Child Care: healthy meal habits

As a daycare provider, I get to participate in the Child and Adult Food Care Program. They train me twice a year, how to serve healthy proportionate meals to children in my care. I spend a lot of time planning for nutritious meals and snacks that the kids will eat.

Check out this chart. Did you know that the correct grain serving size for a preschool child aged 3-5 is a half a slice of bread? That will make 1/4 a sandwich. Their bellies are not all that big so we need to stop making them entire sandwiches and then complaining when they don't clear their plate.

One of the children I take care of was labeled "overweight" by her doctor a while ago. Dealing with weight issues myself, I know how horrible this can be so I work extra hard for her to monitor that what she is eating is not only healthy but the correct serving size.

Two weeks in a row she has come back from lunch with the grandparents with an entire donut to be eaten as "dessert". I know she has just eaten an unmonitored lunch with them so has probably already consumed too many calories. Now they want me to feed her an entire fat laden, fat and sugar frosted, fried donut? Call me the bad guy but I put it in the book bag for her mom to deal with.

When choosing a day care situation for YOUR child, be sure to evaluate the nutritional standards of the program. Ask to see the menus and find out how they are planned. Quiz the provider about appropriate serving sizes. Food should never be used as a reward or punishment. You do have a say in how your child's nutritional needs are met when you are at work.

If you are like most people, your child spends most of his waking hours in a child care situation. Please do your part to make sure he is learning healthy nutritional habits and eating patterns. One day he will thank you for it!

One week of dinners for 4 from Aldi

You will spend about $50 for these 7 dinners. That's about $1.80 a dinner not taking into account the leftover food. You will have a stack of precooked breakfast sausage, a couple servings of turkey ham, 1/2 bag chicken nuggets and at least 4-6 hamburger patties/buns leftover for the next week. Also a stack of precooked breakfast sausage.

This menu includes meat at 6 meals. You can save a lot more by substituting spaghetti for one of the more expensive beef meals.

Menu

Riblets, corn, applesauce, instant mashed potatoes.

Chicken nuggets, instant mashed potatoes, applesauce, carrots.

Stew meat with broth and sour cream, bread and butter, lettuce, peaches.

Turkey ham, mac and cheese, green beans, pears.

Hamburgers on buns, French fries, peaches.

French toast sticks, sausage, pears.

Chicken Kiev, mashed potatoes, green beans, applesauce.

Shopping list

1.29 sour cream

1.99 bag lettuce

.99 each 2 boxes instant mashed potatoes

.95 each 3 jars applesauce

1.29 each 2 cans pears

1.29 2 cans peaches

.49 each 2 cans green beans

.49 can carrots

1.69 French fries

.49 can corn

3.80 turkey ham

4.99 stew meat

2.69 rib pork patties in BBQ

3.99 chicken nuggets

.99 each 4 chicken Kiev

6.99 hamburgers

3.89 sausage

.35 box mac and cheese

1.99 French toast sticks

.79 bread

.85 hamburger buns