Rate increases

[bright sparks]

I wish I was organized enough to cook once every 9 weeks!! I used to cook in large batches and freeze but with the daycare now I don't really do that. My system is that today during afternoon nap I prep a meal which is tonight's supper and tomorrow's lunch. I also make tomorrow's morning snack which is omelettes, French toast or the like.

I am lucky in that all my kiddos eat healthy at home and started here at 12months so they eat what they are served (for the most part) without any tantrums. If they really don't want it they just eat the other foods out and deal with it until next meal. I'm sure this is MUCH harder if the kids start at a later age with different eating patterns set! I serve cabbage rolls, stews, roasts, lots of beans and lots veggies. I make a point of consistently serving the veggies that they may not otherwise be exposed to (that we also eat here regularly) such as eggplant, mushrooms, swiss chard etc. I figure if they are tasting it now and seeing it regularly they may be more likely as adults to choose to eat such foods even if they may not see them at home through the rest of their childhood (plus my daughter and I like it and eat it at lunch).

I do have a lot of wasted food...but that comes with having five 13-18month olds self feed. I give small portions and many seconds. I scrub the floor after each meal and yes, I will pick up the food they drop up and reserve it (to the child that dropped it). They lick the floor and toys anyways so why should food be thrown out if it briefly touches?

I might try and get my act together to do the big cook off days and freeze meals so I can free up some nap times. But...it is nice to make the food daily and have a good supper ready at the end of the day.

We eat out every Friday night since I don't have to have lunch prepared for the next day and as a reward of not having to cook that afternoon.

The big cook is a huge task for sure but I do not want to cook an additional meal daily on top of my family's dinner. Maybe because I cook everything from scratch its not like I ever just throw something in the oven from the freezer or a can so I just don't want to be bothered cooking more often than I need too. I am English so roasts and stews are also a regular meal item in my house too. I do a roast every cycle as its cheap to make it go a long way and that is the one meal that I usually have even more of so gets frozen for my meals too. I make curries, goulash and gumbo regularly as they are very popular once the kids pallets adapt. I think its great the approach you take with the veggies so the kids get exposed to all sorts of things. regular veg in our house are collards, swiss chard and spinach. I have a child with dairy allergies so I never cook with cheese now which sucks so I add collards into everything, and I mean everything, so they get more than enough daily calcium....they are actually a far superior source than dairy anyway. I bake loaves in bulk too and once cooled I slice and wrap individually in plastic wrap and just pull out what I need daily. My loaves are jam packed with whole grains, dietary fibre and fruit and veg. Having an egg allergy in the house also restricts my meals. Oh my goodness I can't believe the rapid increase of allergies and intolerances....did you know that allergies start in the gut? That is why it is SO important that we put good food into these precious children's bodies otherwise its going to keep getting worse.

[Lee-Bee]

The big cook is a huge task for sure but I do not want to cook an additional meal daily on top of my family's dinner. Maybe because I cook everything from scratch its not like I ever just throw something in the oven from the freezer or a can so I just don't want to be bothered cooking more often than I need too. I am English so roasts and stews are also a regular meal item in my house too. I do a roast every cycle as its cheap to make it go a long way and that is the one meal that I usually have even more of so gets frozen for my meals too. I make curries, goulash and gumbo regularly as they are very popular once the kids pallets adapt. I think its great the approach you take with the veggies so the kids get exposed to all sorts of things. regular veg in our house are collards, swiss chard and spinach. I have a child with dairy allergies so I never cook with cheese now which sucks so I add collards into everything, and I mean everything, so they get more than enough daily calcium....they are actually a far superior source than dairy anyway. I bake loaves in bulk too and once cooled I slice and wrap individually in plastic wrap and just pull out what I need daily. My loaves are jam packed with whole grains, dietary fibre and fruit and veg. Having an egg allergy in the house also restricts my meals. Oh my goodness I can't believe the rapid increase of allergies and intolerances....did you know that allergies start in the gut? That is why it is SO important that we put good food into these precious children's bodies otherwise its going to keep getting worse.

I will look into collards. My 14 month old daughter is still dairy intolerant. When I use cheese I just divide up the meal for the daycare kids and then leave the dairy off ours but we pretty much do without dairy in the main meals for the most part. I still breastfeed to ensure she is meeting the protein/fats requirements. She is young enough that I can easily give her a different milk and yogurt than the others so the other kids get their dairy intake.

[bright sparks]

I will look into collards. My 14 month old daughter is still dairy intolerant. When I use cheese I just divide up the meal for the daycare kids and then leave the dairy off ours but we pretty much do without dairy in the main meals for the most part. I still breastfeed to ensure she is meeting the protein/fats requirements. She is young enough that I can easily give her a different milk and yogurt than the others so the other kids get their dairy intake.

Collards are super tasty and have more benefits than dairy not just calcium and all without the bad stuff.