk cups separately in her back pack. We would pack the food the night before, microwave it in the morning and put inside the thermos and it would still be hot at lunch. https://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-SL-NCE09-Bento-Stainless-Steel-Vacuum/dp/B0016S7MJM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485192296&sr=8-1&keywords=bento+thermos

As far as what to pack, I'm not familiar with the stores you'll have in the UK or brands, but a ton of dairy-free quick foods have come out in the last few years, so it was really easy for us to be dairy and soy free after I got used to reading labels.

For breakfast, we would basically only do 3 things on a regular basis: scrambled eggs with something (sausage or brocooli or bacon or whatever) and a side of fruit; Cheerios and almond milk with fruit, or oatmeal and fruit.

Lunch: I always do a main and 2 sides. So salmon with green beans and potatoes, or fish sticks with peas and brocooli, etc. Very formulaic.

Morning snack was always a fruit or a pouch.

Afternoon snack is always a carb, like a couple of crackers, those baked pea snacks, veggie chips, baby puffs, that kind of thing.

We didn't pack dinner since I picked up before dinner. But her lunch was always made from our dinner leftovers the night before. Still to this day, I make extra for dinner every night and I portion out all of our dinner plates and the same time as their lunches. So basically 4 smaller portions for my two girls (their dinner and next day's lunch), and 2 bigger portions for DH and My dinners.

I feel like having a formula for myself that I stick to keeps me from always having to make up new stuff. Breakfast, my husband chooses 1 of those 3 things. AM snack is always fruit. Lunch is always main = two sides. PM snack is always small carb based snack. I don't even think about it anymore, I can pack everything in robot fashion these days.

Following for ideas... my 16 month old is starting center daycare for the first time next week and we will have to pack lunch and snacks for him. He's not dairy allergic, but possibly lactose intolerant (we are introducing slowly) so we're avoiding cheese, butter, yogurt, etc. He's also VERY PICKY and not a good eater, so it's hard to find stuff that is semi healthy that he will eat.

We send hot food in those Thermos food jars. Just fill it with hot boiling water in the morning for a few minutes to warm the jug, then pour out the water and fill with hot food. It will definitely still be hot by lunch. Dinner may have to be cold if the babysitter will not heat up the food for you.

Breakfast I'd do formula and a breakfast baby food pouch.

Morning snack, I'd do something dry like Cheerios and raisins.

Lunch I'd do one-pot hot meals like fried rice, pasta with sauce and meat, a mild coconut curry with rice, chili, soups or stews that have been lightly blended so they are thicker, but still textured and chunky (veg beef, vegetable, chicken noodle, lentil, etc). These can be made in batches and frozen in 1/2 cup portions so you can just thaw and reheat in the morning. If your provider will heat food for you, then you can just mix and match and send 2 containers of whatever you want heated up.

Afternoon snack I'd do banana or some kind of easy to eat fruit like berries or clementines or applesauce pouch.

If dinner has to be cold then I would do like a hardboiled egg, hummus or some shredded cold roast chicken for protein. Easy to eat raw veggies like cucumber slices, quartered cherry tomatoes, and avocado. Starch can be cold pasta tossed in olive oil, soft buttery crackers, or more Cheerios.

We send in lots of cold fruit and veggies (and beans and chicken and pasta etc.) and our day care heats up as necessary. If they wouldn't I would send:
fruit,
peas and carrots which I think are fine cold
precooked, diced chicken
pasta salad (lightly dressed)
crackers
luncheon meats (turkey or ham)