Help! I need sandwich fillings for a five year old (fusspot)...

(29 Posts)
AboveTheOxbow Mon 24-Mar-14 17:49:23

There is a peanut and sesame ban at DD's school, which is a shame as she loves peanut butter an hummous. It's a tiny school so they only have cooked dinners once a week. I have four days of uninspired sandwich torment.

What she does not love is cheese, soft cheese, almond butter, tuna, smoked salmon, turkey, roast pork, roast chicken, salami, pate, bean pate, aubergine pate (any pate!).

She likes ham, but it's expensive and unhealthy to eat too often. Also eats marmite, honey and egg.

Variations on the sandwich such as oatcakes, wraps, pasta etc. are euchuch (that's the pretending to vomit noise she makes).

I mean, are there actually any sandwich fillings (or any other lunch food) left to try (marshmallow? After Eights)???

IndieSkies Mon 24-Mar-14 17:54:54

Mashed avocado
Lettuce and salad cream
Sliced sausage (though arguably worse than ham)
Cold fish fingers

Otherwise just alternate marmite and egg. Variation and originality is only important if the child gets bored, and they rarely do.

LizzieMint Mon 24-Mar-14 17:57:58

My daughter will only eat tuna sandwiches, and even then she's funny about them half the time! As sandwich alternatives, I do cold pasta salad (she likes it with pesto), rice salad, wraps (still with tuna, but hey ho), rice cakes with hummous or cream cheese. That's about as far as I've got!

Gileswithachainsaw Mon 24-Mar-14 17:58:00

Jam? Chocolate spread? Egg mayo? Plain salad
Roasted veg
Dairy lea
Apple butter
Breaded meat strips

tulipflowers Mon 24-Mar-14 17:59:18

My son had marmite sandwiches in his lunch for 4 years!!

Gileswithachainsaw Mon 24-Mar-14 18:00:52


LizzieMint Mon 24-Mar-14 18:01:04

Oh, meant to say when I was at school, I didn't like sandwiches either (and still not that keen) and the only thing I'd have was peanut butter. My mum gave up on giving me anything else when she found my stash of mouldy sandwiches under my bed! ;) so I had that every day for about 2 years and it didn't seem to do me any harm. I eat anything, am definitely not fussy about food, I just don't (and didn't) like cold meats!

yellowsnownoteatwillyou Mon 24-Mar-14 19:04:44

My ds eats chicken mayo with avocado on sandwiches,I blend it so it spreads easily, he is only 8 months but I ate it today and quite liked it blended up.

yellowsnownoteatwillyou Mon 24-Mar-14 19:06:29

I didn't eat most of the things you mentioned when I was at school and ate cucumber sandwiches a lot or chocolate spread. grin

whatsonyourplate Mon 24-Mar-14 19:11:24

Could you make your own hummous but leave out the tahini?

IndieSkies Mon 24-Mar-14 19:12:52

I had Primula Cheese and Shrimp spread every day for about 4 years. I liked it, never felt the need of a change. It's just a packed lunch.

Marmite and cucumber?

blueberrycupcake Mon 24-Mar-14 19:18:01

I'd make my own hummus with Harissa paste and so it won't contain any sesame seeds.

piebald Mon 24-Mar-14 19:23:37

Lettuce and marmite

mamij Mon 24-Mar-14 19:28:02

Have you tried cashew but butter?
Nutella and banana.

mermaidbutmytailfelloff Mon 24-Mar-14 19:29:28

Home made hummus without tahini in, so chickpeas, yogurt, garlic, lemon juice all blitzed up, it's nearly as nice

HolidayCriminal Mon 24-Mar-14 19:29:34

All of mine have ham daily.
Some will take cucumber, jam, plain butter or plain mayonnaise as an occasional alternatives.

ArmchairDetective Mon 24-Mar-14 19:34:07

My DD doesn't like sandwiches much but refuses to have school dinners. It's a nightmare. She used to like marmite (gone off it), then peanut butter (gine of it), will eat egg (ut only if bought from M&S). She dioesn't like/eat meat. For a while she had to have nutella sandwiches as it was the only way I could get some carbs in (now gone off it).

I put in crackers now (no longer will have cheese in them) and its hit and miss whether she eats them. I do worry.

Mrsantithetic Mon 24-Mar-14 19:47:52


cerealqueen Mon 24-Mar-14 19:57:15

corned beef, cream cheese with tiny bit of marmite mixed in ,then she won't know it is cheese?


Mine didn't like tuna much till I did it with more mayo and a bit of lemon juice.

What about fruit bread?

shouldnthavesaid Mon 24-Mar-14 19:57:38

Could you go 'sandwichless'? Make up small salads and the like? For example, you could do chopped veg, a nice dip, crackers/ryvita bread etc and then some fruit, maybe a couple of mini muffins? Maybe cold pizza, couscous, rice salad, etc? You could even try mini quiche, cold veggie burgers/sausages etc.

I always hate sandwiches in a lunchbox as they're just not the same as when they're nice and fresh and cold, so usually have other stuff instead.

SheherazadeSchadenfreude Mon 24-Mar-14 20:43:14

Banana? Marmite and tomato? Egg mayo? Tinned fish, maybe with cucumber?

Blueberry234 Mon 24-Mar-14 20:59:32

I agree with the others about trying the no sandwich approach
What about
Savoury muffin
Cheese scone
Cold pizza
Crudities and dip. Chopped up cheese, egg

AboveTheOxbow Mon 24-Mar-14 22:13:59

Thanks for the suggestions- all really helpful. I think I need to think outside the box a bit and go for the no sandwich tack. She is rather partial to a chicken drumstick and I suppose I could serve new potatoes if she won't go for cold pasta.

Does anyone serve cold tortilla in their childrens' lunches?

I bought some cashew butter but it was half peanut, half cashew (disappointing!). Is there a pure cashew butter available? I think she might go for that (with a smidge of jam)

I liked the fish finger idea. Do you think it is actually okay to serve cold fish finger sandwiches? She loves fish fingers!

Nocomet Mon 24-Mar-14 22:27:28

For the last 13 years DD2 has eaten Ham sandwiches

Occasionally now she's older, salami or polony, but basically if she takes packed lunch or for week end lunch it's ham.

No cheese, no tuna, no egg and certainly non of the interesting things the OP suggests, just Ham.

The only exception is in cafes where she will eat ham and cheese tosties if that's the only dull as dishwater choice.

Blu Tue 25-Mar-14 02:39:46

Fish finger sandwiches are a favourite in this house!
I put a bit of tartar sauce in, or ketchup , or watercress , but plain is fine too.

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