3.5k
Daycare and childcare providers in Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver, Ontario etc. in CanadaGarderies à Montréal ou au QuébecFind daycare or childcare providers in the USA
Forum control
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1

    Food preparation question

    Hi everyone. I am new to this forum. I am a stay at home mom to a 4 months old. I am planing to start a home daycare and provide home cooked meals to the little ones.
    I was wondering when do you ladies prepare your meals? Do you make it a day before or in the same day?
    Thank you

  2. #2
    Expansive... BlueRose's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    861
    Thanked
    299 Times in 222 Posts
    I do most of mine the day of. some providers do it the night before, or sever left overs. Its really up to you. Find what works best for you and go with that.

  3. #3
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    1,305
    Thanked
    487 Times in 369 Posts
    I double up on supper so that the children then have a real meal at lunch time. It's just a matter of heating up properly and then allowing to cool to an appropriate temperature for small people and cooling time is normally spent having a quick story then using the washroom/changing diapers and handwashing before eating.

    It's impossible to cook from scratch and properly supervise a group of children at the same time so this is what works best for me.

  4. #4
    Outgoing
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Posts
    381
    Thanked
    78 Times in 74 Posts
    I do not serve "left overs", there was a very negative comment from a parent few years ago insinuating that homedaycares serve only left over which wasn't the service they were paying for.

    I do my meals from scratch every day around 6 am. And my family has the left overs of our lunch time.

    If you search how restaurants and chefs handle properly food you will get lots of tips to prepare things way ahead. Ex. Salads, soup mixes, crock pot recipes already mixed freeze and cook it etc. Search pinterest you'll get absolutely many ideas. You'll find your own system the way it works best for you. Spring and summer we set a lot more raw veggies so I focus a lot on those months to introduce new foods too. Fall and winter mostly crock pot meals, all year round frunits are always easy to offer. My kids learned to eat every thing cooked or raw veggies.

  5. #5
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    1,305
    Thanked
    487 Times in 369 Posts
    I don't not serve left over and I would be really offended too Peacefulbird if a parent suggested I did. All my meals are cooked from scratch. Like you, I use no packaged goods at all. Heck, I even make our own bread and pasta. I would have been really upset if a client even suggested that as I know I cook meals that are a higher quality than most children have from home. Jeez, some parents - just when you think you've heard it all. I'm sorry you had this experience.

  6. #6
    Outgoing
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Posts
    381
    Thanked
    78 Times in 74 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Suzie_Homemaker View Post
    I don't not serve left over and I would be really offended too Peacefulbird if a parent suggested I did. All my meals are cooked from scratch. Like you, I use no packaged goods at all. Heck, I even make our own bread and pasta. I would have been really upset if a client even suggested that as I know I cook meals that are a higher quality than most children have from home. Jeez, some parents - just when you think you've heard it all. I'm sorry you had this experience.
    Thank you Suzie_Homemaker, but it wasn't my personal experience, I do not remember exactly were but this was a parents experience and description of a homedaycare and published in the written media. And then I went to a workshop the presenter also suggested (tax purposes) that family "dinner left overs" can also be charged and how to do it.

    Obviously, many providers were using the term "left overs" to describe what they feed children. And parents assumptions were that basically whatever your family didn't like to eat was served to the daycare children the next day (absolutely far from the true and a misunderstanding).

    But the real explanation is that we prepare meal a night before to be warmed and served the next day. Never our families lefts overs.

    So, I decided to cook early and basically when parents arrive they can notice the lunch was done earlier before the kids arrive and are cooked or prepared daily. I got used too and it gave also a good reputation to my daycare.

  7. #7
    Expansive...
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    709
    Thanked
    153 Times in 132 Posts
    I do some basic preparation before daycare opens, and maybe a few final touches as they eat morning snack while we’re in the kitchen together.

  8. #8
    Shy
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Posts
    32
    Thanked
    3 Times in 3 Posts
    I try to do the same as you,only if we have something like sandwiches or such i make the same day.I think it would be extremely hard and unsafe to cook while having children in care.
    Could you please share some of the real meal recipes for I am getting out of ideas and would love to try something new that they would actually eat!?
    Thank you in advance

  9. #9
    Shy jessiii's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2021
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    2
    Yeah, me too, I often make different sandwiches with sourdough bread as I have learned as it's a healthy one with this article on https://www.edelweissbakeryfl.com/bl...bread-healthy/ and I love the fact that it's not so difficult to do and doesn't take too much time as well as I'm often busy

Similar Threads

  1. Will parents pay more for better food?
    By MommaL in forum Daycare meals
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 12-08-2015, 10:08 PM
  2. Food expense
    By Balanced in forum Managing a daycare
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 01-17-2014, 11:40 AM
  3. Income Tax Preparation Durham Region
    By Sassygirl in forum Managing a daycare
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 01-08-2014, 01:08 PM
  4. Food poisoning question
    By GymMom in forum Caring for children
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 07-23-2013, 10:38 AM
  5. Food allergies
    By admin in forum Daycare meals
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 04-12-2011, 02:43 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts

A few tips...

If you visited or if you're using a childcare provider found on DaycareBear, do not hesitate to leave a review. This will most certainly help other parents!
Did you know?
DaycareBear.ca has helped over 22575 daycare providers fill out their openings since its launch in January 2006!
Partner in your
search for a daycare provider