Lunch time can be a very busy time of the day and the time of day that the kids Really Love!
Today I am going to give you some ideas on how to have a smooth transition into lunch, how to get the kids involved and most of all some healthy meal ideas!
Lunch time is a great time to promote self-help skills and there many ways that you can get the children involved, including:
- Selecting a child to help you clean and set the table
- Place the food in serving bowls to encourage the children to serve themselves and to serve the food Family style. (be sure to use child size serving utensils)
Also, Children love to sing songs and what a great way to start lunch time by singing a lunch time song. Here’s a lunch time song:
I smell lunch, I smell lunch,
(rub your tummy) um um good. um um good.
I can smell the______ (name the food) I can smell the_______ (name the food)
um um good um um good.
Then repeat!
According to the Missouri Eat Smart Childhood obesity and Missouri’s Eat Smart Guidelines for Child Care, “Overweight is now the most nutritional disease of children. Preschool children who are overweight are almost 5 times more likely to be overweight as young adults.”
Missouri Eat Smart Guidelines for Childcare also concludes that children may get 50%-75% of daily food needs in childcare. This is why it is vital that childcare programs serve nutritional balance meals.
Here are Five Healthy Lunch Ideas for your menus:
Day 1
Turkey Slices
Whole Grain Bread
Corn
Peaches
Low Fat Milk
Day 2
Tuna Salad
Whole Grain Crackers
Tossed Salad
Apple Slices
Low Fat Milk
Day 3
Turkey Meatballs
Mashed potatoes
Orange slices
Whole Grain Bread
Low-Fat Milk
Day 4
Beef Stew (with vegetables)
Whole Grain Cracker
Fruit Cocktail
Low Fat Milk
Day 5
Chicken & Rice Broccoli Casserole
(Boil the rice, drain the water when fully cooked, add canned chicken & cream of chicken, broccoli and cheese)
Blueberries
Low Fat Milk
**Menu ideas meet the Child Adult and Food program Guidelines
Need more menu ideas, be sure to download your copy of my Healthy Child Care Menus ebook.
With Healthy Kids in Mind!
Shiketa Morgan
The Child Care Business Owner Institute 
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