The Waffle/Text Thread Got Me Thinking...

[BusyBee]

How does everyone plan their meals? I have been doing this currently and none of the parents ever ask what we eat, and the kids don't complain. I think they actually LIKE knowing what we are having. They will even tell me "today is Wednesday, so we get pancakes!"

Breakfasts: Mon--muffins, Tues--cereal choice (not high sugar), Wed--pancakes/waffles, Thurs--cereal, Friday--French toast

Usually on cereal days I will throw in some sausage, which is not required in our food program. Every day we have milk and oj. I only serve juice at breakfast.

For snacks I do the same rotation each week, as well. I have been for about the past month or so. The kids haven't noticed or complained at all. It makes it really easy to plan my week!

Lunches: Mon--beef/hamburger, Tues--noodles, Wed--sandwiches, Thurs--chicken, Friday is usually pizza or leftover day

Doing my lunches that way has made it SO much easier for me. I just look up a recipe with that main ingredient. The kids have been trying lots of new things!

[Meyou]

I have 12 weeks of menus and just go through them in order. I have a shopping list for each so its easy peasy to get the groceries too. I've refined them over the years so I can take advantage of sales....a couple are chicken or beef heavy.

[kathiemarie]

That is pretty much how I do it also. It is well balanced. I serve food they like so I don't have to worry about waste.

[Sunshine44]

Sounds good to me! If the parents have an issue, they need to talk to you about it...and maybe some suggestions from them? Or maybe send out a notice on what you are allowed/have to serve each day?

[BusyBee]

Sounds good to me! If the parents have an issue, they need to talk to you about it...and maybe some suggestions from them? Or maybe send out a notice on what you are allowed/have to serve each day?

The thing is nobody has EVER asked me. So that is kind of great. And my food program lady says I have great variety. I guess I just get bored. Maybe if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[daycare]

I agree simple, easy kid friendly food is the way to go. I don't fight kids to eat, so I find what they will eat and as long as its healthy and food program approved, we eat away.
We do similar for breakfast, except we do flavoured oatmeals once to twice a week. LIke apple or maple....

[kcnjason]

Menus

Thanks for sharing!!! Would you mind sharing your snack ideas as well. I love the way you arrange your lunches. I have always stressed over menus and this makes it much easier. You are on the food program? When you claim, do you do the same things every week? such as what you posted on your thread here....
This was a terrific help. Anything to make the days easier!!!

[JenNJ]

I have a 20 day cycle. It works out to 4 weeks of meals. I have snack on a 5 day rotation. It easier for me to shop that way. Except Fridays - every Friday is cooking day so we make whole wheat pizza dough and tomato sauce and the kids each make their own pizzas (add sauce, cheese, and toppings) and I grill them.

[SilverSabre25]

I have a selection of breakfast foods we rotate among kind of randomly...I try to keep a good selection throughout the week but breakfast repeats a lot. Lunches, I do "Family dinner=daycare lunch" and whatever we had for dinner the night before becomes lunch the next day, or we have something easy and similar, or sandwiches or something. Saves me a lot of planning. Snacks are also kind of random and right now aren't planned out much in advance. I keep a good selection of fruits, veggies, crackers and other bready things, and go with my whims.

I try to vary our dinners so our lunches vary too...stuff like: something chicken, something beef, something noodley, something potato-y, something cheesy, something italian, something mexican, something vegetarian...I don't have a set of "categories" I use each week, and since some foods fall into both, I just try to make it look balanced, and I try to have at least two vegetarian meals per week. I'd like to make it three but that takes more thought on my part right now so I don't, .

[sharlan]

Right now, I give the boys 2 or 3 choices - cold cereal, eggs and bacon, bagels and cream cheese, yogurt, or waffles/toast/pancakes. Fruit is offered at every meal, as is yogurt.

Things will change after next week when all 4 will be here all day.

In an effort to teach my 15 yo granddaughter some kitchen skills, I'm going to have her help with the menu planning, grocery list, and the shopping. And of course, the cooking and cleaning.

[heyhun77]

I have 12 weeks of menus and just go through them in order. I have a shopping list for each so its easy peasy to get the groceries too. I've refined them over the years so I can take advantage of sales....a couple are chicken or beef heavy.

I do the same thing but this spring/summer rotation I changed it up a bit and only planned the daycare food and then my family chose a bunch of favorite meals and we just choose which ones we want the following week when we are looking at the schedule for the next week. Summer gets a little nuts around here there ends up to be a lot of unused meals if I plan them all out and then we end up at picnics and such. This way if we don't use a meal I can just move it to the following week as long as there aren't items that will rot before we use them.

[laundrymom]

I don't plan. I serve the required components daily. But the kids choose between several choices each day. Ex: do you guys want chicken quesedillas or Pb sandwiches and cheese cubes.

[Meyou]

I do the same thing but this spring/summer rotation I changed it up a bit and only planned the daycare food and then my family chose a bunch of favorite meals and we just choose which ones we want the following week when we are looking at the schedule for the next week. Summer gets a little nuts around here there ends up to be a lot of unused meals if I plan them all out and then we end up at picnics and such. This way if we don't use a meal I can just move it to the following week as long as there aren't items that will rot before we use them.

I have a summer menu just for July and August because we go to the beach everyday and have a picnic lunch. It's all based on foods I can fit into each lunch container. We do alot of sandwiches, crackers with ham and cheese, nacho chips and salsa, veggies and dip, fruit salad and cold pasta salad.

[jojosmommy]

I don't plan my meals ahead of time. We eat whatever has the best sale that week. Typically in the summer we are more fresh fruit heavy b/c it is cheaper and more available. Otherwise I am only intentionally about making sure we don't eat the same things too often AND not making things with the oven when its hot. We eat leftovers from the night before or I premake something for my own family to eat that night- depending on sports/evening activities.

In the morning I rotate between toast, cheerios, homemade waffles or pancakes, bagels, or english muffins. Again, I buy what is cheapest/I have coupons for and I freeze what I can.

My kids have never complained and my parents never ask. I used to tell them but they never cared anyway so I stopped.

[wdmmom]

I plan breakfast & lunch menu about a month or 2 ahead of time.

It makes grocery shopping easier.

If I make spaghetti for my family on Monday night and the DCK's are having spaghetti for lunch on Tuesday, I make extras and refrigerate.

I also make things up in advance and freeze.

It makes it a lot easier...especially during the summer.