Want to help brainstorm lunch ideas for my picky eater?

[bw52]

I’m out of ideas! My almost 12 year old is my pickiest eater and I’ve run out of lunch ideas. We’re home so she can really have anything, but doesn’t like almost everything the rest of us eat. I’m looking protein suggestions that will keep her full. She eats plenty of fruit but is hungry soon after and then wants junk food. I’m looking for healthy options that will keep her full.

We have simple lunches because I’m feeding 5 of us in the middle of busy days (lately all my kids want different things and it’s taking my forever to make 5 different meals for lunch )—pb sandwiches, Mac and cheese, frozen taquitos, quesadillas, etc, but she won’t eat any of those. She won’t eat cheese, bread, yogurt, starting not not like pasta...HELP!

[georgiegirl]

Edamame, nuts, crunchy corn, TJs peanut butter pretzels

Ds2 is super picky (vegetarian almost vegan). He likes many plain, salty things. He won’t eat PB&J, but he will eat peanut butter on ritz crackers.


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[WatchingThemGrow]

Peanut butter and bananas on tortilla, Tuna with cracker, breakfast items, rotisserie chicken, chili?

I feel your pain. My 12yo boy is the pickiest. He gets tired of ideas I find quickly and we go through this cycle endlessly.


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[jawilli4]

I feel your pain, too! Probably not the healthiest choice but my very picky teenagers are big into Just Bare Chicken Nuggets. They went viral for being compared to nuggets from Chick-fil-A and don't have any antibiotics. Unfortunately they are a Costco only product and I was only able to find them in one of my local stores. However, now that Chick-fil-A has finally started selling their sauces in grocery stores, my kids are in heaven. I wouldn't say they are an exact copy but they are tasty. We use the air fryer setting on our toaster oven but I think they'd be pretty good even without one. Good luck. Will definitely be following this thread.

https://www.businessinsider.com/just...-tiktok-2021-2

[SnuggleBuggles]

Everyone is responsible for their lunches here.
Frozen meatballs?
Chili (make a big batch to last a few days)?
Lunch meat (just straight since she doesn’t like bread)
Grill some meat and that’ll last a few days in the fridge


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[Liziz]

If she eats dinners better, can she eat leftovers from dinner? Or prepare extra portions of the things she will eat (like if she'll eat chicken breast, grill a few extra for the next several days).

Hummus and carrots or pretzels

My kids love soup of all sorts - you can make a big batch to eat from for several days (or just buy prepared soups)

Eggs? A scrambled egg is pretty fast.

If she'll eat oatmeal, that might work too - normally a breakfast food but it's quick and can have staying power to fill her up - especially if she likes nuts and will put some of them in there.

Deli rollups -- we do a slice of lunchmeat, a slice of cheese, wrapped around a pickle, but it would work without the cheese! (we like to dip in mustard)

Apples dipped in peanut butter or almond butter

[hillview]

at 12 I would ask her to make herself what she wants and give some parameters (like it has to be one a protein).

[mmsmom]

at 12 I would ask her to make herself what she wants and give some parameters (like it has to be one a protein).

Yes, I’d have her make her own. My 12 & 14 year olds have been in charge of their lunches since the pandemic... too hard for me to stop working to feed them. I make sure they have a lot of choices and remind them about leftovers but they usually make or air fry something. They don’t have anything that I consider to be junk options in the house so I really don’t monitor that much. I did take them to Costco to pick out things for lunch at the beginning of summer. DD likes dumplings, spring rolls... anything Asian. They also do the Costco chicken nuggets in the air fryer.

[Kestrel]

Will she eat salad? We do a lot of lunch salads here. I always have a bunch of fruit and veg cleaned and cut; that's just our normal. (Whever looks great and/or is on sale.) So - get your greens, add whatever fruit and veg you want, add diced lunchmeat, cheese, or leftovers (chicken breast, turkey, shrimp), or fake crabmeat; add nuts, sunflower seed or crouton. But - they must assemble themselves! I do the prepping of things, but the guys put their own together.

Fall/winter I make homemade soup/stew/chili in double batches and freeze leftovers in single servings. DS will also make ramen on the stove and then add frozen veg right to the pot. Easy-peasy.

[carolinamama]

My kids have to get their own lunches so we do mostly easy foods. DD is very picky! I keep cut fruit and veggies so they can be grabbed and several times a week I make green smoothies and expect them to drink one so I don't feel required to monitor fruit/veggie intake. Non sandwich options in our house include:
Baked oatmeal
"Healthy" muffins (whole wheat, oats, fruit, sweetened with honey)
Protein balls
Smoothies
Salami and cheese
Hard boiled or deviled eggs https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/re...-without-mayo/
Bowl of non-sugary cereal

I do the prep and baking but it's on my time