Parent Says My Snacks And Breakfast Aren't Nutritious Enough, Need Ideas

[Unregistered]

I'm on a 4 week rotating schedule, breakfast consists of a grain and fruit or protein grain and fruit. For example, pancakes with apple slices with milk, or scrambled eggs whole wheat toast and strawberries. My snack are the same, a grain with fruit or just a fruit or yogurt or applesauce.

I'm at a loss as how to change my menu to satisfy this parent. She is willing to send food or pay a stipend to make it easier on me (which is great that she gets it!). But I don't want to give one kid special food, I'd rather try to revamp my menu.

Here's one whole week of snack and breakfast.

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with toast and fruit
Pancake (small pancake) with fruit
Bagel(mini bagel) with fruit
Oatmeal with fruit
Cheerios with fruit

Snack:
Animal crackers with fruit
Goldfish with fruit
Applesauce
Graham crackers with fruit
Pretzel and yogurt
Yogurt with fruit
Cheese and crackers
Fruit slices

[Willow]

What you're serving is fine.

Have you asked her what she thinks needs to be changed? (not agreeing that you will but being open minded about the request)

[SilverSabre25]

I agree that you seem to be serving fine things. Definitely ask her what exactly she thinks isn't healthy enough, or what she would like to see changed. Don't say anything that makes it sound like she's in charge/you're definitely taking her advice, but just "taking it under advisement"

or send out a survey to all your parents and get a wider view of what people think

or something.

[Meyou]

It's very fruit heavy. I would replace alot of the fruit at snack with veggies and replace snack carbs several times per week with lower sugar carb options like trail mix, homemade granola, homemade muffins which can all be made with honey, maple syrup or significantly less sugar than store bought crackers/cookies. Or you can leave them out altogether for a protein option like cheese or yogurt.

Edited to add: I also think it's an ok menu but since you asked....I'm pretty sure the things I pointed out are the problems for mom.

[momofsix]

Those breakfasts and snacks sound great to me. Your breakfasts are a lot better than mine!
The only thing I could see is with the graham crackers/fruit and animal crackers/fruit there is possibly quite a bit of sugar-even though the fruit sugar is natural. Or else it could be the grains served are all white flour and she prefers whole grains?
I'd go ahead and ask her what she serves (not guaranteeing that's what will be served).
I hope she appreciates you as a provider for being willing to work with her on this!

[Luna]

I have a parent who has asked me not to serve her child goldfish crackers. In her opinion they are highly processed and have too much sugar. I don't serve animal crackers, graham crackers or pretzels (the ones I checked may contain traces of peanuts and we have an allergic dck) but I don't think she would like any of those either. For the record, she also disapproves of Cheerios for the same reason.

[KnoxMom]

Breakfast meals seem fine, but WHERE are your VEGGIES at snack time???

Also, kudos for serving whole wheat and whole grain whenever you can.

Here are a few suggestions:

-Celery/Baby Carrots with dip
-Apple & Eve (or similar) Vegetable Juice (Half fruit, half juice with less sugar)
-Try granola (Easy to find in bulk at grocery stores)
-Consider adding nuts to the menu
-Blend vegetables into smoothies
-Try trail mix or chex mix instead of graham crackers and goldfish

Try to avoid processed foods full of corn syrup, sugar and sodium.

I think it says a lot about you that you are putting forth the effort to provide healthy meals. Keep up the good work and if you are not already participating in your local food program, consider it! They reward you for serving healthy, balanced meals

[NeedaVaca]

I think it's a nice menu, I am also curious as to what the mom would rather see. When she said she didn't think it was healthy enough did you ask in what way? I serve a big variety & like to serve seasonal foods so I don't rotate menu's. I could see you easily swapping out some of the fruit for hard boiled eggs,string cheese, carrot sticks, celery sticks with peanut butter though if the fruit is the problem.

[SilverSabre25]

actually, you could stand to add some protein options for snacks some days, but that's about it. I do (grain OR protein) AND (fruit OR veggie) for snacks.

[MsLaura529]

I agree about adding some veggies to your snacks - or even breakfasts, too. There are some great recipes out there for sneaking veggies into muffins and bread. Maybe some whole wheat pita chips toasted up and "guacamole" (just mashed up avocado and tomatoes) for a snack? Or making some homemade granola bars ... pinterest is great for finding things like that - I've even seen recipes for homemade goldfish, animal, and graham crackers. Other than some veggies missing like that, everything looks good.

[itlw8]

all good suggestions but yes I would want to see a list of suggestions from mom It could help all of us if they are good suggestions.

1 everyone needs to be able to eat the same thing
2 you do not have time to cook at snack time
3 has to work with any allergies
4 the children need to eat it ( introduce new foods one at a time)

[jamiem]

I realized that I serve quite a bit of fruit too so have been trying to incorporate more veggies at snack time. The kids seem to like cherry tomatoes, frozen peas and corn, and pickles. I am nervous about doing raw veggies because they are only just over one. You could also do peanut butter on whole wheat toast for a snack.

[daycarediva]

I would remove animal crackers, goldfish, graham crackers for sure. All processed and little nutritional value.

I would add: veggies and protein to snacks.

My kids love

yogurt and granola
Cubed ham & cheese
baby carrots & hummus
celery & peanut butter
cereal/milk with fruit diced in

[MsLaura529]

I realized that I serve quite a bit of fruit too so have been trying to incorporate more veggies at snack time. The kids seem to like cherry tomatoes, frozen peas and corn, and pickles. I am nervous about doing raw veggies because they are only just over one. You could also do peanut butter on whole wheat toast for a snack.

You could do raw veggies, but steam them for a a bit to soften them up. I used to do this when my DD and DS were younger ... DD loved eating "crunchy carrots" for snack, but DS was too young to eat them raw, so I would steam them up (cooling rack over boiling water) and then he could chew them much easier.

[Meyou]

I shave raw carrots with my peeler for the little ones. Steaming works well too!