preschool snacks

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

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

(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)