I know I've asked about snack ideas for preschool (at my preschool, the parents rotate bringing snacks). But if you know, what kinds of stuff do your kids eat at preschool?
I am slightly horrified at times.. the kids usually have cheese, crackers, cookies, juice. But they do often have stuff like cupcakes slathered in tons of icing for birthdays or other treats I probably wouldn't give at home, only on rare occasion. Last year for St Pattys day they had shamrock shakes, and DD came home and threw up green milkshake all over the house. Granted, she already wasn't feeling well, but the pedi agreed all that dairy and chocolate (oreo cookies) was not a great idea!
Re: What do your kids eat at preschool?
our school limits the sweets. parents can bring in special treats for bdays, but they ask for mini muffins, munchkins or mini cupcakes or just a cookie each for bdays.
for snacks, we send fruit, goldfish, pretzels.
At our pre-school each child brings their own snack for allergy reasons. Each snack has to be individually packaged with an ingredient list on the package and cannot contain or be made in a facility that produces items with nuts.
It does limit the snack options but they are only there twice a week. Plus, I have allergic kids so I appreciate the effort to keep all the kids safe.
Normally I send cereal bars, cheeze-its, crackers and cheese or teddy grahams. I've seen the individually packaged apples in the produce section of our grocery store but haven't bought those yet.
My twins are 5! My baby is 3!
DS#2 - Allergic to Cashew, Pistachio, Kiwi
DS#3 - Allergic to Milk, Egg, Peanut, Tree Nuts and Sesame
DD's school serves healthy lunches like chicken, rice and veggies or stews, soups and gumbos with garden salads and always fruit for desert. We're in Louisiana so alot of the food served is food traditionally cooked here but made healthier--thank God for that! There are also snacks but those are pretty healthy too like applesauce, grapes and yogurt with milk or water to drink with all meals. The only time they get "fun treats" like cupcakes or cookies is during birthdays, which has been about once a month so far--that may increase as the school year goes on since most of the kids in her class have Spring birthdays. No nuts of any kind are allowed on campus since a few students have severe nut allergies.
When we lived in California, DD attended The Goddard School. I had to pack her lunch which proved sort of difficult since they were unable to heat up any food. So, I stuck with sandwiches (peanut butter, turkey & cheese), crackers, apples, granola bars and juice or milk to drink. I did attempt a time or two to send some leftovers from the previous night's dinner in a thermos but I didn't trust it would keep the food hot enough until lunchtime and scrapped it altogether.
I'm super picky about food. I actually switched DD from one preschool to another partially due to food issues. (The fabulous chef was let go and the food went downhill.)
Anyway, at her new school, they post the menu every month. And it's incredible. Healthy, tasty, diverse, mostly organic/local. Lots of homemade soups/stews, lots of Asian cuisine (sushi day is always a hit), some nice pasta dishes, yummy sandwiches. The list goes on forever. The owner of the preschool also owns a catering company and they deliver divine lunches each and every day. Lunch always has a salad of some sort, too.
Snacks are good, as well. Homemade healthy muffins, banana bread, all kinds of fresh fruit, raw veg, whole grain crackers with cream cheese, fruit/yogurt smoothies....
I'm actually quite jealous of what she gets to eat. I love when she gets into the car and says "Oooooooooh Mommy! Lunch was so very YUM today. mmmmmmmmmmm. Delicious." lol.
(m/c 1.17.07, m/c 5.15.07)
DS - 03.15.08
DD2 - 12.03.09
DD3 - 3.28.11
Snack at our preschool is usually milk or juice plus some kind of food like graham crackers, fruit, cheese, or crackers. We aren't allowed to bring outside food to class so I assume that means no cupcakes for birthdays. DS only been going to school for a couple weeks so I'm not sure what they do for birthdays.
This exactly!
This has been a concern of mine and I've posted about it often.
We're like you - parents bring in snack.
I was mortified to learn that not only did a parent send brownies and juice for snack but there was ALSO a birthday and cupcakes from a different family.
My kids don't get much sugar.
Dylan was a TRAIN WRECK for the rest of the day with a double dose of sugar all before lunch time.
I'm not going to change his school over it so I'm learning to control what I can and accept the rest. When I bring snack it's water and raisins or fruit. That's what I CAN control.
Other times the best I can do is to continue to explain healthy eating to my kids and why sugar should be a treat instead of a daily occurrance and why.
Just because it's what they experience at school doesn't mean that it's what's best for them.
I'll be glad when we're in kindy next year becuase they don't do the rotating parent thing.
But... J will likely be in pre-school there next year. I'll almost gurantee that his behavior hopped up on a double dose of sugar will lead to a policy change for them. (hee hee)
Meh. DD eats breakfast, lunch and dinner controlled by me at home, so I don't really care what she has for snack at school. Parents bring snack 3 days a week, school provides two days a week. School provided snack is usually a fruit (often canned) with goldfish/pretzels etc OR something the kids have cooked as part of the curriculum (banana bread, snickerdoodles, soft pretzels, etc).Water is the only drink ever offered.
Parent provided snack is usually a fruit (grapes, clementines, apples, etc) and then something else (cheese stick, yogurt, pirate booty, goldfish, sun chips, muffins). DD eats all of it. For snacks this year I brought mini wholegrain bagels with cream cheese & watermelon, applesauce & homemade pumpkin mini muffins, and tomorrow I'm sending graham crackers, orange slices and yogurt. No one freaks out about the occasional birthday cupcake or popsicle. Honestly, I'm probably the most anal about my kids' diet of anyone I know, and I still don't care if she eats 10 goldfish at school or a random cupcake.