Guest guest Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 My home day care provider is a wonderful lady and she gets a lot of government dollars for her business, basically she is on a food program that covers all her food costs. However, since my daughter is a vegetarian, my day care lady is having a tough time determing what is going to meet the protein requires the state has in place for my daughter. Currently, my baby girl is 6 months and the state wants her to be eating solids and x amount of protein by the time she is one. I don't want my day care provider to lose money because the government doesn't have options for vegetarians that are acceptable. Plus, the costs of the food is probably going to be on us...if we can't find a substitute I'm not sure if others have had similar experiences or not... day care is expensive as is and add on the extra cost just because we choose to be vegetarian doesn't seem very fair to me.... the government needs to get with the times. Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 When my daughter was a baby I brought breastmilk and later soy formula to the provider's house. Other than the milk she only fed her lunch. I brought a box of rice or oatmeal cereal to leave at the sitters and she just added the formula to it there. And she then ate maybe a jar or two of baby food. Like I mentioned before my daughter pretty much lived on baby food jars or soft foods like mashed potatoes or veggies that I pureed myself until she was 2 years old. The cost of bringing lunch for a baby or small child is really minimal. As my daughter got older I started packing her lunch like going to school though because I wanted her to start getting used to the lunchbox idea (sandwich, yogurt, fruit, and juice - you can also do silk but that starts to get expensive). Several months in my daughter told me she hated hummus - then I started getting more creative with sandwiches so she wasn't eating the same things everyday. Now she eats smartdogs baked in crescent rolls, pb & j (which I didn't give her in the beginning because I despise), hummus on pita bread with carrot shred or small broccoli florets, smartdeli bologna or turkey slices cut in triangles with crackers. And we finally got her a thermos so we can send other stuff besides sandwiches as the main entree -- soups (if you buy a can of say Amy's chickenless noodle soup you can split it in half and send one half and then 2-3 days later send the other half in the thermos and then the next week get a different flavor of soup I wouldn't do soup more than 2x a week though), beans, and chili. Yogurts we try to alternate flavours so she isn't eating the same flavour everyday. And I may send veggies with hummus to dip in instead of yogurt occasionally to mix things up. She likes hummus again she just didn't want it almost everyday. And we buy a variety of fruits (like grapes or bananas, and canned fruits like pineapple or pears) so she can have different fruits on a day to day basis. Renee snehalstocks <snehalstocks Wednesday, January 3, 2007 4:26:07 PM Veggie options for Day Care Providers... My home day care provider is a wonderful lady and she gets a lot of government dollars for her business, basically she is on a food program that covers all her food costs. However, since my daughter is a vegetarian, my day care lady is having a tough time determing what is going to meet the protein requires the state has in place for my daughter. Currently, my baby girl is 6 months and the state wants her to be eating solids and x amount of protein by the time she is one. I don't want my day care provider to lose money because the government doesn't have options for vegetarians that are acceptable. Plus, the costs of the food is probably going to be on us...if we can't find a substitute I'm not sure if others have had similar experiences or not... day care is expensive as is and add on the extra cost just because we choose to be vegetarian doesn't seem very fair to me.... the government needs to get with the times. Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated! 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Guest guest Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Ask how she would approach it if your child had an allergy. And how much is the X of protein? Babies don't need that much protein. How does the government check on this? And how does the government deal with the fact that kids don't always eat what you set in front of them? My daughter was in a large day care facility for about four months (July through October 06) starting at age2. Because it was a large facility, they were equipped to handle any request/requirement (plus they were really nice people). Perhaps you could call a larger facility and ask what they would require in your case just so you can compare to the private home situation. Because I told my provider Eva couldn't have dairy and they didn't give her dairy, and they asked me if certain items were okay (i.e. the pancake batter has milk, can she have it?) Plus, parents had the menus. They hung the dietary restrictions of each child on the wall, and some had massive lists relating to everything from gluten to eggs to no red dye. BUT if I wanted my daughter to have soy milk, I would have had to provide it. Instead, she ate her cereal dry. I'm not saying put your child in a different care situation, but investigating what they would do could allow you to offer suggestions without reinventing the wheel. Also, consider what you feed her at home. In my mind, the two should be the same. But the government might know better than me, I'm just a mom. Angel >My home day care provider is a wonderful lady and she gets a lot of >government dollars for her business, basically she is on a food >program that covers all her food costs. > >However, since my daughter is a vegetarian, my day care lady is >having a tough time determing what is going to meet the protein >requires the state has in place for my daughter. Currently, my baby >girl is 6 months and the state wants her to be eating solids and x >amount of protein by the time she is one. I don't want my day care >provider to lose money because the government doesn't have options >for vegetarians that are acceptable. Plus, the costs of the food is >probably going to be on us...if we can't find a substitute > >I'm not sure if others have had similar experiences or not... day >care is expensive as is and add on the extra cost just because we >choose to be vegetarian doesn't seem very fair to me.... the >government needs to get with the times. > >Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated! > >Thanks! > > > >For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG >website at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful >for families go to http://www.vrg.org/family.This is a discussion >list and is not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical >advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. > >edical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified >health professional. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 I worked in a daycare/preschool center for almost two years. My daughter attended as a preshooler and we had the same problem. The USDA food Program will reimburse the provider so much money for each child within their guidelines. Unfortunately, they don't consider things like Boca burgers, or veggie meat substitutes as a complete protein. The only thing I could give her to " fit " their guidelines was cheese. I am not vegan so this was not a problem that way, but how many times can a kid eat cheese before they start to hate it? They also said she could use peanut butter but my little girl would have to eat 1/4 cup of it per sitting. That's alot of peanut butter. So, we had our hands tied and I had to feed her cheese everyday. We came up with creative ways with it but it was very difficult. The provider also had to provide the USDA with records of every meal replacement we did to get her money. I think that the USDA needs to wise up and realize that there is a growing population of vegetarians/vegans in this country who are not going to sit idle and be stepped on. Maybe we should start a petition. snehalstocks <snehalstocks wrote: My home day care provider is a wonderful lady and she gets a lot of government dollars for her business, basically she is on a food program that covers all her food costs. However, since my daughter is a vegetarian, my day care lady is having a tough time determing what is going to meet the protein requires the state has in place for my daughter. Currently, my baby girl is 6 months and the state wants her to be eating solids and x amount of protein by the time she is one. I don't want my day care provider to lose money because the government doesn't have options for vegetarians that are acceptable. Plus, the costs of the food is probably going to be on us...if we can't find a substitute I'm not sure if others have had similar experiences or not... day care is expensive as is and add on the extra cost just because we choose to be vegetarian doesn't seem very fair to me.... the government needs to get with the times. Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 When my first child was 1 1/2, I was in a similiar situation. Unfortuately, I ended up supplying the additional soy milk and other food. After some time though, she was kind of inspired, and in wanting to provide more nutritious meals for her children and the other " day care " kids, looked for veggie options when she went shopping for the day care food. She found Meatless Nuggets, and only told my son they weren't chicken,since the other kids wouldn't even question the difference. She showed me the boxes and packages of anything new. I did still supply the soymilk, but I found it was worth it since he had a bad reaction to regular milk. That was the first time he really drank it was at her house, so I didn't want to chance him being sick. Also, veggie soups and beans worked well. It seemed like with most new experiences, people who aren't used to preparing veg just don't know where to start. I am always shocked initially when people ask me what I eat, if I don't eat meat. Strange, but it's just something they have to reconsider. Be prepared for the next issue, the other kids won't want to eat meat either. Who would? Especially if you see things as clearly as children do. Best of luck! Janeen snehalstocks <snehalstocks wrote: My home day care provider is a wonderful lady and she gets a lot of government dollars for her business, basically she is on a food program that covers all her food costs. However, since my daughter is a vegetarian, my day care lady is having a tough time determing what is going to meet the protein requires the state has in place for my daughter. Currently, my baby girl is 6 months and the state wants her to be eating solids and x amount of protein by the time she is one. I don't want my day care provider to lose money because the government doesn't have options for vegetarians that are acceptable. Plus, the costs of the food is probably going to be on us...if we can't find a substitute I'm not sure if others have had similar experiences or not... day care is expensive as is and add on the extra cost just because we choose to be vegetarian doesn't seem very fair to me.... the government needs to get with the times. Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 My son's daycare (and my daughter's kindergarten) has a set menu each month and I go through it and figure out what he can eat each day and then supplement with food from home as needed. Some days his whole lunch is from home, other days his whole lunch is from the school. When he first started there I would highlight a menu for the teacher in addition to having made a list of foods he didn't eat that they keep in the office. I also sometimes include notes in his bag, like telling them to serve him the days veggie to go along with the food that I provided. , " snehalstocks " <snehalstocks wrote: > > My home day care provider is a wonderful lady and she gets a lot of > government dollars for her business, basically she is on a food > program that covers all her food costs. > > However, since my daughter is a vegetarian, my day care lady is > having a tough time determing what is going to meet the protein > requires the state has in place for my daughter. Currently, my baby > girl is 6 months and the state wants her to be eating solids and x > amount of protein by the time she is one. I don't want my day care > provider to lose money because the government doesn't have options > for vegetarians that are acceptable. Plus, the costs of the food is > probably going to be on us...if we can't find a substitute > > I'm not sure if others have had similar experiences or not... day > care is expensive as is and add on the extra cost just because we > choose to be vegetarian doesn't seem very fair to me.... the > government needs to get with the times. > > Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated! > > Thanks! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 This is similar to what we've done. Whenever we've taken our son to my in-law's house (they just claim to have no clue about anything) we always have packed him a special lunchbox. We pack it with the things he'd eat at our house, and still, at 3.5yrs old, it's not really much extra cost. Same thing with anywhere we go (the zoo, friends houses, etc.). It's just easier because we know our son has a dairy allergy and has for a long time, so we don't have to question, read labels or make anyone else feel bad because they don't have anything our son can have. Planning is a bit tricky, but you can plan ahead (the night before) and pack it up. There is this lovely book that just came out - Laptop Lunchbox that's by a vegan mom (I read the blog she has all the time - http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/). It's quite inspirational. I know we don't all have the time, but the menu options/choices are amazing, and I've springboarded from her stuff when I've been out of ideas on my own. I'm not sure how much more it costs if you are feeding your child anyway, as we can make a sandwich, give fruit and some vegies, and we can usually use the other half for a 'snack' later in the day as he only eats about half a sandwich right now. Your daughter is still pretty young at 6mo's - so she should still be eating MOSTLY breastmilk or formula for her daily needs. I'm not sure what else there would be besides tofu, mashed up garbanzos or other beans to fill those needs (but even for tofu, I think you have to wait until I think she's 9-10 mo's old or something). Whole grain/whole wheat crackers and breads have protein, peanut butter is not recommended till kids are like at least 3 now (our family doc. wasn't concerned, and we got the OK at 1yr old -as we don't have those allergies in our family, just dairy on my husband's side). I'm not sure what else they expect her to eat...tofu and beans/legumes should meet the protein standards by the time she's 1. Even the soy cheeses (heck even soymilk instead of cow milk once she can have that) should make up for some of it on that end, but that's a long way away. Could you find a revised food pyramid for vegetarians, I think there is one for kids out there. We have the regular one, but we tell our son what we eat instead of what they list. My son only ever really ate what we made, just blended/mashed to his liking (and we found he really didn't stay in the babyfood stage all that long - he refused to have us feed him, so we had to come up with sandwiches he could eat (cut up into tiny bite sized pieces he could feed himself) by the time he was 10mo's old or something. It was crazy. Nothing puree'd or in any form resembling baby food (even applesauce - we had to cut very super thin and small if he were to eat it. LOL. Not that that helps you, but it didnt' really last as long as we though. Feeding him what we ate, minus spices, or very little spices really wasn't very hard, and I don't think for the amounts he ate that it was all that much more expensive for what we were already getting. Just make an extra serving of whatever, and blend/mash/whatever to your child's taste. I guess that wouldn't help your DCP get her $, but does she not get it if ALL the children are not eating her food? I'd think it's not really up to you. I agree with another person about asking how they deal with allergies, as even if we weren't vegetarians/vegan my son could not have any form of dairy (and it's in TONS of foods/breads/crackers/etc. We never really knew until his allergy really presented around 10mo's old - looking back, of course, it was definately present the whole time). Anyway, I hope that some of this is helpful. I hope you can figure something out with your DCP, as this sounds really frustrating, and good people are hard to find. Good luck! Missie On 1/3/07, Renee Carroll <renecarol25 wrote: > > When my daughter was a baby I brought breastmilk and later soy formula > to the provider's house. Other than the milk she only fed her lunch. I > brought a box of rice or oatmeal cereal to leave at the sitters and she just > added the formula to it there. And she then ate maybe a jar or two of baby > food. Like I mentioned before my daughter pretty much lived on baby food > jars or soft foods like mashed potatoes or veggies that I pureed myself > until she was 2 years old. The cost of bringing lunch for a baby or small > child is really minimal. As my daughter got older I started packing her > lunch like going to school though because I wanted her to start getting used > to the lunchbox idea (sandwich, yogurt, fruit, and juice - you can also do > silk but that starts to get expensive). Several months in my daughter told > me she hated hummus - then I started getting more creative with sandwiches > so she wasn't eating the same things everyday. Now she eats smartdogs baked > in crescent rolls, > pb & j (which I didn't give her in the beginning because I despise), hummus > on pita bread with carrot shred or small broccoli florets, smartdeli bologna > or turkey slices cut in triangles with crackers. And we finally got her a > thermos so we can send other stuff besides sandwiches as the main entree -- > soups (if you buy a can of say Amy's chickenless noodle soup you can split > it in half and send one half and then 2-3 days later send the other half in > the thermos and then the next week get a different flavor of soup I wouldn't > do soup more than 2x a week though), beans, and chili. Yogurts we try to > alternate flavours so she isn't eating the same flavour everyday. And I may > send veggies with hummus to dip in instead of yogurt occasionally to mix > things up. She likes hummus again she just didn't want it almost everyday. > And we buy a variety of fruits (like grapes or bananas, and canned fruits > like pineapple or pears) so she can have different fruits on a day to day > basis. > Renee > > > > -- I'm all out of bubblegum. -- http://mszzzi.creepy.net/Dexter/gallery http://www.flickr.com/photos/mszzzi/ http://mszzzi.evite.shutterfly.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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