Building the Perfect Toddler Lunch

How many times have you sat down to relax after your child goes to bed and realized you still had to pack their lunch? We’re here to make packing lunches for preschool or daycare a little less painful with some tips from our expert and pediatric dietitian Vanessa Thornton. She shares the easy-to-follow formula she uses when packing for her kids, as well as some healthy, no-cook options to add to your lunch rotation.

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How many times have you sat down to relax after your child goes to bed and realized you still had to pack their lunch?   We’re here to make packing lunches for preschool or daycare a little less painful with some tips from our expert and pediatric dietitian Vanessa Thornton. She shares the easy-to-follow formula she uses when packing for her kids, as well as some healthy, no-cook options to add to your lunch rotation.   We've also included some lunchbox-friendly faves from Thrive Market. Why Thrive? Because they make healthy food accessible to every family.   Because we genuinely love the quality and convenience of Thrive, we partnered with them for an exclusive deal. When Tinyhood email subscribers use this exclusive link, they’ll receive 30% off plus a free $60 gift.  What should you pack in your child's lunch?​ According to Vanessa, when packing your child’s lunch, focus on including 4 key components.  1 PROTEIN + 1 WHOLE GRAIN + 2 FRUITS AND/OR VEGGIES = A BALANCED LUNCH But what does this formula look like in action? It all depends on your child! Just take a look at these 2 very different lunches that are still both perfectly balanced. Lunch Example #1 Protein & Whole Grain: Pasta salad with roast chicken Vegetable: Sliced bell peppers Fruit: Side of berries             Lunch Example #2 Protein & Whole Grain: Sunflower butter sandwich on whole wheat bread Vegetable: Sliced cucumbers Fruit: Clementines But Vanessa understands that finding options that will keep fresh inside a lunchbox all day can be difficult, especially when it comes to proteins and grains.  ​ Vanessa's Picks for Proteins & Whole Grains:     •    Rotisserie chicken     •    Single-serving tuna packets     •    Hummus & crackers     •    Overnight oats     •    Chia seed pudding     •    Instant brown rice or quinoa And what about fruits and veggies with a picky toddler? How can you pack options they’ll actually eat? Get creative with some more snack-like (but still healthy!) alternatives.  Vanessa's Favorite Snack Picks  (all of which are available at Thrive Market) That's it Apple & Strawberry Fruit Bars   RIND Apple Chips   feel good foods Vegetable Potstickers   Rhythm Organic Cauliflower Bites We love finding ways to make things easier for parents. And so does Thrive Market. They are dedicated to making healthy food simple & affordable for every family.  Thrive Market offers all the healthiest lunch snacks for cheaper than the grocery store PLUS they ship it straight to your house. All you have to do is throw them in the lunchbox!   Everything on their site is free of over 500 “never” ingredients. These are the foods you see at the grocery store but never buy because the prices are way too high — not at Thrive!   We genuinely love Thrive Market, which is why we partnered with them for an exclusive offer. For the next 48 hours, when you use this link to sign up for Thrive, you get 30% off your first order PLUS a free $60 gift.  Get snacking h ​ ​This article is sponsored in partnership with Thrive Market. We only recommend products and brands we genuinely love. ​