Originally Posted by Mom2Two:
I'm trying something new with vegies, and it worked well today.
I'm not wild about family style--everything seems to get coughed on and left overs aren't always reusable. But I'm not completely wild on eat-what-you-get either.
A while back I read that another provider always offered two vegies (was it BC?) and I thought that sounded like a good idea.
So today, I had four vegie options available and I asked each child which one they wanted, and I served it to them. The result was that they each (except one child) ended up with a full vegie serving that they chose themselves. I had sweet peppers, fresh tomatoes, pinto beans, and all but one child chose a serving of at least one vegie. I could have also gone on to the cucumber and bag of washed spinach.
I'm pleased about it, because I can have the vegies washed and chopped and it's not hard to give each child what they want. I only have 5-7 to serve lunch to, so the numbers don't make it too hard for me.
Yes, it was me..... I don't normally serve fruit.
I do, just not often and never for lunch.
As for family style and coughing etc... I cover each serving bowl as it's being passed. I also only put a small portion into each bowl/container (sometimes only enough for that one child) and then refill as needed.
We have fresh carrots, pepper strips (red/yellow/orange), cucumbers and celery available daily. With ranch or honey mustard dipping sauces.
That is in addition to the daily "hot" veggies