If your child spends her day at a daycare center, you may be wondering if she is getting healthy snacks and lunches. If you pack your child's lunch you can make some nutritional changes to ensure that she is eating healthily while she is away from you. These same ideas can be suggested to the leader of the daycare so all the children have access to healthy and wholesome lunches and snacks. Having some new and kid-friendly ideas on hand will make feeding your child easier while she's at daycare.
Peanut Butter Sandwiches
If there are no peanut allergies in the daycare center, many children enjoy a peanut butter sandwich at lunchtime. Peanut butter on whole wheat bread is a nutritious lunch. It supplies fiber and protein so your child has energy for the rest of his time at daycare. Adding banana slices or apple slices adds some fruit to your child's lunch as well. If the daycare provides lunch, suggest having some healthy options to combine with peanut butter so the children can choose how they would like their sandwich. Honey and fresh berries are additional ideas.
Crackers and Cheese
Many children do not consume enough calcium. Adding cheese as a snack will enable you to ensure that your child gets enough of this healthy nutrient. Serving cheese slices with whole wheat crackers also supplies some fiber and protein that your child needs to play and learn throughout the day. Many governmental programs supply foods like cheese to daycare centers, which will make this suggestion easy for the operators to implement. Make snacks fun to help ensure that your child eats them. Try cutting the cheese into shapes with cookie cutters to entice your child's interest.
Cottage Cheese with Fruit
When you send your child to daycare with a lunch, you are likely looking for something quick and easy to prepare. Those cooking meals and preparing snacks at the daycare center are looking for these same things. Cottage cheese and fruit fit the bill because it is a convenient combination of food that is also healthy and inexpensive. Pair cottage cheese with fresh pineapple. Dried fruit, such as cranberries or raisins, also go well with cottage cheese. This snack or small meal will provide calcium, fiber and several different vitamins.
Homemade Pizza
You can make a quick homemade pizza at home and daycare cooks can prepare this meal on a large scale for several children at one time. Use a whole grain English muffin or tortilla for the crust, which will cut down on the amount of time you spend cooking. Top with low-sodium pizza sauce and part-skim mozzarella cheese. Pizza can be customized according to the taste of each child at the daycare center as well. Other nutritious toppings include olives, mushrooms and tomatoes. This meal will supply fiber, calcium, vitamin C and potassium.
References
- "The Six O'Clock Scramble: Quick, Healthy, and Delicious Dinner Recipes for Busy Families"; Aviva Goldfarb; 2006
- "How to Start a Home-Based Day-Care Business"; Shari Steelsmith; 2006
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