preschool snacks

[Karen G]

I made it through preschool orientation today. Yay!! Daughter #1 took
off and didn't even wonder where I went when the parent meeting started.
Her only concern was regarding the bathroom. All of the paperwork is
in, they know about her minor allergies. Now we just have to get
started on Monday.

The snack requirements are a bit more than I expected. We have to bring
a nutritious snack (drink and snack) that covers more than one food
group. No cookies, cake or other "dessert" type of snack is permitted.
We cannot include peanuts in our snack. What would you take in this
situation? Is this requirement common? Is my daughter going to see a
lot of goldfish and juice?

Karen G

[Carolyn Jean Fairman]

Karen G > wrote:
>The snack requirements are a bit more than I expected. We have to bring
>a nutritious snack (drink and snack) that covers more than one food
>group. No cookies, cake or other "dessert" type of snack is permitted.
>We cannot include peanuts in our snack. What would you take in this
>situation? Is this requirement common? Is my daughter going to see a
>lot of goldfish and juice?

My son's old preschool (he just started kindergarten!) had similar
requirements. Goldfish are but one option, and high in salt.

Cheese cubes, string cheese, etc are also good (I personally hate
'go-gurts' since they are basically sugar with some yogurt mixed in).
Fresh fruit (apples, bananas, etc). What I did, for snack 1-2 times a
month was to always make the same thing! After all, they would get
lots of other stuff on the other days.

I would get cinnamon raisin bread, toast it and spread cream cheese
(leaving some unspread in case a kid was allergic to dairy or just
didn't like it) to make sandwiches. Then I cut each sandwich along
the diagonals. It sounds complicated but once you get the hang of it
the process went fast and I knew that this + some fruit was a perfect
snack.

--Carolyn




--
Carolyn Fairman
http://www.stanford.edu/~cfairman/

[Tamex]

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 19:03:41 EDT, Karen G
> wrote:

>I made it through preschool orientation today. Yay!! Daughter #1 took
>off and didn't even wonder where I went when the parent meeting started.
>Her only concern was regarding the bathroom. All of the paperwork is
>in, they know about her minor allergies. Now we just have to get
>started on Monday.
>
>The snack requirements are a bit more than I expected. We have to bring
>a nutritious snack (drink and snack) that covers more than one food
>group. No cookies, cake or other "dessert" type of snack is permitted.
>We cannot include peanuts in our snack. What would you take in this
>situation? Is this requirement common? Is my daughter going to see a
>lot of goldfish and juice?

Probably, especially if your preschool also has the requirement that
snacks not be homemade!

Is fruit OK? My daughter liked to bring fruit, and the teachers were
quite willing to cut it up into the appropriate serving sizes for
them.

Are graham crackers OK? Chocolate graham crakers and milk were
another favorite preschool snack. Her school didn't really forbid
cookies, etc., though.
--
Tamex

No matter how much Jell-o you put in the pool, you still can't walk on water.

**remove Tricky Dick to reply by e-mail**

[Iowacookiemom]

IIRC there was a pretty extensie thread on this same topic a year or so ago...
in addition to the excellent suggestions so far, try googling for "snack" on
mkm.

How about yogurt and teddy grahams?
-Dawn
Mom to Henry, 10

[Banty]

In article >, Karen G says...
>

>The snack requirements are a bit more than I expected. We have to bring
>a nutritious snack (drink and snack) that covers more than one food
>group. No cookies, cake or other "dessert" type of snack is permitted.
>We cannot include peanuts in our snack. What would you take in this
>situation? Is this requirement common? Is my daughter going to see a
>lot of goldfish and juice?
>
>Karen G
>

Is this snack for your own child, or are you to provide snacks for the school or
class on occassion?

IME at my son's kindergarten, what the school personnel mean by all their
requirements may differ from any particular parent's conception of nutritious
and non-dessert.

The best thing is to ask *them* to provide a list of examples, surely they've
seen what snacks are brought that they approve of in the past. Suggest that it
be made to all parents.

If there is a peanut-allergic child in this school, IMO they should NOT be
having parents provide the snacks. If they only mean to prohibit peanuts to
avoid the initial sensitization, they should be aware that peanut oils are
present in a lot of packaged snacks, and this measure isn't perfect.

Banty

[Karen G]

On Sat, 13 Sep 2003 10:24:41 EDT, Banty >
wrote:

>Is this snack for your own child, or are you to provide snacks for the school or
>class on occassion?

Parents will provide snacks for all of the children in the class--about
26 children.

>The best thing is to ask *them* to provide a list of examples, surely they've
>seen what snacks are brought that they approve of in the past. Suggest that it
>be made to all parents.

They did provide a list, but mainly about the requirement explanations.

>If there is a peanut-allergic child in this school, IMO they should NOT be
>having parents provide the snacks. If they only mean to prohibit peanuts to
>avoid the initial sensitization, they should be aware that peanut oils are
>present in a lot of packaged snacks, and this measure isn't perfect.

You know, I had a similar reaction. Oddly enough, they actually
encouraged the parents to bring ethnic (though not wild) snacks as well.
I use peanut butter in my kitchen. In some cases, I know that that is
enough to "taint" the food that comes out of my house.

I think the previous thread was the one on using class colors to make
snacks. In that case it was yellow and brown. Some really great ideas
are there--pretzels and cheese, hummus and vegetables, various breads,
graham crackers (also mentioned in this thread), raisins and goldfish
were mentioned in that thread. Evidently there was a thread regarding
the subject on misc.kids as well.

Karen G--who summarized this thread so that it is under a snack
subject.

[Banty]

In article >, Karen G says...
>
>On Sat, 13 Sep 2003 10:24:41 EDT, Banty >
>wrote:
>
>>Is this snack for your own child, or are you to provide snacks for the school or
>>class on occassion?
>
>Parents will provide snacks for all of the children in the class--about
>26 children.

Erg. I hate that. But you've read the previous thread :-)

>
>>The best thing is to ask *them* to provide a list of examples, surely they've
>>seen what snacks are brought that they approve of in the past. Suggest that it
>>be made to all parents.
>
>They did provide a list, but mainly about the requirement explanations.

But what's really needed is a list of *specific suggestions*. When they say
"healthy", one parent's 'healthy' may be the school's idea of 'weird and
unpalatable', and another parent's 'healthy' may be the school's idea of 'prime
example of the disasterous western diet'.

Cases in example from when my son attended a Montessori kinder - he was not
allowed to eat the Fritos I packed for lunch, although I routinely use them in
my cooking (Frito pie and the like). On the other hand, one suggestion they did
offer when I pressed for specifics was a jelly sandwich. Right - just jelly.
Which to me is bare carbohydrate extravaganza, and very unhealthy as the
centerpiece of a lunch. Go figure.

I honesty forget what I did for the required snack days - it was something
prepackaged and lots of *real juice*. I was getting sick and tired of seeing my
kid with a food-dyed mouth from the cheap mixed kid's drinks - and there's yet
another puzzling contradiction in what I and they think are acceptably healthy!

If they have parents of South Asian or Southeast Asian background, they're not
going to get much ethnic + peanut free from them.

So my advice is to get specific suggestions from the preschool.

Banty

[Anmari]

Hi. I have found that this snack protocol, while difficult at first, helps
in packing healthy, energy-building snacks that kids need for busy days at
school. 100% fruit juice will cover one food group, and that can be
accompanied by many kinds of healthy and varied crackers, newtons, hummus
and pita (many kids love this), carrot sticks, graham crackers, bread and
jam, cereal bar, rice or corn cake, raisins, trail mix mixed especially by
you, dried fruit, a bit of cereal, yogurt cup, veggie mix (a dip makes this
more appealing).... Hope this helps you out.
Anmari

--
Anmari Kicza
Paths of Learning
http://www.PathsOfLearning.net
email:

"Karen G" > wrote in message
...
> I made it through preschool orientation today. Yay!! Daughter #1 took
> off and didn't even wonder where I went when the parent meeting started.
> Her only concern was regarding the bathroom. All of the paperwork is
> in, they know about her minor allergies. Now we just have to get
> started on Monday.
>
> The snack requirements are a bit more than I expected. We have to bring
> a nutritious snack (drink and snack) that covers more than one food
> group. No cookies, cake or other "dessert" type of snack is permitted.
> We cannot include peanuts in our snack. What would you take in this
> situation? Is this requirement common? Is my daughter going to see a
> lot of goldfish and juice?
>
> Karen G
>

[Hillary Israeli]

In >,
Karen G > wrote:

*The snack requirements are a bit more than I expected. We have to bring
*a nutritious snack (drink and snack) that covers more than one food
*group. No cookies, cake or other "dessert" type of snack is permitted.
*We cannot include peanuts in our snack. What would you take in this
*situation? Is this requirement common? Is my daughter going to see a
*lot of goldfish and juice?

I happen to have my copy of our preschool's snack rules sitting right
here. So, FWIW:

--start snack rules--
snack suggestions: fruits, vegetables, mild cheese, crackers, pretzels and
cookies (unopened packages please)

please observe: NO PORK PRODUCTS OR SHELLFISH. We encourage kosher,
healthy foods and thank you in advance for not sending in whole grapes
(cut in half are ok), candy, popcorn, and peanuts.
--end snack rules--

So, when it's my turn, I often send in these vegetable muffins I make - I
don't know if they would count as a "dessert" item, they're full of
zucchini and carrot and are very good with cream cheese :). I also
sometimes send graham crackers, wheat thins and cheese, cheese sticks
(string cheese type things), sliced up apples or grapes...

good luck,
h.


--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large :)

[Robyn Kozierok]

In article >,
Hillary Israeli > wrote:
>
>So, when it's my turn, I often send in these vegetable muffins I make - I
>don't know if they would count as a "dessert" item, they're full of
>zucchini and carrot and are very good with cream cheese :).

Would you post the recipe? :) These sound like a nice "take-along"
snack.

Thanks!
--Robyn

[Karen G]

Comments from the policy list:
Provide foods low in sugar, salt, and fat.
Provide only pure juice or milk to drink. (no punches or ades which
contain sugar)

Here is my list:

fresh or canned fruits
fresh vegetable and dip
crackers, plain or with cheese
muffins
plain or fruit added pancakes or waffles
bagels plain or with cream cheese
cereals, hot and cold
pasta, plain or with sauce
salads, soup
biscuits, toast
yogurt
sandwiches

This list is for morning and afternoon classes, so the heavier snacks
are not surprising.

So, the list is vaguely specific, but leaves plenty of room for error.

Karen G

[Hillary Israeli]

In >,
Robyn Kozierok > wrote:

*In article >,
*Hillary Israeli > wrote:
*>
*>So, when it's my turn, I often send in these vegetable muffins I make - I
*>don't know if they would count as a "dessert" item, they're full of
*>zucchini and carrot and are very good with cream cheese :).
*
*Would you post the recipe? :) These sound like a nice "take-along"
*snack.


OK, I'm cutting and pasting from my archives here. So, this is the base
recipe (which I never really follow):

> >2 c shredded carrots
> >1 c shredded zucchini
> >1 c chopped peeled apple
> >3/4 c flaked coconut
> >1/2 c chopped almonds
> >2 tsp grated orange peel
> >2 c flour
> >1 1/4 c sugar
> >1 Tbls cinnamon
> >2 tsp baking soda
> >1/2 tsp salt
> >3 eggs, lightly beaten
> >3/4 c vegetable oil
> >1 tsp vanilla extract
> >
> >Gently toss together the first 6 ingredients and set aside. In a
> >large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Combine egg, oil and vanilla;
> >stir into dry ingredients just until moistened (batter wil be
> >thick). Fold in vegetable mixture. Fill greased or paper-lined
> >muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 375' F for 20-22 minutes or until
> >they test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to rack.
> >Makes 18 standard size muffins.

What I do is:

> >double the recipe and leave out the
> >the coconut, almonds, and orange peel. While I still used a total of 6
> >cups of shredded veggies, I changed the proportions so it was half
> >zucchini and half carrot. I diced my apples up more finely than I did last
> >time so I think that I actually ended up using a little more apple this
> >time but the difference in that isn't huge.

I also replace about half the oil with applesauce, butternut squash puree,
or something of that sort. I like to add ginger and cardamom and nutmeg,
too, but it depends on my audience and mood. Sometimes I use one less egg
than required because once I did it by accident and it worked fine :)

Using a double batch, I get about 33-36 good sized muffins done perfectly
after 20 min.


--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large :)

[Bobo Bonobo®]

(Tamex) wrote in message >...
> On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 19:03:41 EDT, Karen G
> > wrote:
>
> >I made it through preschool orientation today. Yay!! Daughter #1 took
> >off and didn't even wonder where I went when the parent meeting started.
> >Her only concern was regarding the bathroom. All of the paperwork is
> >in, they know about her minor allergies. Now we just have to get
> >started on Monday.
> >
> >The snack requirements are a bit more than I expected. We have to bring
> >a nutritious snack (drink and snack) that covers more than one food
> >group. No cookies, cake or other "dessert" type of snack is permitted.
> >We cannot include peanuts in our snack. What would you take in this
> >situation? Is this requirement common? Is my daughter going to see a
> >lot of goldfish and juice?

Goldfish are full of unhealthy trans-fats and fruit juice is very
fattening. My pediatrician recommends against ever giving juice.
Whole fruits are good. Juice is not.
>
> Probably, especially if your preschool also has the requirement that
> snacks not be homemade!
>
> Is fruit OK? My daughter liked to bring fruit, and the teachers were
> quite willing to cut it up into the appropriate serving sizes for
> them.

Fruit is great.
>
> Are graham crackers OK? Chocolate graham crakers and milk were
> another favorite preschool snack. Her school didn't really forbid
> cookies, etc., though.

Graham crackers are also full of trans-fats, assuming you buy the
usual commercial brands (Keebler, Nabisco, Sunshine, most store
brands). Graham crackers for a Whole Foods, Wild Oats, etc. are fine.

I am a custodian who cleans preschool rooms, and I've told the
director that there is no way I would send my son there because of the
unhealthy snacks. A shame because it is otherwise a very good school.

--Bryan (Johnny's father)