Meals

[blueclouds29]

I'm very frustrated with the amount of food i've been wasting everyday specifically at lunch. I was thinking of asking the parents to start providing lunch for their kids. Right now i have 2 kids that eat lunch.
Does anyone have their parents bring lunch for their kids? If so how does it work?

[Cat Herder]

It would cost me all of my clients.

I recommend trying a "family style approach" first.

I also fear the frankenfood rebound from what will come in those cartoon character encrusted bags,,,

I envision chaos, I tell you....:::::: The natives will go wild....

[blueclouds29]

LOL.. i hear.. but i only have 3 parents altogether and 2 are table food. I have really great parents i just don't know how they will feel about it and how efficient it will be.

[PeanutsGalore]

I'm very frustrated with the amount of food i've been wasting everyday specifically at lunch. I was thinking of asking the parents to start providing lunch for their kids. Right now i have 2 kids that eat lunch.
Does anyone have their parents bring lunch for their kids? If so how does it work?

Everyone bringing their own might get chaotic, like cat said. Family style should work because you can control the amount they put on their plate and eat the leftovers yourself.

[blueclouds29]

my table eaters are 2 and under. Is that too young for family style and how does that work?

[littlemissmuffet]

It would cost me all of my clients.

I recommend trying a "family style approach" first.

I also fear the frankenfood rebound from what will come in those cartoon character encrusted bags,,,

I envision chaos, I tell you....:::::: The natives will go wild....

Agree with this 100%!

[sharlan]

I tried that for a VERY short time and it was chaos for me. Johnny has Susie's most favorite pb&j, while she has yucky ham & cheese. Susie has a fruit roll up, while Johnny has apple slices. Mikey has a cupcake while the other two have graham crackers.

Nope, they both get the ham & cheese and apple slices. I get the cupcakes while they're down for their naps.

[PitterPatter]

I wouldn't recommend having the parents bring their own. It will probably end up in disputes. When I first started I had a couple parents want to bring their own food for their kids. The food was usually junk like pb&j and a twix with a canteen of pop or koolaid. Another time it was a left over cheeseburger from a kids meal the night before and a 1/2 bag of doritos and a juice box. Then of course there were days where the parents would forget to bring the lunches and I had to scurry to provide it myself. The final straw for me was when a parent brought a 2 ltr of coke, a large bag of Doritos, 1/2 loaf of bread and 1/2 jar of peanut butter and said here is their lunches for the week. NOPE!! I finally told every parent they had to be enrolled in the food program so that I can supply the meals myself and make sure they were nutritious.

I make a family style and dish out the servings myself. Some may go to waste but if u have picky eaters just give small portions and allow 2nd later. Leftovers are sometimes a problem because I am not allowed to serve the food a 2nd time so if my family doesn't eat it then it does get tossed. I try to use a lot of fresh produce or frozen that way I can cook just as much as the kids will eat.

[PeanutsGalore]

my table eaters are 2 and under. Is that too young for family style and how does that work?

I would think that's a bit young to trust them to serve themselves, but you know your kids best so would have to judge that for yourself. I know that if I put a bowl of communal food on the table with my 15 month old son, he'd snatch it and go play in the corner, leaving a trail of food behind him!

You can still make it work; just "help" them serve themselves the appropriate amount of food (or a bit less so they can have seconds if they want) and then move the food bowls out of their way if necessary to keep them from messing with anything. Eventually, they'll get the hang of it and will be able to serve themselves.

[Cat Herder]

my table eaters are 2 and under. Is that too young for family style and how does that work?

I only keep 3 and unders. Once they turn 4, they age out to free state sponsored pre-school.

Just like family dinners have all your options in bowls ready to serve.

Pass out empty plates to the kids and serve each item one at a time.

I do veggies first (biggest serving of the meal), meat/protein, fruit, starch and then milk.

I always do it in that order walking very s-l-o-w-l-y to get the next item.

Typically by the time I get back with the next bowl they have finished that serving.

I keep going around, in that exact order, until they stop eating.

Much less waste and mess. No eating only 3 biscuits for lunch.

[mac60]

I would never serve meals family style, I can see that being a disaster waiting to happen here. I make sure there are at least 3 choices each day on their plate. I have a good idea who will eat what. If Johnny won't eat green beans and that is what I am serving, I will put 2 beans on his plate. Minimum waste, and if he chooses to not eat those 2 beans, in the trash they will go and he will get saltines for snack, not the fun snack the rest will get. Kids use food as a poswer struggle, and I don't put up with it. I don't deal with picky eaters at all. We have a lot of fun foods here for snack, but you have to eat the good stuff before you get the fun stuff. Simple rules here.

[lpperry]

I have the 2 and under crowd and would never want parents to pack the lunch. Too many disputes over wanting someone else's lunch!

I make lunch and then give small portions to each child. If they eat it and want more, I refill the plate. I never waste food this way, but I do have to do a lot of serving! For my big eaters, I give bigger portions. If I know someone doesn't like something, I just put a tiny amount on their plate so they can try it if they want, but I don't waste it.

[Cat Herder]

I did not address the food dislike issue. I generally plan around the kids, here.

If I have one who does not like green beans, on green bean day, I make green beans AND offer a few raw broccoli florets with ranch dipping sauce.

My goal was to get a "green" veggie in the belly ::

The biggest "offender" here is cooked carrots. On cooked carrot day I also offer mashed sweet potato. Same "yellow" nutrients, I am happy.

I only make alternates for veggies, though. IMHO, that is the one food group they don't get enough of away from my house.

[Meyou]

I did not address the food dislike issue. I generally plan around the kids, here.

If I have one who does not like green beans, on green bean day, I make green beans AND offer a few raw broccoli florets with ranch dipping sauce.

My goal was to get a "green" veggie in the belly ::

The biggest "offender" here is cooked carrots. On cooked carrot day I also offer mashed sweet potato. Same "yellow" nutrients, I am happy.

I only make alternates for veggies, though. IMHO, that is the one food group they don't get enough of away from my house.

What do you do for a child that holds out eating his veggies knowing something "better" is coming next? I'm really interested in trying family style but I have one dcb who would try and work the system by just not eating until we go to what he liked.

[Cat Herder]

What do you do for a child that holds out eating his veggies knowing something "better" is coming next? I'm really interested in trying family style but I have one dcb who would try and work the system by just not eating until we go to what he liked.

I am fortunate in that I have been with all my DCK's since infancy so they are very good veggie eaters, first and foremost. They had them as their "baby food" just hand pureed. I am not a magician... and I am starting from a stacked deck, so to speak.

The only thing I know to work 100% is consistency and no rewards for unwanted behaviors. I think that is an across the boards answer...:confused:

If they don't eat that first serving of veggies (or veggie alternate) and I make an entire round of items he simply would not get seconds of anything.

It goes around in exact order...all seconds are dependant on them having eaten the first round.

My serving sizes are enough for a complete balanced meal, above the food program recommendations, so no one would be going hungry...before unregistered pops up.