Hey ladies-
I'm interested in opening a day home but I have no idea what I can feed the kids! I have a few recipes but they'll get old fast- any ideas where to get kid friendly food ideas?
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Hey ladies-
I'm interested in opening a day home but I have no idea what I can feed the kids! I have a few recipes but they'll get old fast- any ideas where to get kid friendly food ideas?
This is seriously a subjective, personal thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by mamaof4
I believe that even the youngest of children eat the same food as adults. Here I make supper for my family and then put some aside for lunch the next day. I don't make separate kid meals. Occasionally I will make a separate meal for lunch if we had a really spicy meal for supper. As much as our 3 yr old loves spicy food (she insists on adding extra hot sauce) I recognize most families don't give their kids anything remotely spicy. Aside from that I don't cater to picky children.
You first need to decide if you want to be cooking completely separate for daycare versus your family or if you will cook one meal in the for supper and use it for lunch as well.
I do make sure that I serve one "safe" food each meal. Not junk food by any meals but a veggie that is generally liked by children (carrots or corn) or some cheese cubes etc., so if a child really decides to not like your meal they have a little something to eat to hold them over until next meal.
Children will quickly learn to accept meals your way and will surprise their families with what they eat at your daycare (when they often refuse it at home). Do not feel you need to be going out of your way to make kid approved choices (chicken fingers, kraft dinner etc).
Don't feel you need to be making special foods, or making different meals for different kids. Make a meal and serve it. Make sure YOU enjoy the foods you are serving as well.
I find it easiest to just cook extra supper and then serve it the next day for lunch or freeze it for a quick meal when I need one. About once a month, I also take half a day and cook a few meals and freeze them. It's so much easier to just throw them in the oven and reheat when needed. Right now in the freezer I have turkey shepherd pies, fish and potatoes, mac and cheese with hot dog casseroles and beef stew. I just add to the meal if needed (veggie, starch etc)
I don't purposely make kid friendly meals as I want them to get used to eating "real" food but we do eat things like hot dogs, grilled cheese and chicken nuggets but it's not our usual. I do usually keep it simple though and just make sure each snack has 2-3 food groups and lunch has them all. They eat what we eat for the most part.
Pinterest has some good articles though on how to make some meals more kid friendlier.
Feed the kids exactly what you and your family eat. You can double up on your meals and freeze leftovers for a couple of days of daycare meals too. Do this for a week and you will likely have enough meals prepped for a couple of weeks. If you want to batch cook, which I do, then Pinterest is a great resource, or even google freezer cooking on a budget and that way you can have everything broken down for you. Grocery lists, prepping, and packaging for freezing.
Kids develop bad eating habits, for the most part, because they have been allowed to. There are always exceptions to the rules, but even a kid who eats bad and is fussy at home, will more than likely eat better at daycare if there is an expectation set and the adult doesn't waiver. My kids ate chilli and rice today and I mixed both together just so it was easier to get on and stay on the forks and spoons. When I make soup, I blend it and serve it in open cups. Those are my kind of methods for making meals kid-friendly, its more about making it easier to manage and manipulate when hand mouth coordination isn't the best, rather than giving them the opportunity to turn down a new food in favour of something they would prefer. That is when I see things becoming a problem.
Meals for the rest of this week are Butter chicken and rice with naan, leek and potato soup, roast chicken dinner with the trimmings and stuffed peppers with spicy sausage meat. I batch cook and freeze everything, that way I don't have to cook for them everyday and reheating is a breeze in the slow cooker, electric pressure cooker or in foil trays in the oven.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bright sparks
Ohhhh I want to eat at your house all week mmmmmmm.
It looks like a great idea. You're awesome.
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