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I agree with the protein and limiting the crackers, but I have to be honest, NONE of my kids will touch veggies for snacks. I've tried, but it goes in the garbage. 
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healthy ideas
-yogurt-granola
-cottage cheese-applesause
-cheese quesadilla using whole grain tortillas
-graham cracker-nutella-banana
-shell pasta-peas-parmasian-oregano-s/p-garlic
-whole grain waffles-real maple syrup
-snap peas-cucumber-squash-carrots-celery with hm hummus
-cucumber-tomato salad w/ a vinaigrette
-cucumber-tomato-chick pea-black olive-scallion salad w/ a vinaigrette
-veggies w/ ranch
-dried cranberries/blueberries/strawberries/mango/papaya-yogurt
-tortilla chips w/ hm pico salsa
-apple-pear slices w/ cashew or almond butter as an alternative to peanut butter
I also use the food processor to chop the veggies super fine and add them to tuna salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, turkey meatloaf, turkey meatballs, bolognese, anything and everything. The kids often don't even know how much veggies they're really eating.
Oh and I use a Vitamix to make 'ice cream' out of coconut milk or regular milk with ice, vanilla and then I add veggies that don't have a strong taste like raw cabbage and yellow squash. You don't even know they are in the ice cream.
Not everyone eats everything. But we have a two bite rule. You have to TRY everything. And clean plates = extra play time
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healthy ideas
-yogurt-granola
-cottage cheese-applesauce
-cheese quesadilla using whole grain tortillas
-graham cracker-nutella-banana
-shell pasta-peas-parmasian-oregano-s/p-garlic
-whole grain waffles-real maple syrup
-snap peas-cucumber-squash-carrots-celery with hm hummus
-cucumber-tomato salad w/ a vinaigrette
-cucumber-tomato-chick pea-black olive-scallion salad w/ a vinaigrette
-veggies w/ ranch
-dried cranberries/blueberries/strawberries/mango/papaya-yogurt
-tortilla chips w/ hm pico salsa
-apple-pear slices w/ cashew or almond butter as an alternative to peanut butter
I also use the food processor to chop the veggies super fine and add them to tuna salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, turkey meatloaf, turkey meatballs, bolognese, anything and everything. The kids often don't even know how much veggies they're really eating.
Oh and I use a Vitamix to make 'ice cream' out of coconut milk or regular milk with ice, vanilla and then I add veggies that don't have a strong taste like raw cabbage and yellow squash. You don't even know they are in the ice cream.
Not everyone eats everything. But we have a two bite rule. You have to TRY everything. And clean plates = extra play time
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To me, your choices look pretty good. Maybe you could ask the parent what her child likes to eat at home, just to get a feel for what she's served?
I've just barely started serving veggies and dip for snack because most of my kids would never eat it.
however, the SA do and it's nice to have some positive peer pressure like that. For lunches I always serve more than the required 2 fruits and/or veggies, because kids can be so darn picky. The other day I had apples, pineapple and green beans to choose from at lunch. One little girl said 'I don't like any of that.' Well, stinks to be you then.
Or what about asking your food program coordinator for some more ideas?
I'm lucky in that all my dcps are happy with what I serve. Or at least they don't say anything.
I've got one family who eats take-out a lot so I *know* my meals are more nutritious than what they get at home. I also have another little guy whose favorite foods are corn dogs. I have never served a corn dog here. It's been years since I've served fish sticks. I do serve hot dogs maybe twice a month. I could definitely improve on my menus and make them healthier but kids are kids too. It doesn't make any sense to me, to waste food when it's always stuff they'll never eat. Sure, I sneak a little in here or there to see how it's accepted and go from there.
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I see a lot of fruit and no veggies. I would replace some of the snack fruit with a vegetable, carrots, broccoli, snow peas, green beans... The other items seem reasonable. Might be able to use a bit more variety.Comment
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great recipe 2 ripe bananas 2 cups oatmeal (chocolate chips) blend in blender cook for 10 minutes at 350 on sprayed cookie sheet so healthy. There are also some great oatmeal muffins that are made with bananas and greek yogurt. Homemade granola bars?Comment
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Work In Progress
I'm currently working on an 8-week healthier menu. I have one family who is encouraging to have healthier foods and we've had to reason a few times because they eat very healthy and have a healthy lifestyle yet it's not always going to work to serve what they would like. They didn't care for the grains I was serving so I limit the animal, graham, and ritz crackers to once every week......oh that includes pretzels too. So I guess I am only trying to serve an actual grain for snack once a week. I use to serve vanilla wafers and took those off the menu completely so that was an improvement.
Secondly they wanted more "real" protein in lunches. They were disappointed the food program considers cheese on a home-made pizza protein. I changed it once from a bagel, sauce, and cheese into the healthier option (in my opinion) to a crescent roll base in a muffin tin baked with ground beef, sauce, and cheese. They did NOT like the crescent roll. So I decided I would try to change some food items and others just deal with it. I miss my traditional pizza so I'm putting it back on the menu, but as a snack item. Super simple to put sauce on a bagel and cheese on top and nook it 30 seconds! YUM
OK so I base my meals by categories for each day of the week.
Ex. Lunch main components......
Mondays-Beef (Spaghetti, Tacos, Burgers, Quesadillas, Etc)
Tuesdays-Eggs (Scrambled Eggs, Egg in the Hole, Omelet, Hard Boiled Eggs, etc.)
Wednesdays-Misc. (Beans, Ham, Turkey, Cheese, Cottage Cheese, etc.)
Thursdays-Chicken (HM Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken and Multi-Grain Stir Fry, etc.)
Fridays-Combination Meals (Casseroles)
This way I know that the kids are not eating tons of ground beef one week and tons of eggs the next. Eggs are really cheap and easy to make so they get their own day of the week! LOL
Snacks and Breakfasts I have a harder time with. So far for snack I will be serving plain yogurt (was flavored but I switched to plain 2 years ago) with a fresh fruit that is conveniently diced so the kids can choose to mix it on their plates if they wish. Then another day of the week I plan to serve a fruit or vege with peanut butter. Yes the peanut butter counts as a protein.
New ideas I'm trying this week include Home-Made (HM) Lunchables. It's going to be a combination meal day (like pizza bagels will be too!) It includes 2-4 ritz crackers with a slice of cheese and diced ham. I'm also going to have them try a banana wrap. It's a tortilla with peanut butter and a banana rolled up. Then I'll be sliced into pieces for the under 2 group...........which is about half of mine right now! The kids also eat hard boiled eggs and banana slices. We call those egg and banana stackers!
If anyone else has ideas to add to how I'm making my menus please share!
I have lunches pretty much covered I'm in need of snack help the most!
Five days of the week and I have a combination snack item day, a yogurt w/fruit day, and a fruit/vege with peanut butter day, and possibly a grain/cracker day with whatever fits well with it. (We regularly do pickles and pretzels) so I just need one more day of the week category for snack and I think I'm covered!Comment
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i agree that it seems like you're loading on the fruit and the grains here. there are much better breakfast and snack ideas than most people know of :
-breakfast burritos
-breakfast sandwiches
-fruit & granola parfaits
-rainbow veggie wraps
-raw veggies w/ hummus (carrot, broccoli, cauli, red bell pepper, etc)
-yogurt
-smoothies w/ added protein
-tortilla chips and salsa
etc etc :]Comment
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