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Try sneaking vegetables in there meals. For example make mac n cheese but put some peas in it. Or i have a friend that purees carrots and ads that to mac n cheese. It doesnt change the color or anything she showed me! I havent found one kid that doesnt like green beans. Just make sure you add some salt for taste! or make pizza with some vegies on it or with real tomatoes in the sauce there are ways to sneak those vegies in !
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I have an idea...
Get a white board and put it up in your entry area, and do a "today's menu", much like a restaurant might. Put the most desriptive, fancy names to everything.
Instead of toast with jelly, put "whole grain toast points with pureed strawberries". That's not super creative, but you get the idea.
You are an ORGANIC GOURMET daycare-probably the only one in town! :-)
This is for the parent's who question why their children are hungry.
Maybe you could even go so far as to having fancy lunches with white napkins on their laps, and teach them "bon apetite"...
I did that with my group 10 years ago (another tiny WI town), and never told the parents. A couple asked me one day....ah...did my child say "Bon Apetite" at dinner last night?
YES, she sure did! We're high-class around here!
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My personal philosophy is that it is my job to buy the healthy food, prepare the healthy food, serve the healthy food, but it is the children's job to eat it or not. I am lucky that I have really good eaters who gobble up pretty much everything I serve including fruits and veggies, but I can understand that it would be frustrating to throw away good food everyday. Here is what I would try:
-Make healthier versions of the processed foods they will eat
(make ring pasta with organic tomato sauce, the chicken nuggets another poster described, etc.)
-Serve tiny portions of mac. and cheese or something else they like alongside a healthier meal. This way it satisfies your worry that they are hungry but they still get served a healthy meal.
-Another poster mentioned the puree technique. I used this method a few years ago when I had a 3 year old who would not eat any vegetable but mashed potatoes. My favorite "hidden" veggies were cauliflower in scrambled eggs, butternut squash in macaroni and cheese, sweet potato in applesauce, any pureed veg in tomato sauce, & squash in chicken soup. I would even spread some puree in between PB&J sandwiches. I still served fruits and veggies with the meals but knew that she was at least getting some nutrients if she left those behind.
-Have them cook with you. I do find that some kids are more willing to eat when they have helped prepare it. While you are making it you can talk about how yummy it is going to be when it is done. They can stir, chop with a plastic knife, peel, use an apple corer, mash, shake, shuck, pour, measure, etc. I don't know if you do field trips with the kids but you might even take them to the grocery store or the farmers market and have them pick out something of each color.
-Make eating something healthy into an activity. Help them make fruit kabobs, make fruit salad out of the fruits featured in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, make ants on a log, etc.
-Ask the parents for ideas and suggestions. Even if they feed them "junk foods" at home they must have some food traditions that they cherish. Maybe a recipe of grandmas that doesn't get made very often or a fondness for Italian food. Maybe they can each send in a recipe or suggestion.
-Most of all don't give up! Figure out a system that works for you. Serve them tiny portions because they can always ask for more but you won't be throwing so much away. Good luck!Comment
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I watch only 1 child - from the ages of 6 weeks until they are 2 years old.
Right now I am caring for a 22 month old little boy Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He will not eat any vegetables at all. He does like fruits though. He loves Hot Dogs.
I also have Fruitables Juice - it's a fruit & veggie juice. He loves that, and I give him that every time I have him. I also have some Yogurt Melts for toddlers, Lil Crunchies for toddlers, and I love that they now make Fruit & Veggie Melts.
That's all he will eat. He goes to a family home daycare on Tuesdays & Thursdays - I don't know how he eats over there.Comment
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