childcare and meal/snack plans

[afternoonrain]

I just started watching a 2 1/2 year old this week to supplement income. :D

My brain isn't working creatively...help?

Here is a list of what he is NOT allowed to have:

No milk
No Juice
No nuts (because he's never had them.)

Limited sugar (including no crackers, etc.)
Limited Dairy

As a vegetarian, I use a lot of nuts with cooking. I asked his mom yesterday if he could have hummus, since tahini is made with sesame SEEDS. She said yes :) DH only has a bit of chicken about once a week. I also rely on cheese. Thus far, I have been giving him water to drink (of course) fruit as snacks, discovered that he does not like raw vegetables :giggle The first day I gave him baked chicken for lunch. Today I tried a turkey sandwich (we seldom have lunch meat in the house) but he wouldn't eat it.

I tried asking his mom what he usually DOES eat for lunches. she said dinner left-overs and that he's not really picky. I just need help thinking outside of my box.

[veggiemamaof4]

Hmmn...not to add to your troubles, but my 5 year old had a severe and totally out of nowhere allergic reaction to sesame (store-bought hummus) when she was one. And, I have another kid allergic to red meat. Meal time is fun here, too. ;) What I serve often:

Vegetarian veg soup with crackers (Aldi brands), apple
Cream cheese and apple sandwich on a bagel (I love Tofutti cream cheese!), peaches
Rice with veggies and sweet and sour sauce
Pancakes and warmed up all fruit jam watered down with a dash of syrup
Slices of peppers with hummus or dressing (I substitute sunflower seed butter for the tahini), baked chips, fruit
Celery with cream cheese/raisins, wheat crackers, fruit
Oatmeal with dried fruit and sunflower seeds, soymilk
Spaghetti with sneaky tomato sauce (I add cooked/blended carrot and/or spinach sometimes), fruit
Sunflower seed butter and jelly sandwiches, pretzels, fruit
Quesadillas with black beans and tomato, rice, fruit
Corn tostada with sour cream, lettuce, tomato--she likes to build her own--rice, beans
Flour tortilla with cream cheese and veggies rolled up--will eat if she makes her own ;), fruit

Take care, and good luck! And, a bowl of enriched cold cereal as lunch never did my kids any harm. :)

[afternoonrain]

Thanks Veggiemamaof4..I think I'll use a lot of those ideas for our family dinners. :)

His mom looked like she may have a heart attack when I mentioned that I gave him a tiny bit of cream cheese...so that gave me a gauge of how limited his dairy is. Basically, if it's something like bread, that has egg or milk in it, it is okay. She said he can have soy on very very rare occasion..which I use rarely anyway. Rice milk as a very very special treat only. No cereal, no crackers, or a lot of sauces (ketchup, etc) b/c of the sugar in them... Maybe I can do spaghetti tomorrow.

I regret telling her that I was open to accomodating his diet...*I can't get the beats head against brick wall smiley...but insert here*

It's odd to me that he asks for milk, juice, cheese, etc all.day.long if he doesn't get them at home...

*Pardon my frustration. Miss almost four has a HUGE attitude today about him even being here. Someone please tell me that providing childcare is a lot different that actually having more than one of your own..:shifty

[Learnin'2B]

when I did childcare our staple meals were:
breakfast:
cooked steel cut or rolled oats with raisins and cinnamon, along with cut up and peeled orange slices
whole wheat toast and eggs
cream cheese on whole wheat toast
malto meal

lunch:
Fisher Boy fish sticks (with ingredients I usually don't purchase, but they are fast, taste good and please everyone) with steamed frozen mixed vegetables and crackers
PB & J on whole wheat (No HFCS in any of it) with sliced fruit: pear/apple (sliced and cubed or even slivered for toddlers)
grilled cheese and vegetables or fruit
soup

snacks:
cheese sticks
fruit
crackers
veggie sticks and dip
yogurt or fruit smoothie

[Rabbit]

She's not giving you a lot of information to work with.

[veggiemamaof4]

Geez...I send breakfast and lunch with my children when my neighbor has them...maybe you could change your policy? Or ask her for specific meal ideas? Just looking out for YOUR sanity! And, it is odd that he asks for "forbidden" foods all day long...

Miss almost four is probably jealous...she'll most likely be fine with it sooner or later. My kids are ages 7,5,4, and 2. When more come over to play it isn't harder, just different. When they are your own the dynamic between them and with you IS totally different.

Hang in there! :)

[afternoonrain]

She's not giving you a lot of information to work with.

:think That's what I was thinking...although I thought there might be some more "traditional" meat foods that I wasn't thinking of...although a lot of "traditional" foods are excluded from his diet.

[ShangriLewis]

I would let her know you can accommodate. But, you need a list of foods he can eat. Have you seen muffin tin Mondays? There are always some fun ideas there.

I think the age of nut introduction has been moved to 3.

---------- Post added at 11:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 AM ----------

You should be able to find safe crackers, ketchup etc. Can she just provide you with a lunch dish. If he usually eats leftovers anyway. She could bring you a small dish every few days. You could supplement with rice milk, fruit, veggies, olives, frozen peas...

My two year olds don't usually eat much though.

[Rabbit]

Can you plan out his meals a week in advance and have her look over the list? Or give her a list of what your family will be eating, and work together on how to tweak it to accommodate him?

[afternoonrain]

Veggiemamaof4 Thanks for the encouragement. I know she's jealous. It IS different for her. This is her house, with HER toys and things, and HER mama. Very different from church and other social outings. I've never seen her push, shove, take toys out of a child's hand, tackle, and have such HUGE feelings before. I've tried to give her a safety net in a few areas, like telling her that any "special" toys that she'd prefer M not play with can stay in her room (although we did have a discussion when she tried to take all of the toys into her room :giggle)

I'm charging this mama almost double what some people in my area charge for childcare for being (AP, GD, cloth diaper friendly, etc) and included meals in that weekly price. So, I'm not going to ask her to send anything. I did ask her to make a list of foods that M is comfortable with/likes to eat/is allowed to eat. Rabbit I took your suggestion as well (thanks!) and told her that with her list as a guide, I can make out a weekly meal plan for her to review and change as needed.

Thanks for all of your replies!