Weekly Menus

[queenbee]

I run a vegetarian daycare (unheard of in my area!) but I figured someone may find my menus useful as I usually can transform any meat or meal into a meatless one.

Just an fyi, all "meat" I have on my menus are vegan/veggie, all cheese is vegan, all yogurt is soy yogurt, and all milk is Almond, Soy or Rice milk.

B: English muffin w/ (veggie) sausage and vegan cheese, grapes, Milk
L: Quesadillas w/ tomatoes, black olives and vegan cheese, refried beans (for dipping, yum), peaches
S: Pita Chips w/ Hummus, Juice

B: Whole Wheat Banana pancakes, blueberries, Milk
L: HM Three cheese ravioli w/ Marinara sauce, mini breadsticks, pineapple chunks, tomato slices w/ a sprinkling of Dash
S: Fruit salsa, Cinnamon chips, Juice

B: Soy yogurt w/ organic granola, Apple slices, Milk
L: Baked potato w/ ranch beans & vegan cheese, side salad, pears
S: Applesauce w/ cinnamon, graham crackers, Juice

B: Biscuits & "Gravy", mixed fruit, milk
L: Banana & chocolate panini, Strawberry soup, carrot sticks
S: Raspberry peach bread, milk

B:Gorilla Munch cereal, toast w/ blackberry fruit spread, smoothie
L: Vegetable stir-fry, bread w/ "butter", mango slices
S: Chocolate chip pie, milk

[athomemommy]

Using your menu as a guide thanks you so much for doing this. So HELPFUL!!!


Can you explain the Roast Turkey Breast? Is this like a big turkey breast? Sorry don't think I have made a turkey. Looking forward to it though. Can I freeze the extra I know we won't eat it all?

[Cat Herder]

Using your menu as a guide thanks you so much for doing this. So HELPFUL!!!


Can you explain the Roast Turkey Breast? Is this like a big turkey breast? Sorry don't think I have made a turkey. Looking forward to it though. Can I freeze the extra I know we won't eat it all?

Sure!! I buy Butterball Cutlets when I don't have time or cash for a whole turkey.

I just toss them in a baking bag with about a cup of chicken broth and a bit of olive oil (because they have little fat and come out dry otherwise. Talk about kids hiccups :.

Occasionally after I take them out of the bag, I lay them in a shallow pan and toss back into the oven, uncovered, to brown (it comes out kind of pale). It depends on if I am dicing it up to add to pasta/rice/sauce or serving it as a "whole". YKWIM?

Sometimes I even toss in a diced vidalia onion into the baking bag for a bigger flavor kick. IME, Most kids will like vidalia because it is kind of sweet, even those die-hard kids who "Hate" onions.

I do boneless chicken breast the same way.

[Meyou]

Sometimes I even toss in a diced vidalia onion into the baking bag for a bigger flavor kick. IME, Most kids will like vidalia because it is kind of sweet, even those die-hard kids who "Hate" onions.

I use leeks for the same reason. Onion flavor but much milder. They eat them right up even if I leave them in larger pieces.

[athomemommy]

oh that is great. Easy. thanks again for posting this.

[Sunchimes]

My kids are all 13-14 months old. I love these menus, but I'm finding that I can't use many of them. My kids don't like me to feed them, they want to do it themselves, so soups aren't possible. They also don't have many teeth, so no sandwiches or wraps, and one is allergic to peanuts and milk, with a minor egg sensitivity. sigh

To compound it, I don't have a freezer, except the one on my refrigerator, which I don't trust for much food storage.

I'm not whining, we manage, and my kids and parents are happy, but I feel like I'm in a rut. Any ideas for toothless, newly independent toddlers?

[Jewels]

My kids are all 13-14 months old. I love these menus, but I'm finding that I can't use many of them. My kids don't like me to feed them, they want to do it themselves, so soups aren't possible. They also don't have many teeth, so no sandwiches or wraps, and one is allergic to peanuts and milk, with a minor egg sensitivity. sigh

To compound it, I don't have a freezer, except the one on my refrigerator, which I don't trust for much food storage.

I'm not whining, we manage, and my kids and parents are happy, but I feel like I'm in a rut. Any ideas for toothless, newly independent toddlers?

I don't ever pay much attention to teeth or no teeth except when baby, by the time kids are 1, they eat what everyone else eats, I just make sure its cut into small pieces, Kids are able to do alot with their gums, they can chew, and by 1, they should have some teeth in there, I don't often do soup, but we do oatmeal and malt o meal alot, and by the time they wont let me feed them, I just drape them in towels, and give the kids the bowls and spoons, and let them figure it out. you can easily cut up a sandwich into pieces, and they will pick at them and eat them....at that age, its just a messy experience!

[Sunchimes]

Thanks, Jewel

I have turned them loose on mashed potatoes and oatmeal a few times, but it usually involves washing their hair afterwards. ;-)

By the time I cut up the sandwiches, you can't even tell they were sandwiches. I guess I'm just trying to simplify something that can't really be simplified yet. ;-)

And I'm envying the raisins and trail mix and peanut butter. ;-)

[Meyou]

My kids are all 13-14 months old. I love these menus, but I'm finding that I can't use many of them. My kids don't like me to feed them, they want to do it themselves, so soups aren't possible. They also don't have many teeth, so no sandwiches or wraps, and one is allergic to peanuts and milk, with a minor egg sensitivity. sigh

To compound it, I don't have a freezer, except the one on my refrigerator, which I don't trust for much food storage.

I'm not whining, we manage, and my kids and parents are happy, but I feel like I'm in a rut. Any ideas for toothless, newly independent toddlers?

For sandwiches I cut them into cubes with a pizza cutter. If we had wraps which may be too tough a texture for a baby I would make their with bread.

For soups I drain out most of the liquid and add some bread cubes or crushed crackers to absorb the rest. Then they're perfect for little fingers. My babies love soup. I make all my soup so the pieces are a nice size for little fingers.

[texasmama2010]

Weekly Menu

I've worked in day care for the past 28 years. I tried to list meals I didn't see on the other posts. We do not put these combinations together. We have the usual cheese toast, Tuna Noodle Cass, Grilled Cheese etc. as well.
Here are a few of our favorites:

B-Breakfast Burrito, Orange Juice, Milk & Water
L-Baked Chicken, Green Beans, Diced Peaches, Wheat Bread, Milk & Water
S-Zucchini Bread, Milk & Water

B-Soy Butter on Toast, Apple Slices, Milk & Water
L-Turkey Enchiladas, Seasoned Peas, Apricots, Milk & Water
S-Garlic Sticks, Marinara, Milk & Water

B-Banana Bread Oatmeal, Orange Wedge, Milk & Water
L-Homemade Meatloaf, Corn Casserole, Mixed Fruit, Wheat Bread, Milk & Water
S-String Cheese, Ritz Crackers, Water

B-Breakfast Pizza, Sliced Grapes, Milk & Water
L-Grilled Ham & Cheese, Steamed Broccoli, Pineapple Tidbits, Milk & Water
S-Fruit & Yogurt Parfait, Water

B- Toasted Bagel, Kiwi, Milk & Water
L-Tuna Melts, Mixed Veggies, Diced Pears, Milk & Water
S-Taco Chex Mix, Milk & Water

B-Fruit Smoothie, English Muffin, Milk & Water
L-Soft Chicken Taco, Lettuce Salad, Tropical Fruit, Milk & Water
S-Ham & Cheese Rollups, Saltines, Water

B-Apple Cheddar Muffin, Grape Juice, Milk & Water
L-BBQ Chicken Pizza, California Veggies, Diced Pears, Milk & Water
S-Graham Crackers, Fresh Pear, Water

B-Raisin Toast, Bananas, Milk & Water
L-Cornbread Taco Bake, Corn, Mandarin Oranges, Milk & Water
S-Apple Slices & Soy Butter, Star Crackers, Water

B-Egg & Cheese English Muffin
L-Pizza Burger, Baked Sweet Potato Fries, Plums, Milk & Water
S-Fruit Pizza, Water

B-Rice Krispies, Blueberries, Milk & Water
L-Ham Supreme Casserole, Peas & Carrots, Apple Slices, Milk & Water
S-Cranberry Applesauce Muffin, Milk & Water

[JennyBear]

thanks for the idea, yesterday I made the lazy lasanga that someone posted in the thread and the kids loved it, they didn't even flinch that it had cottage cheese in it. I did put mine in a glass baking try and baked it a bit and it was great.

How do you make your lazy lasagna? Sounds like a great idea for my daycare kids!

[Abigail]

THANK YOU for everyone in this thread who posted menu items! I just created a 3-week menu for the food program lady to look at tomorrow. It was HARD for me to come up with simple items that didn't get repeated too much. I need to learn to cook as I go and then I can add more adult-friendly items to my menu. thanks....time for bed!

[dave4him]

Im just staring like a deer in the headlights trying to figure out where to start....

[jenn]

Our menu this week

Breakfast:
*Waffles with syrup, Banana Slices, Milk
*Cereal, Pears, Milk
*Bagel with cream cheese, Applesauce, Milk (or use raisins to make a face on the bagel)
*Breakfast burrito (tortilla, cheese, ham, eggs), Pineapple, Milk
*Oatmeal, Blueberries, Milk

Lunch:
*Tater tot casserole, Peas, Mixed Fruit, Milk
*Finger Food Day- Ham cubes (chopped up for littler ones), Cheese cubes (chopped up for littler ones), Crackers, Pineapple, Celery, Milk (or skip the crackers and stick a pretzel stick into each ham/cheese cube-kid friendly kabob)
*Mac & Cheese with hot dog pieces, Green Beans, Apple Slices, Milk
*Turkey and cheese on croissant, Carrots with Ranch (cooked carrots for littler ones), Sliced grapes, Milk
*Chicken and Cheese Roll ups (tortilla, cheese, shredded chicken), Snap Peas, Mandarin Oranges, Milk

Snacks:
*Fruit & Yogurt Parfait (layer crushed graham crackers, yogurt, berries in clear cup), Water
*Ants on a log (celery, peanut butter or cream cheese, raisins), Water
*Sliced Grapes, Cheese, Water
*Granola Bar, Milk
*Apple Slices with cinnamon and sugar (put a little cinnamon & sugar in a ziploc, add apples and take turns shaking), Milk

[MorenoLorene]

Hello, Catherder!

Thank you a lot for this post! that's a great job to create this rationaly menu. What I really loved is that it doesn't repeat much. I should confess now I try it) have been trying for a week already) and it has made my daily routine much easier. I copied your menu and hung that on my fridge to follow it. So thanks again