One Week of Lunchboxes

Having to pack lunchboxes for your little one can be a blessing and a curse. One the one hand it’s reassuring to know they’re getting a balanced diet and you know where everything came from, on the other hand it’s just one more thing to add to the daily To-Do list. And especially as our toddlers practice asserting their identity and saying NO to more things, it can be a real challenge.

First of all, I’m here to tell you: don’t stress if the lunchbox comes back barely eaten. As toddlers get older, their caloric needs really fluctuate, and it becomes more a matter of looking at total weekly intake rather than judging it day by day. They’re very unlikely to starve themselves, so trust that they will take what they need when they need it. PLUS toddlers become a bit more like adults where a missed meal doesn’t necessarily result in worse sleep, unlike younger babies – which was something I had to learn and relax more about myself!

Secondly, I try not strike a balance between serving things I know Mala eats reliably on a regular basis, but still serving a variety of things all the time – even if some of it gets left behind. This serves two purposes: 

💡EXPOSURE  – ie making sure she sees lots of different foods on a regular basis, making them ‘normal’ for her and 

🌈 CHOICE – i.e. making sure she can pick the things her body needs on a given day – they are amazingly intuitive about this and I try to trust her judgement as much as possible

Finally, I try to always pack leftovers from dinners as her hot lunch the next day. This means it’s familiar to her, plus it’s less work for myself. Win-win!

Swipe right to see what last week’s lunchboxes looked like for us!

What are some of your lunchbox faves?