Sandwich filling ideas fussy eaters

Children like simple fillings and they prefer smooth textures.

If your son likes peanut butter, try to add something to his sandwich. Apart from the classic peanut butter & jam, you can try sliced apple or pear – rub with lemon juice to prevent discoloration – even banana. Peanut butter, sliced apple and finely sliced white celery is delicious and it has all important nutrients.

Cream cheese has a similar texture and it can be a step ahead. Try this one at home:

Traffic light

Ingredients

1 slices bread, crust removed
1 Tbs cream cheese
1 tsp raspberry or strawberry jam
1 tsp apricot jam
1 tsp Reine Claude plums or greengage jam

Procedure

1. Spread cream cheese on one of the slices.
2. Cut three circles of the other one using a round cookie cutter then place it on top of the cream cheese.
3. Spoon strawberry jam on the top hole, apricot jam in the middle hole, and greengage jam on the last one; the sandwich will resemble a traffic light.

If your son takes to it, you can try cream cheese with crushed pineapple and other similar fillings; even cream cheese with tuna. Cream cheese goes well with garlic sausage - try the combination when you experience with deli meats – and don’t forget the classic New Yorker, cream cheese and smoked salmon. I have seen many kids taking to this one.

Liver pate also has a smooth texture and many children love it. It is rich in iron and you only need to spread a thin layer, so he would not eat so much fat.

If you want to try filling with a chunkier texture, start with egg salad. Some kids don’t like the smell of hard boiled egg. If it that so, try the Popey version. Just mix in some wilted baby spinach and crispy bacon, chopped, into the egg salad.

From the deli counter, start with a simple ham sandwich, cheese sandwich, and progress to ham and cheese. Just on buttered bread.. The taste for pickles or relish in your cheese sandwich comes later.

Children usually prefer white bread to whole wheat. I would not worry about whole wheat until much later. As children don’t eat as much as adults and much fiber can hinder the absorption of essential nutrients, you are not doing harm.

A little imagination entices fussy eaters to try new things. Get those cookie cutters to work and cut these sandwiches into fancy shapes. Or make pinwheel sandwiches – kids seem to think that everything tastes better in a pinwheel.

Every evening, ask him to help prepare his lunch for the next day. At least try to plan the lunch together. He will be much more likely to eat it if he was involved.

Be patient and insistent. Once he accepts a second option to peanut butter, introducing a new one will be much easier.

My grandmother used to make traffic lights for us. She toasted the bread.