When I was new I set up a menu, but I soon discovered that the parents hadn't posted it at home or looked at it more than a read over. So now I do a verbal update at the end of the day anyway and tell them what we ate for the day. I have one picky eater who won't eat the same food at night if she's already had it that day and the list of what she will eat is limited so I email the Mom everything I've fed the children all day so that she can think of different things to feed her daughter at night.

Forgetting about my menu really took the pressure off me because sometimes we have really busy mornings and I end up needing to serve something for lunch that I can make really quickly like cheese & ham chunks & veggie sticks & fruit & a bread item. Other times I'm too busy the evening before to do the food prep for what I want to make and it gets delayed a day. It's about what makes your life easier and less stressful. The first few years I pushed myself way too hard and now I give 100%, and my children receive all the food groups and proper nutrition at each meal, but their caregiver is not getting burned out!