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Daycare Menus, Breakfast, Lunch and Snack Ideas>Parent Says My Snacks And Breakfast Aren't Nutritious Enough, Need Ideas
Unregistered 11:21 AM 03-14-2013
I'm on a 4 week rotating schedule, breakfast consists of a grain and fruit or protein grain and fruit. For example, pancakes with apple slices with milk, or scrambled eggs whole wheat toast and strawberries. My snack are the same, a grain with fruit or just a fruit or yogurt or applesauce.

I'm at a loss as how to change my menu to satisfy this parent. She is willing to send food or pay a stipend to make it easier on me (which is great that she gets it!). But I don't want to give one kid special food, I'd rather try to revamp my menu.

Here's one whole week of snack and breakfast.

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with toast and fruit
Pancake (small pancake) with fruit
Bagel(mini bagel) with fruit
Oatmeal with fruit
Cheerios with fruit

Snack:
Animal crackers with fruit
Goldfish with fruit
Applesauce
Graham crackers with fruit
Pretzel and yogurt
Yogurt with fruit
Cheese and crackers
Fruit slices
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Willow 11:29 AM 03-14-2013
What you're serving is fine.

Have you asked her what she thinks needs to be changed? (not agreeing that you will but being open minded about the request)
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SilverSabre25 11:32 AM 03-14-2013
I agree that you seem to be serving fine things. Definitely ask her what exactly she thinks isn't healthy enough, or what she would like to see changed. Don't say anything that makes it sound like she's in charge/you're definitely taking her advice, but just "taking it under advisement"

or send out a survey to all your parents and get a wider view of what people think

or something.
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Meyou 11:36 AM 03-14-2013
It's very fruit heavy. I would replace alot of the fruit at snack with veggies and replace snack carbs several times per week with lower sugar carb options like trail mix, homemade granola, homemade muffins which can all be made with honey, maple syrup or significantly less sugar than store bought crackers/cookies. Or you can leave them out altogether for a protein option like cheese or yogurt.

Edited to add: I also think it's an ok menu but since you asked....I'm pretty sure the things I pointed out are the problems for mom.
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momofsix 11:41 AM 03-14-2013
Those breakfasts and snacks sound great to me. Your breakfasts are a lot better than mine!
The only thing I could see is with the graham crackers/fruit and animal crackers/fruit there is possibly quite a bit of sugar-even though the fruit sugar is natural. Or else it could be the grains served are all white flour and she prefers whole grains?
I'd go ahead and ask her what she serves (not guaranteeing that's what will be served).
I hope she appreciates you as a provider for being willing to work with her on this!
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Luna 12:10 PM 03-14-2013
I have a parent who has asked me not to serve her child goldfish crackers. In her opinion they are highly processed and have too much sugar. I don't serve animal crackers, graham crackers or pretzels (the ones I checked may contain traces of peanuts and we have an allergic dck) but I don't think she would like any of those either. For the record, she also disapproves of Cheerios for the same reason.
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KnoxMom 12:51 PM 03-14-2013
Breakfast meals seem fine, but WHERE are your VEGGIES at snack time???

Also, kudos for serving whole wheat and whole grain whenever you can.

Here are a few suggestions:

-Celery/Baby Carrots with dip
-Apple & Eve (or similar) Vegetable Juice (Half fruit, half juice with less sugar)
-Try granola (Easy to find in bulk at grocery stores)
-Consider adding nuts to the menu
-Blend vegetables into smoothies
-Try trail mix or chex mix instead of graham crackers and goldfish

Try to avoid processed foods full of corn syrup, sugar and sodium.

I think it says a lot about you that you are putting forth the effort to provide healthy meals. Keep up the good work and if you are not already participating in your local food program, consider it! They reward you for serving healthy, balanced meals
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NeedaVaca 01:01 PM 03-14-2013
I think it's a nice menu, I am also curious as to what the mom would rather see. When she said she didn't think it was healthy enough did you ask in what way? I serve a big variety & like to serve seasonal foods so I don't rotate menu's. I could see you easily swapping out some of the fruit for hard boiled eggs,string cheese, carrot sticks, celery sticks with peanut butter though if the fruit is the problem.
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SilverSabre25 01:05 PM 03-14-2013
actually, you could stand to add some protein options for snacks some days, but that's about it. I do (grain OR protein) AND (fruit OR veggie) for snacks.
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MsLaura529 05:16 AM 03-15-2013
I agree about adding some veggies to your snacks - or even breakfasts, too. There are some great recipes out there for sneaking veggies into muffins and bread. Maybe some whole wheat pita chips toasted up and "guacamole" (just mashed up avocado and tomatoes) for a snack? Or making some homemade granola bars ... pinterest is great for finding things like that - I've even seen recipes for homemade goldfish, animal, and graham crackers. Other than some veggies missing like that, everything looks good.
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itlw8 05:25 AM 03-15-2013
all good suggestions but yes I would want to see a list of suggestions from mom It could help all of us if they are good suggestions.

1 everyone needs to be able to eat the same thing
2 you do not have time to cook at snack time
3 has to work with any allergies
4 the children need to eat it ( introduce new foods one at a time)
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jamiem 06:11 PM 03-22-2013
I realized that I serve quite a bit of fruit too so have been trying to incorporate more veggies at snack time. The kids seem to like cherry tomatoes, frozen peas and corn, and pickles. I am nervous about doing raw veggies because they are only just over one. You could also do peanut butter on whole wheat toast for a snack.
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daycarediva 06:35 AM 03-31-2013
I would remove animal crackers, goldfish, graham crackers for sure. All processed and little nutritional value.

I would add: veggies and protein to snacks.

My kids love

yogurt and granola
Cubed ham & cheese
baby carrots & hummus
celery & peanut butter
cereal/milk with fruit diced in
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MsLaura529 04:43 AM 04-01-2013
Originally Posted by jamiem:
I realized that I serve quite a bit of fruit too so have been trying to incorporate more veggies at snack time. The kids seem to like cherry tomatoes, frozen peas and corn, and pickles. I am nervous about doing raw veggies because they are only just over one. You could also do peanut butter on whole wheat toast for a snack.
You could do raw veggies, but steam them for a a bit to soften them up. I used to do this when my DD and DS were younger ... DD loved eating "crunchy carrots" for snack, but DS was too young to eat them raw, so I would steam them up (cooling rack over boiling water) and then he could chew them much easier.
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Meyou 05:16 AM 04-01-2013
I shave raw carrots with my peeler for the little ones. Steaming works well too!
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Play Care 03:07 AM 04-09-2013
I agree with the protein and limiting the crackers, but I have to be honest, NONE of my kids will touch veggies for snacks. I've tried, but it goes in the garbage.
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lisawatsonis 07:05 PM 07-30-2013
-yogurt-granola
-cottage cheese-applesause
-cheese quesadilla using whole grain tortillas
-graham cracker-nutella-banana
-shell pasta-peas-parmasian-oregano-s/p-garlic
-whole grain waffles-real maple syrup
-snap peas-cucumber-squash-carrots-celery with hm hummus
-cucumber-tomato salad w/ a vinaigrette
-cucumber-tomato-chick pea-black olive-scallion salad w/ a vinaigrette
-veggies w/ ranch
-dried cranberries/blueberries/strawberries/mango/papaya-yogurt
-tortilla chips w/ hm pico salsa
-apple-pear slices w/ cashew or almond butter as an alternative to peanut butter

I also use the food processor to chop the veggies super fine and add them to tuna salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, turkey meatloaf, turkey meatballs, bolognese, anything and everything. The kids often don't even know how much veggies they're really eating.

Oh and I use a Vitamix to make 'ice cream' out of coconut milk or regular milk with ice, vanilla and then I add veggies that don't have a strong taste like raw cabbage and yellow squash. You don't even know they are in the ice cream.

Not everyone eats everything. But we have a two bite rule. You have to TRY everything. And clean plates = extra play time
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lisawatsonis 07:06 PM 07-30-2013
-yogurt-granola
-cottage cheese-applesauce
-cheese quesadilla using whole grain tortillas
-graham cracker-nutella-banana
-shell pasta-peas-parmasian-oregano-s/p-garlic
-whole grain waffles-real maple syrup
-snap peas-cucumber-squash-carrots-celery with hm hummus
-cucumber-tomato salad w/ a vinaigrette
-cucumber-tomato-chick pea-black olive-scallion salad w/ a vinaigrette
-veggies w/ ranch
-dried cranberries/blueberries/strawberries/mango/papaya-yogurt
-tortilla chips w/ hm pico salsa
-apple-pear slices w/ cashew or almond butter as an alternative to peanut butter

I also use the food processor to chop the veggies super fine and add them to tuna salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, turkey meatloaf, turkey meatballs, bolognese, anything and everything. The kids often don't even know how much veggies they're really eating.

Oh and I use a Vitamix to make 'ice cream' out of coconut milk or regular milk with ice, vanilla and then I add veggies that don't have a strong taste like raw cabbage and yellow squash. You don't even know they are in the ice cream.

Not everyone eats everything. But we have a two bite rule. You have to TRY everything. And clean plates = extra play time
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Josiegirl 09:38 AM 08-04-2013
To me, your choices look pretty good. Maybe you could ask the parent what her child likes to eat at home, just to get a feel for what she's served?

I've just barely started serving veggies and dip for snack because most of my kids would never eat it. however, the SA do and it's nice to have some positive peer pressure like that. For lunches I always serve more than the required 2 fruits and/or veggies, because kids can be so darn picky. The other day I had apples, pineapple and green beans to choose from at lunch. One little girl said 'I don't like any of that.' Well, stinks to be you then.

Or what about asking your food program coordinator for some more ideas?

I'm lucky in that all my dcps are happy with what I serve. Or at least they don't say anything. I've got one family who eats take-out a lot so I *know* my meals are more nutritious than what they get at home. I also have another little guy whose favorite foods are corn dogs. I have never served a corn dog here. It's been years since I've served fish sticks. I do serve hot dogs maybe twice a month. I could definitely improve on my menus and make them healthier but kids are kids too. It doesn't make any sense to me, to waste food when it's always stuff they'll never eat. Sure, I sneak a little in here or there to see how it's accepted and go from there.
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Brooksie 07:32 AM 08-05-2013
I see a lot of fruit and no veggies. I would replace some of the snack fruit with a vegetable, carrots, broccoli, snow peas, green beans... The other items seem reasonable. Might be able to use a bit more variety.
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misslori50 02:36 PM 08-20-2013
great recipe 2 ripe bananas 2 cups oatmeal (chocolate chips) blend in blender cook for 10 minutes at 350 on sprayed cookie sheet so healthy. There are also some great oatmeal muffins that are made with bananas and greek yogurt. Homemade granola bars?
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Abigail 11:46 PM 10-04-2013
I'm currently working on an 8-week healthier menu. I have one family who is encouraging to have healthier foods and we've had to reason a few times because they eat very healthy and have a healthy lifestyle yet it's not always going to work to serve what they would like. They didn't care for the grains I was serving so I limit the animal, graham, and ritz crackers to once every week......oh that includes pretzels too. So I guess I am only trying to serve an actual grain for snack once a week. I use to serve vanilla wafers and took those off the menu completely so that was an improvement.

Secondly they wanted more "real" protein in lunches. They were disappointed the food program considers cheese on a home-made pizza protein. I changed it once from a bagel, sauce, and cheese into the healthier option (in my opinion) to a crescent roll base in a muffin tin baked with ground beef, sauce, and cheese. They did NOT like the crescent roll. So I decided I would try to change some food items and others just deal with it. I miss my traditional pizza so I'm putting it back on the menu, but as a snack item. Super simple to put sauce on a bagel and cheese on top and nook it 30 seconds! YUM

OK so I base my meals by categories for each day of the week.

Ex. Lunch main components......
Mondays-Beef (Spaghetti, Tacos, Burgers, Quesadillas, Etc)
Tuesdays-Eggs (Scrambled Eggs, Egg in the Hole, Omelet, Hard Boiled Eggs, etc.)
Wednesdays-Misc. (Beans, Ham, Turkey, Cheese, Cottage Cheese, etc.)
Thursdays-Chicken (HM Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken and Multi-Grain Stir Fry, etc.)
Fridays-Combination Meals (Casseroles)


This way I know that the kids are not eating tons of ground beef one week and tons of eggs the next. Eggs are really cheap and easy to make so they get their own day of the week! LOL

Snacks and Breakfasts I have a harder time with. So far for snack I will be serving plain yogurt (was flavored but I switched to plain 2 years ago) with a fresh fruit that is conveniently diced so the kids can choose to mix it on their plates if they wish. Then another day of the week I plan to serve a fruit or vege with peanut butter. Yes the peanut butter counts as a protein.

New ideas I'm trying this week include Home-Made (HM) Lunchables. It's going to be a combination meal day (like pizza bagels will be too!) It includes 2-4 ritz crackers with a slice of cheese and diced ham. I'm also going to have them try a banana wrap. It's a tortilla with peanut butter and a banana rolled up. Then I'll be sliced into pieces for the under 2 group...........which is about half of mine right now! The kids also eat hard boiled eggs and banana slices. We call those egg and banana stackers!

If anyone else has ideas to add to how I'm making my menus please share!
I have lunches pretty much covered I'm in need of snack help the most!
Five days of the week and I have a combination snack item day, a yogurt w/fruit day, and a fruit/vege with peanut butter day, and possibly a grain/cracker day with whatever fits well with it. (We regularly do pickles and pretzels) so I just need one more day of the week category for snack and I think I'm covered!
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Unregistered 08:46 PM 04-15-2014
i agree that it seems like you're loading on the fruit and the grains here. there are much better breakfast and snack ideas than most people know of :

-breakfast burritos
-breakfast sandwiches
-fruit & granola parfaits
-rainbow veggie wraps
-raw veggies w/ hummus (carrot, broccoli, cauli, red bell pepper, etc)
-yogurt
-smoothies w/ added protein
-tortilla chips and salsa

etc etc :]
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Tags:breakfast - menu, nutrition, snack ideas, snack menu
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