New Healthy Meal Menu!

To do well in school, children need to eat well. And to make sure that they’re getting the nutrition they need to perform at their best, our new Healthy Meal Menu offers:

• Whole grains – Whole grains increase your children’s consumption of fiber and B vitamins. The USDA recommends making half your grains whole grains.
• Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables – Fruits and vegetables provide vitamins A, C, E, potassium and fiber. They are low in calories and can even help prevent obesity.
• Less juice – We will frequently replace juice with water and low-fat milk. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children drink no more than 4-6 ounces of juice per day. Milk provides children with protein, calcium and magnesium and is more nutrient dense than juice.
• Vegetarian lunch options – Using beans and legumes as a protein source reduces the amount of saturated fat and increases the amount of fiber in your child’s diet.
• Lean proteins – Leaner cuts of meat provide children the protein they need for growth, while limiting the dietary fat.
• An emphasis on multicultural items – Exposing children to a wider variety of foods will increase the vitamins and minerals in their diets and lead to healthier lifelong choices.

Kids can be picky eaters. Especially when they’re in daycare. But studies have shown that the more kids try different foods, the more they like them. That’s another benefit of our Healthy Meal Menu – it exposes kids in daycare to a wide variety of healthy foods. They get to try them. And try them. Before you know it, they like them. And getting kids to like healthy foods not only helps prevent childhood obesity, it also develops the kind of healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.

Our Healthy Meal Menu was created exclusively for The Children’s Courtyard by renowned dietician Nicole Spain. She has been creating delicious, healthy menus for child-care centers for more than 10 years and has three young children of her own.

Here are some of our most popular Healthy Meal Menu items that you can try at home. Just click on the name to view the recipe. Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Calzone
Black Bean Pasta Bake
Chickpea Dip
Two-Grain Rice Pilaf