Daycare.com Forum
SilverSabre25 05:51 AM 02-09-2011
I love grapes. The kids love grapes. But omg it is tedious in the extreme to stand there cutting them up...and by the time I finish giving grapes to the last kid, everyone else is clamoring for more. Argh! Would grapes survive being cut up en masse and stored in a bowl in the fridge, or would that make them weird?
Zoe 05:57 AM 02-09-2011
I know what you mean. Grapes go fast around here too. I haven't ever stored them cut up, but I would imagine that they wouldn't keep for very long. Could you do it that morning? They would probably last a couple of hours if you cut up a whole bunch and stored them in the fridge until lunch time.
kitkat 05:58 AM 02-09-2011
DD loves grapes, too. She didn't finish some that were cut up at breakfast, so I put them in a ziplock in the frig. I think I ended up eating them the next afternoon and they tasted fine. The grapes would probably be fine if you do it the night before. Maybe they would do better or last longer if you cut them and then freeze them? I'm guessing they don't take long to thaw, but I'm not sure...I'm not a frozen grape fan.
nannyde 06:02 AM 02-09-2011
I just pop into the food processor the total serving size for all the kids and zip them. The kids love the puree fresh grapes and it saves all the chopping.
ammama 06:18 AM 02-09-2011
I feel bad now, I don't chop up the grapes for my kids (or dck's). They are all over 3, except one new dcg who is 2.5, but only here one day a week, and hasn't actually had grapes here yet. What age should you chop them up until?
Blackcat31 06:21 AM 02-09-2011
I don't cut my grapes up either but I do make a point of buying really big plump ones so you absolutely have no choice but to chew into them....Most my kiddos who get grapes are 3 and older as well. I guess as far as I am concerned if grapes are a choking hazard for the ones under 3 then the parents can feed them grapes...I will pass on the risks...
nannyde 06:33 AM 02-09-2011
Originally Posted by ammama:
I feel bad now, I don't chop up the grapes for my kids (or dck's). They are all over 3, except one new dcg who is 2.5, but only here one day a week, and hasn't actually had grapes here yet. What age should you chop them up until?
Grapes are the number three choke food:I feel bad now, I don't chop up the grapes for my kids (or dck's). They are all over 3, except one new dcg who is 2.5, but only here one day a week, and hasn't actually had grapes here yet. What age should you chop them up until?
http://www.qualityhealth.com/childre...g-hazards-kids
JenNJ 06:46 AM 02-09-2011
You can cut them up ahead of time, just toss them with a little lemon juice before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. It keeps them from browning so quickly. If the kids taste the lemon and hate it, just give them a quick rinse before serving.
snowball 06:56 AM 02-09-2011
I don't know why, but I was surprised to see raisins on that list. I guess I will be staying away from those.
AnythingsPossible 07:07 AM 02-09-2011
An easy way to cut grapes in half...take two lids and sandwich the grapes between the lids. Place a hand on the top lid to hold them down and use a long knife to slice them in half.
Little People 07:14 AM 02-09-2011
Originally Posted by nannyde:
Grapes are the number three choke food:
http://www.qualityhealth.com/childre...g-hazards-kids
Thank you for this article. I always feel I am very safe when it comes to my dck's, but I never knew raisins were not to be givin to children till school age!Grapes are the number three choke food:
http://www.qualityhealth.com/childre...g-hazards-kids
I gave my dck's raisins yesterday I but the tiny boxes and I just now went and checked the size of them and they are tiny. I just can't believe this was on the list.
DCMomOf3 07:25 AM 02-09-2011
Originally Posted by AnythingsPossible:
An easy way to cut grapes in half...take two lids and sandwich the grapes between the lids. Place a hand on the top lid to hold them down and use a long knife to slice them in half.
This does work, it takes a try or two to get the hang of it, but its fast.An easy way to cut grapes in half...take two lids and sandwich the grapes between the lids. Place a hand on the top lid to hold them down and use a long knife to slice them in half.
nannyde 07:32 AM 02-09-2011
Originally Posted by Giggles:
Thank you for this article. I always feel I am very safe when it comes to my dck's, but I never knew raisins were not to be givin to children till school age! I gave my dck's raisins yesterday I but the tiny boxes and I just now went and checked the size of them and they are tiny. I just can't believe this was on the list.
I don't give raisins straight but I do soak them in whatever juice I'm using for my breads and then whip them in the processor before adding to the bread machine. Thank you for this article. I always feel I am very safe when it comes to my dck's, but I never knew raisins were not to be givin to children till school age!
I gave my dck's raisins yesterday I but the tiny boxes and I just now went and checked the size of them and they are tiny. I just can't believe this was on the list.I don't like kids eating raisins straight until they are old enough to completely chew them. That would be about fiveish. Raisins are used as a stall food for little kids and they are given way too many of them. They come out completely whole and undigested.
Unregistered 07:36 AM 02-09-2011
We make grape salad. Cut up grapes add a pinch of brown sugar, a small amount of sour cream and whip cream. Obviously the amounts depend on how much grapes you have. My kids love it and it lasts for days. I use a slotted spoon when serving so the kids dont get to much cream with it.
heyhun77 07:47 AM 02-09-2011
Originally Posted by JenNJ:
You can cut them up ahead of time, just toss them with a little lemon juice before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. It keeps them from browning so quickly. If the kids taste the lemon and hate it, just give them a quick rinse before serving.
this is exactly what I do. I prep all my fruits and veggies on Sunday for the week so we don't get rushed and get tempted to either not eat them or not cut them up properly. Grapes are a weekly staple in the summer when they aren't as expensive so it's one of the weekly chores my 13 year old gets.You can cut them up ahead of time, just toss them with a little lemon juice before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. It keeps them from browning so quickly. If the kids taste the lemon and hate it, just give them a quick rinse before serving.
SilverSabre25 07:52 AM 02-09-2011
Originally Posted by JenNJ:
You can cut them up ahead of time, just toss them with a little lemon juice before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. It keeps them from browning so quickly. If the kids taste the lemon and hate it, just give them a quick rinse before serving.
Excellent, thank you! How long do they keep?You can cut them up ahead of time, just toss them with a little lemon juice before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. It keeps them from browning so quickly. If the kids taste the lemon and hate it, just give them a quick rinse before serving.
MG&Lsmom 08:23 AM 02-09-2011
We can't serve grapes to the under 3 crowd, even cut up. Also included on the list are nuts and nut butters, any dried fruit & hot dogs.
kendallina 08:31 AM 02-09-2011
I would love to serve grapes to the preschoolers, but don't just for that reason. Doing them ahead of time would be nice...haven't tried the lemon juice trick, but it works with other fruits, so I should try it...
ninosqueridos 08:40 AM 02-09-2011
Speaking of grapes, my DS who is almost 4 was gagging on them this morning. They were red, seedless and cut in HALF. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be the grape itself, but the skin that gets kids gagging.
NANNYDE thank you for posting that article - My dcps repeatedly send 5 out of those 10 things for their kids all the time (they provide lunch, and while they don't need to, they send in those items for snack).
When I tell them that their kid was choking on x, y, z....they look stunned like wow, they are fine with them at home.
I end up cutting food up for them all the time (even things like strawberries they send in whole for young toddlers). I just had to give backblows to my 20 month old last week who was choking on a strawberry. Ugh.
NANNYDE thank you for posting that article - My dcps repeatedly send 5 out of those 10 things for their kids all the time (they provide lunch, and while they don't need to, they send in those items for snack).
When I tell them that their kid was choking on x, y, z....they look stunned like wow, they are fine with them at home.
I end up cutting food up for them all the time (even things like strawberries they send in whole for young toddlers). I just had to give backblows to my 20 month old last week who was choking on a strawberry. Ugh.
momofsix 11:27 AM 02-09-2011
I always quarter the grapes. the big kids whine about it, but they're not choking at my house! I do it in the morning, enough for that day and they're fine.
broncomom1973 11:44 AM 02-09-2011
Originally Posted by nannyde:
I just pop into the food processor the total serving size for all the kids and zip them. The kids love the puree fresh grapes and it saves all the chopping.
Well, that sure would save alot of time. I certainly do not plan on doing the heimlich maneuver anytime soon, lol. I am a "freak" about dicing things up. When I do grapes I slice them in half lengthwise, then rotate them 1/2 turn and slice them again lengthwise and then slice them across the lengths so that each grape is literally in 12-16 little diced up pieces. Dh bought me an awesome food processor a few years ago so I could puree up veggies for the Deceptively Delicious cookbook by Jerry Seinfelds wife, but it is so darn complicated to use that I rarely use it. I did however, just come across a mini processor I had sitting behind my toaster, so I will try the grapes in there next time...... Im sure it will save me a tremendous amount of time.I just pop into the food processor the total serving size for all the kids and zip them. The kids love the puree fresh grapes and it saves all the chopping.
nannyde 11:47 AM 02-09-2011
Originally Posted by broncomom1973:
Well, that sure would save alot of time. I certainly do not plan on doing the heimlich maneuver anytime soon, lol. I am a "freak" about dicing things up. When I do grapes I slice them in half lengthwise, then rotate them 1/2 turn and slice them again lengthwise and then slice them across the lengths so that each grape is literally in 12-16 little diced up pieces. Dh bought me an awesome food processor a few years ago so I could puree up veggies for the Deceptively Delicious cookbook by Jerry Seinfelds wife, but it is so darn complicated to use that I rarely use it. I did however, just come across a mini processor I had sitting behind my toaster, so I will try the grapes in there next time...... Im sure it will save me a tremendous amount of time.
That's how I used to do grapes until I fell madly in love with my processor. Well, that sure would save alot of time. I certainly do not plan on doing the heimlich maneuver anytime soon, lol. I am a "freak" about dicing things up. When I do grapes I slice them in half lengthwise, then rotate them 1/2 turn and slice them again lengthwise and then slice them across the lengths so that each grape is literally in 12-16 little diced up pieces. Dh bought me an awesome food processor a few years ago so I could puree up veggies for the Deceptively Delicious cookbook by Jerry Seinfelds wife, but it is so darn complicated to use that I rarely use it. I did however, just come across a mini processor I had sitting behind my toaster, so I will try the grapes in there next time...... Im sure it will save me a tremendous amount of time.
I'm into it for a couple of years and I gotta say Seinfelds wife is right. Kids love puree. My 4.5 y/o real life princess is my biggest puree eater of the bunch. I puree SO much now... to sneak into their stews. They don't even see it coming
I put up a lot of in season veggies in puree and serve as sauce or stick in stews. My kids had spinach today in their stew that came from last spring.
If you don't want your processor you can send it my way.
Missani 11:51 AM 02-09-2011
Thanks for the lemon juice tip...whoever said that. I will have to remember that. I don't mind the cutting, but it would be nice to do a few servings at once and save them.
Also, if you serve grapes to your dck (I do...they love them), I've heard that they should be quartered. I always quarter grapes and thought I was weird, but once I went to a training and learned an interesting fact: grapes are actually more hazardous cut in half than they are whole. I guess it's because the "flat" side can lie against the trachea and kind of get wedged there. This makes it harder to "eject" with the Heimlich maneuver if needed and if it gets caught that way. It made me feel better to know that I wasn't weird, but now it makes me cringe when I see people cutting grapes in half for small children because they think they are helping and doing the right thing when in fact, they may be making it worse. Just a suggestion...
Also, if you serve grapes to your dck (I do...they love them), I've heard that they should be quartered. I always quarter grapes and thought I was weird, but once I went to a training and learned an interesting fact: grapes are actually more hazardous cut in half than they are whole. I guess it's because the "flat" side can lie against the trachea and kind of get wedged there. This makes it harder to "eject" with the Heimlich maneuver if needed and if it gets caught that way. It made me feel better to know that I wasn't weird, but now it makes me cringe when I see people cutting grapes in half for small children because they think they are helping and doing the right thing when in fact, they may be making it worse. Just a suggestion...
Cat Herder 12:12 PM 02-09-2011
Originally Posted by MG&Lsmom:
We can't serve grapes to the under 3 crowd, even cut up. Also included on the list are nuts and nut butters, any dried fruit & hot dogs.
Same here, but they have no problem with grape preserves.....We can't serve grapes to the under 3 crowd, even cut up. Also included on the list are nuts and nut butters, any dried fruit & hot dogs.
Sunny Day 02:03 PM 02-09-2011
We daycare ladies are probably the fastest GRAPE CUTTERS IN ALL THE LAND!!! I swear I spend a large quantity of my time doing just that! 
SilverSabre25 02:31 PM 02-09-2011
Do you guys store grapes in the fridge or on the counter? If on the counter, how long do they last (assuming they're not eaten first, which is the likeliest case in my house, lol)
cillybean83 02:44 PM 02-09-2011
i keep them in the fridge...or freezer for smoothies
kendallina 02:47 PM 02-09-2011
Fridge. Dh will only eat fruit if it's cold.
Danielle 03:27 AM 02-10-2011
My kids love fruit so I've just been cutting up a big batch and keeping it in the fidge. Right now we have a big bowl of grapes, strawberries and blueberries. I cut the grapes on Sunday and they aren't browning..though they are a little pink on the edges from the strawberries. The kids have been eating them just fine.
mickey2 06:30 PM 02-10-2011
Freeze them! Cut them up, put them in baggies or small containers and freeze them!
My kids love them like this. Especially the teething babies.
I do this with strawberries, bananas, watermelon, etc
I live in the country. To go into town and back is an hour plus the time it takes to shop so when I do go I get everything that I need sometimes for up to two weeks!
My kids love them like this. Especially the teething babies.
I do this with strawberries, bananas, watermelon, etc
I live in the country. To go into town and back is an hour plus the time it takes to shop so when I do go I get everything that I need sometimes for up to two weeks!