Healthy Toddler Lunch Ideas with PlanetBox

This one is for the mamas out there…

If you’re a mom you know the challenges of feeding a toddler all too well.

My daughter was impossible to feed as an infant. Impossible. In fact, she would gag and throw up most of the food we gave her until she hit the 1 year mark. (To give you an idea, we used to break Puffs up into teeny, tiny pieces just to keep her from gagging).

With a lot of prayer and a developmental milestone at 12 months her gagging reflex disappeared and she finally started eating. Life got SO much easier!

But as she’s grown into her toddler years she’s gone through the typical toddler routine of loving certain foods, hating certain foods and changing her mind almost daily. Feeding a toddler is a roller coaster of emotion.

While I try not to be ridiculous and legalistic with our food rules, we do try to feed my daughter whole, natural, foods free of additives, food coloring and other mystery ingredients as often as possible.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past year it’s that toddlers love to feel in control, so they love to choose their own food and presentation goes a long way.

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This is why PlanetBox was so appealing to me. I first learned about them through Andrea Howe and PlanetBox was kind enough to send me a lunch kit to try. So far we have been loving it.

First things first, I want you to know I only review products on The Balanced Life that I love and would truly recommend. I receive new products in the mail every week. Many of them never make the blog because I don’t like them and wouldn’t recommend them to my friends. So I want you to know these thoughts are completely genuine and 100% my own.

Things I love about PlanetBox:

– The compartments make packing lunch fun & easy. I simply fill them with a variety of colorful foods and don’t stress about whether it’s too much, not enough or not balanced. I can see it right in front of me and it’s actually fun to put together cute little lunches.

– The compartments also make it fun for my daughter. She gets to pick and choose her favorites and she eats more of her lunch now than she did when I packed it in separate containers and ziplock bags.

– I love that it’s eco-friendly.

– PlanetBox takes “BPA free, non-leaching, non-toxic, phthalate-free, and lead-free” very seriously.

– It’s sturdy and well-made. Because of that it’s a little heavy, but my 2-year-old can carry it so it’s not the end of the world. It’s definitely an investment but from what I’ve heard and read it will last a long time. I also love that you can replace the outer cover each year but keep using the stainless steel box.

– It comes with fun little decorative magnets which my daughter loves to re-arrange.

– Dishwasher safe. Yes!

– As my daughter gets older I think she’ll enjoy filling the compartments herself and helping to prepare her own healthy meals. I love the thought of that and can’t wait for that day. 🙂

Overall, we are loving our PlanetBox and my daughter gets excited to go to pre-school because it’s a “lunchbox day!”

Here are a few of our go-to healthy toddler lunch ideas as of right now:

• English Muffin Pizzas: sprouted grain english muffin topped with pizza sauce, chopped spinach, Applegate Farms Turkey and grass-fed organic cheddar cheese.

• Turkey Roll Ups: Applegate Farms Deli Turkey wrapped around any of the following: hummus, avocado, organic cheddar cheese.

• Turkey Taco Bowls: ground turkey cooked & flavored with this taco seasoning, black beans, chopped spinach, avocado and chopped red bell pepper (the smaller I chop the veggies the more likely she will scoop them up with her spoon without really noticing).

• Chicken Salad: rotisserie chicken shredded and mixed with Vegenaise and chopped grapes.

• Green Pea Crisps

• Fruit: Cuties, grapes, strawberries or raspberries (her preference changes by the day)

• Sliced bananas with almond butter. We make them like little Oreos, 2 banana rounds with a small bit of almond butter sandwiched in the middle.

• Avocado. Avocado is the only green produce (other than juice or smoothies) she will willingly eat.

I’d love to hear what toddler meals are working in your house too! Post them in the comments.

xo,

PS – you may also enjoy How I Lost The Baby Weight and 11 Tips For Work-At-Home Moms