I have never really served kid food to own children and the babies I get have no problem learning to explore flavors from all over the world. However, when I get a new interview for a toddler or preschooler the parents look at the menu and then say things like they don' t their child would eat that stuff.

So what are some frequent things that are your menu that kids love?

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For me the distinction is less kid/adult and more lunch/dinner. I know a lot of providers feed a full dinner to their kids at lunch time. I think that is awesome, but I don't do it myself. My kids can eat dinner at home
I do serve lunches that include protien, bread, 2 fruits/veggies and milk.
My kids favorite lunches are chicken tacos, sloppy joes, and "breakfast" for lunch.
Parents don't think their kids will eat healthy foods b/c they either don't effer it at home, or their allowed to decide on their own what they want to eat at home. They are always shocked when they hear what their kids eat at my house

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I feed them homemade meals although some lunches are lunchy like sandwiches. If parents/prospective clients comment I just say you'd be surprised what they will eat when they see monkeys 1, 2 and 3 eating it up.

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I feed them well, but it's lunch type kid foods.

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If I have leftovers from the night before I use those. Today we had roast beef, mashed potatoes/ peas & carrots, biscuits, honey crisp apples. On days that I don't have leftovers they eat a kid type lunch. I have some that are surprised at what their kids will eat.

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I get too bored eating the same thing all the time and I am big on flavor. I have 2 large crockpots cooking right now. One will be dinner for my family and one will be lunch for the kids tomorrow. Like you my kids like lots of flavors. My parents are excited to see they are eating a good variety.


Here are some things they love for lunch:
Autumn herbed chicken and squash with homemade applesauce
Sante Fe chicken with Mexican rice ,mango and corn
Golden Harvest pork stew, cornbread, pears
Korean BBQ beef with broccoli and sticky rice with seaweed
Chicken Marsala, asparagus, fettuccine and melon

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I do a little bit of both.

Kid menu:
Hot dogs with baked beans and a fruit
turkey burgers with baked fries and a fruit
pizza with corn and a fruit
grilled cheese, green beans, fruit

dinner-type menu:
spaghetti, peas, bread, fruit
baked chicken with rice/gravy and green beans, fruit
ground turkey helper, bread, mixed vegs, fruit

etc, etc, etc

But of course, they really eat more when I serve the kid menu stuff! I end up throwing away alot of dinner-type menu food.

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The difference for me is just less spices.

If I make chicken and noodles for myself I would make it with salt, pepper, garlic..ect when I make it for the kids I don't use spices. They don't need the salt and other spices.

I cook 'grown up' food kid friendly

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My kids eat both kid friendly and more adult foods. For safety reasons, I don't give them hot dogs/nuts, etc. But they will have chicken nuggets and french fries one day, then pork chops the next. Veges are anything from corn to broccoli. Basically, they eat anything I give them! Many of my parents are quite upset on the interview when I tell them they can not bring food in for their children. Plenty of my parents have informed me that their child only eats one or two types of meals and they are devistated that I won't let them bring the food in. Then they are shocked when I tell them their child ate steak, baked potato, and green beans! I have actually recorded the children eating just to show some of my parents that their kids really do eat what I serve!

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No kiddie food.

I don't like that stuff. I do a full Sunday dinner lunch every day. I have for years. Cook from scratch healthy wholesome meals.

They can have kiddie food at home with their parents.

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Now I want to eat at your house.

I've tried to use the "masala" spice and it turns out horrible every time. PLEASE give me a recipe. I have some Penzey http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penze...rammasala.html

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I use crock pots like a mad woman so I can have time at the end of the day spend time with my family. This the recipe I use.

http://family.go.com/food/recipe-cp-...-fettuccine-t/

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We also do full homemade hot lunches for most days. It's not super-fancy, but it's ALL homemade from scratch. I even can my own tomatoes for the chili. I guess I don't make my own pasta, lol, but I do use whole grain. I always serve some sort of raw fruit for dessert...sliced apples, banana, oranges, ect. It is kid-friendly, I think, because it's what my family eats in the evenings too. We do cook with some fun meats...venison, bear (when we have it), game birds (quail, partridge, ect) and I'm sure their parents must think we eat weird sometimes.

This week is
Monday -- Turkey Pot Pie
Tuesday -- Chili, Cheese biscuits
Wednesday -- Cod fish cakes, coleslaw
Thursday -- Chili Macaroni Casserole
Friday -- Grilled Cheese and Butternust squash soup

Last week was:
Monday -- Spinach & cheddar quiche, steamed brocolli
Tuesday -- Lamb stew
Wednesday -- Baked trout, sweet potato, brown rice
Thursday -- Steamed veg w/ whole wheat noodles in homemade pesto
Friday -- Grilled Cheese and baked potato soup

I have a 3 year old who constantly makes a liar out of me though. He will eat my homemade Pad Thai here...or my Butter Chicken...but won't touch it when his parents present him with the same meal.

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