The question:
Dear Chef Mom: My son is two and goes to a mothers day out program twice a week. I have to send cold lunches with him on these days. When he is home, he typically eats hot lunches. I need some ideas on cold finger food lunches for my son. Please help! - Debbie in Texas

Chef Mom says:
There seem to be two kinds of kids in this world: the picky eaters and the eat-anythings. We have a lot of ideas for you, though you will want to adapt them to meet your child's needs.

"I went through the same dilemma with my then 3-year-old daughter. She doesn't eat peanut butter and jelly or any other sandwich, so I was really at a loss," says Dawn Lloyd of Baby University. "However, she loves those Lunchables, which are rather expensive, so I made my own. I purchased deli ham and cut it into squares. She prefers the individually wrapped cheese slices, so I put two of those in along with a few crackers, a pickle and a sliced apple or cereal/fruit bar. That seemed to do the trick and she never tired of the same meal."

Want more ideas? Take a look at Brown Bag Success: Making Healthy Lunches Your Kids Won't Trade

Along the same lines, crackers can offer a break from the same old sandwiches. Notes Sheila S. Ruth of My Cinnamon Toast Family Portal, "Whole grain crackers with cheese, tuna fish, or peanut butter provide a pretty good protein source and can be more fun than a sandwich."

Mom of four Amanda Formaro of Family Corner also knows this dilemma well. She says, "Another yummy treat for kids is to spread peanut butter and jelly onto one side of a soft tortilla and roll it up jelly roll style. Other ideas include chunks of cheese spread with pretzel sticks, raisins, orange wedges, dried fruit, carrot or celery sticks, and jello.

Both Amanda and Sheila suggested sending a small covered container of dip or peanut butter so your child can dip his celery or carrot sticks in.

Cheri Sicard of Fabulous Foods had a lot of wonderful ideas for the preschool set:

• Core an apple and stuff the inside with peanut butter. Top with raisins, nuts, sunflower seeds or toasted coconut. The filling will keep the cut apple from turning brown.

• Cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, or spread bread with cream cheese and top with dried fruits like raisins, apples or apricots.

• Mash a banana together with cream cheese and top with fresh apple, pineapple or peach slices.

• Pack fresh fruit with yogurt dip.

• Make fancy sandwiches by cutting shapes out of the bread with a cookie cutter (use the crusts and scraps to make breadcrumbs or croutons). Kids love the novelty and will be more likely to finish their lunch.

And a few more suggestions:

• Pop-tarts (one of Dawn Lloyd's daughter's favorites)

• Individual servings of applesauce

• Hot dog (already cut up and ready for dipping -- save fast food ketchup packs to send with their lunches)

• Tiny boxes of raisins

• String cheese

Please note that many of these foods can present choking hazards to children under three. The American Academy of Pediatrics considers the following foods to be dangerous for children under the age of three: Nuts, hard candy, grapes, hot dogs, chunks of meat, raw carrots, popcorn and apples. The AAP also recommends that all toddler food be cut into thin slices to prevent choking.

I hope some of these ideas please your son!

Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats (A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook)

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