Fruits and Veggies...Do You Do Canned or Fresh??

[SunflowerMama]

Lately I've been doing a combination of canned and fresh fruits and veggies. My veggies are almost always canned (mixed veggies, green beans, corn, etc.). I've done frozen and steamed a few times with them but my dcks aren't huge veggie fans so I feel like I throw so much away so canned seems more financially doable. Fruit is usually a combination of fresh and canned (mandarine oranges, peaches, pears, bananas, strawberries, etc.). I know fresh and frozen are the most benefical but preperation wise and financially canned is just so much easier.

What does everyone else do when it comes to fruits and veggies at lunch?

[mac60]

I only do canned. But what I have done, is buy the gallon cans of corn, green beans, applesauce,peaches and divide them up into small freezer containers and freeze them. Cheaper and you can put the amounts you would normally use in each freezer container so not a lot of waste.

[GretasLittleFriends]

Fruit is a mix of fresh (from the store) and canned (from the store). Though when raspberry season is here again, those will be fresh (from the yard).

Veggies right now are frozen, but they were fresh from our garden last summer. Once the garden starts producing again there will be more fresh veggies. The exception is the canned beans used for making chili and/or the canned tomato sauce used for spaghetti and pasta dishes. I do have frozen tomatoes and do use them on occasion instead of the canned sauce.

[nannyde]

I recently made a move to a fully local, pasture raised, and chemical free for all of our foods. We buy in bulk and freeze.

My kids love fresh. If it's something a little difficult to chew I will steam and puree it into soups and stews. We have most of our meals as "bowl in one's" which have meat, starch (rice or potatoes) and at least two veggies. I puree it for the littles and make a little chunkier version for the older kids. Most of my kids prefer to full puree for most of the combinations.

I make the bowl in one meals in advance with whatever meat, starch, and veggies I can get for a good price and puree then freeze. Lunch is already completely ready every day so all I have to do is grab a bag and nuke. Serve with a home made fruit bread with real organic butter and grass fed milk to drink.

No canned anything for us BUT my parents PAY for a service like that. If I were a regular home day care I would definitely do canned and/or frozen. In order to do pure foods you have to have a fairly high paying client group. Being on the food program helps a lot too.
Nan

[Pammie]

I do mostly fresh or frozen vegetables. The only ones that I buy in cans are things that I can't find fresh in season or frozen (red beets, asparagus). I actually prefer the frozen veges, because I can just cook what I need for the meal and keep the rest in the freezer. When I open a can, and don't use the whole thing, it's yet another left over in my fridge:-)
I don't buy canned fruit - that's all fresh, whatever is in season...or what was fresh that I froze myself. Once in a blue moon I'll buy canned fruit ****tail - and the kids think it's the best treat ever::

[originalkat]

All of my Veggies are either canned or frozen.
My fruits are mostly fresh (APPLES, NECTARINES, GRAPES, ORANGES, BANANAS, PEARS, STRAWBERRIES)
i MIGHT DO 1 CANNED FRUIT PER WEEK--USUALLY PINEAPPLE, PEACHES, OR FRUIT COCTAIL.

[sahm2three]

I do fresh apples, clementines, blueberries, black berries, bananas and pears. I do frozen strawberries. I do have a fruit ****tail type fruit that comes in individual cups, but I hate to use that because there is so much sugar added to it, so I don't use it often. For the most part, all my fruit is fresh. I fed the daycare kids the same way I feed my family.

[TGT09]

I'd say I do 75% fresh and 25% frozen/canned.

[Chickenhauler]

Quick tip to get kids to eat veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc-a little bit of cheese.

I swear, kids will eat ANYTHING if you put some melted cheese on it.

[jen]

Quick tip to get kids to eat veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc-a little bit of cheese.

I swear, kids will eat ANYTHING if you put some melted cheese on it.

LOL...cheese or ranch dip! I could give them liver and onions and as long as it had a side of ranch, they'd eat it!

[jen]

Fresh organic fruit, veggies are a combination between fresh and frozen, organic when feasible.

[AnythingsPossible]

We do alot of frozen and canned as good fresh produce is hard to come by in our area most of the time. But when it is possible to get good fresh fruit, I incorporate it as much as we can. Green Beans are the only canned veggies i use, all others are frozen.

[Rachel]

All fruit is fresh, veggies frozen unless they are in season. Pretty much with veggies if I'm serving it raw it's fresh, if it's cooked it's frozen. I use dried beans and soak / cook them in bulk and flash freeze so I can take out just what I need for the meal and they are ready to go.

[safechner]

Lately I've been doing a combination of canned and fresh fruits and veggies. My veggies are almost always canned (mixed veggies, green beans, corn, etc.). I've done frozen and steamed a few times with them but my dcks aren't huge veggie fans so I feel like I throw so much away so canned seems more financially doable. Fruit is usually a combination of fresh and canned (mandarine oranges, peaches, pears, bananas, strawberries, etc.). I know fresh and frozen are the most benefical but preperation wise and financially canned is just so much easier.

What does everyone else do when it comes to fruits and veggies at lunch?

I think you should try frozen All Natural mixed vegetables at Wal Mart. All my daycare kids and my own love to eat it for many years. I had a daycare boy who dislikes green bean at all. I thought I should give it a try. He tried to eat it. Oh boy, he loves it. He wants more. His parents were shocked, haha! (Once you cooked and put 1tbs. butter before you served.)

I normally buy fruit canned for the daycare kids because fresh fruits are a little expensive unless it is on sale.

Let me know how's it going? Good Luck!

[happykidschildcare]

canned or fresh

I do alot of fresh fruit when they are in season its sometimes cheaper.
we do a costco run every weekend, so I mostly do canned veggies, since they are softer i can serve them to all ages, blend if needed for 6 mos & up.
Costco has the larger size cans for $3 of fruit and veg..they also have the best sliced apples in snack bags that are perfect for the kids. plus the banana bunch there is a good deal