Meat And The Food Program

[familyschoolcare]

Alright so as I have posted else where, I started my first day care child this week. It has occurred to me that I am not sure how to measure meat for the food program. I know in oz. how much I am supposed to feed. However I do not know how to figure out how much that is.

[SilverSabre25]

Alright so as I have posted else where, I started my first day care child this week. It has occurred to me that I am not sure how to measure meat for the food program. I know in oz. how much I am supposed to feed. However I do not know how to figure out how much that is.

A food scale is one way to figure it out.

Another is that 8 oz is a cup, so 4 oz is half a cup and 2 oz is 1/4 cup.

[MyAngels]

I used a food scale and measuring cups for liquids when I first started, until I could pretty much eyeball appropriate serving sizes. Once you've done that for a week or so it's pretty easy to see what a correct serving is.

[familyschoolcare]

A food scale is one way to figure it out.

Another is that 8 oz is a cup, so 4 oz is half a cup and 2 oz is 1/4 cup.

So the meat portions can be converted to cups?

Was confused because the fruit, vegetable and milk are already in cups but meat is in oz

[SilverSabre25]

So the meat portions can be converted to cups?

Was confused because the fruit, vegetable and milk are already in cups but meat is in oz

Yeah, I don't see why not. Ounces do convert easily to cups after all. They probably WANT you to do it by weight instead, do to the usually "chunky" nature of meat, and it's possible that meat is a lot heavier than most fruits/veggies. Kitchen scales are NOT expensive, usually, and it wouldn't hurt to have one. I don't see where 1 cup of cooked chicken cut into pieces would be that much different from 8 oz of cooked chicken cut into pieces, kwim?

[nannyde]

I used to have a scale but after serving over 100,000 meals in my nearly 18 years of home care... I can eyeball it.

I had to relearn it when I switched to grass fed meats though. They are much denser.