Winter Recipe Ideas for Kids
With grocery stores able to sell most fruits and veggies all year long, it’s easy to forget the importance of seasonal foods! Incorporating seasonal foods into your child care program’s menu is budget-friendly, tastes excellent, and provides variety. Not only that, but seasonal foods also open the door to fantastic opportunities for conversation with children about weather and seasons, gardening, or trying new foods!
During the fall and winter seasons, we can introduce children to foods like sweet corn, apples, sweet potatoes, beets, brussel sprouts, pumpkins, winter squash, and more! This link shares more foods that are best enjoyed in the fall. Fruits and Vegetables in Season in Fall (thespruceeats.com)
With all the great reasons to incorporate seasonal foods into your program’s menu, it’s easy to see that seasonal recipes are good for your children’s mind and appetite!
5 Easy Winter Recipe Ideas
Here are five easy recipe ideas you can try this month to highlight some of this season’s fruits and vegetables.
Baked Carrot Fries with Yogurt-Sunflower Seed Butter Dip Baked Carrot Fries with Yogurt-Sunflower Seed Butter Dip
USDA Recipe for Child Care Centers – Child Nutrition Recipe Box (theicn.org)
Baked Sweet Potatoes and Apples Baked Sweet Potatoes and Apples USDA Recipe for Child Care Centers
Berry Medley and Quinoa Breakfast Bake Berry Medley and Quinoa Breakfast Bake
USDA Recipe for Child Care Centers – Child Nutrition Recipe Box (theicn.org)
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Sauce Roasted Spaghetti Squash With Tomato Sauce
USDA Recipe for Family Child Care Centers – Child Nutrition Recipe Box (theicn.org)
If you don’t have one already, consider how your program might benefit from a recurring cycle menu! Cycle menus help you save time meal planning, preparing food, and grocery shopping. They also give parents of children with food allergies advance notice to allow for accommodation if the planned menu includes one of their child’s allergens.
Child Care Health Consultants can help you develop a recurring meal plan that fits your program’s needs and your children’s tastes! We can also help you update your menu to stay current with the freshest foods of each season!
