Smart Shopping Tips for Food Groups

Meats:
* Chicken, turkey, and chuck cuts are usually good buys.
* Light tuna is one of the least expensive kinds of canned fish.
* Eggs make good main dishes.
Milk:
* Use nonfat dry milk or evaporated milk in cooking.
* Buy yogurt in larger containers rather than single-serving containers.
Fruits and Vegetables:
* Buy fresh produce in season for best prices.
* Buy only the amount you can use.
* Compare prices of frozen and canned fruit and vegetables to fresh.
* Buy juice in large containers.
Grains:
* Buy generic brand cereals that are unsweetened.
* Check unit pricing. Usually the heaviest size cereal will cost less per ounce but not always.
* Buy long-cooking rice rather than instant.

Note: Sweets can be expensive. It is best to limit them, since most are low in nutrients, and eating too many sweets may lead to tooth decay.

Senate Hearing on Child Nutrition Programs

On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry held a hearing "Reauthorization of U.S. Child Nutrition Programs: Opportunities to Fight Hunger and Improve Child Health." The hearing focused on the upcoming reauthorization of federal child nutrition programs and the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual report on hunger and food insecurity, "Household Food Security in the U.S., 2008" that details the number of American households who experience food insecurity at some point during the year. Chairman Lincoln (D-AR) stated during the hearing that the committee will take the necessary steps during reauthorization to ensure that all children eligible for federal child nutrition programs have access to them; improve the nutritional quality of the meal benefits provided through child nutrition programs; and modernize and improve the integrity of child nutrition programs. For information about the hearing, including testimony, click here: http://ag.senate.gov/site/calendar.html. To view the U.S. Department of Agriculture report click here: http://www.ers.usda.gov/features/householdfoodsecurity/.

Junk Food vs. Healthy Nutrition For Children

I found a great article on this topic here... http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9522

This would be great to print out and share with the families in your care.

Hope this is helpful.

Food can be a choking hazard

A hazard you may encounter while feeding small children is choking. We are all aware that children commonly put small objects in their mouths that can easily cause them to end up choking, putting their lives at risk. However, it can be a little difficult to gauge when a child may encounter a problem with swallowing food that results in choking. You don't want to compromise nutrition, but you have to consider if certain healthy foods may pose a choking hazard.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, some of the most common foods that cause choking are chunks of meat or cheese, peanuts, popcorn, hard, sticky, or gooey candy, seeds, raw vegetables, whole grapes, and hot dogs, raisins, chewing gum, and chunks of peanut butter.

Being CPR and First Aid certified will keep you best equipped to handle any choking situation, but the main goal is to prevent it from happening in the first place. This can be done by taking several precautions. To begin with, never leave children unattended during breakfast, snack, or lunch time. Always monitor them closely as they eat so that you can react to any signs of choking or aspiration. Additionally, never feed children unless they are seated properly in an upright, stationary position. Children that try to eat while moving around or lying down have a greater chance of accidentally choking. Furthermore, since children under the age of 4 do not have a full set of teeth, it is always best to cut round, firm foods into small ½ inch size pieces.

The Real Scoop on Sugars

I Found this article in the Healthy Child Care Library located at http://www.healthychild.net/NutritionAction.php?article_id=466

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published by the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, makes this recommendation for everyone, including children: Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars.

As childcare providers, you need to be concerned about sugar intake, for the children in your care and for yourself. But how can you be sure you are moderating sugar intake? Should you look for the term “sugar” on food labels?

What about other ingredients, like high fructose corn syrup--could they contain sugars? What food substances are classified as sugars? These and other questions are best answered when you understand the role of glucose in the body and the role of sugars in food.

Bodies Need Sugar
The body needs sugar, but the key phrase in the dietary guidelines is “to moderate.” The body uses a simple sugar molecule (glucose) as the preferred energy source for every function in all body cells.

In fact, glucose is the only fuel the brain uses under normal, healthy circumstances. Other body parts can use fat, but they prefer glucose. Therefore, glucose is essential and regularly circulates throughout the body in the bloodstream.

When you think about sugar in food, you may picture white table sugar (sucrose) derived from cane or sugar beets. But the term “sugar” includes much more.

There are four simple sugars in the food supply: glucose, fructose, galactose, and mannose.

Foods containing carbohydrates are the primary source of glucose, although some proteins also can supply it. Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruits. Galactose is found in the lactose of milk and milk products. Mannose is not found in many foods and is not of nutritional importance.

The more complex forms of carbohydrates are found primarily in plant products as starches. When eaten and digested, starches are broken down into small fragments of glucose.

These fragments are further broken down into glucose itself. Starches supply much more glucose for energy and since they take longer to digest, eating starches does not give an immediate boost as when eating foods with sucrose (i.e., “table sugar”).

Adding Sugars to Food

Sugars are found naturally in many foods; they also are added to many products. In addition to improving the taste and smell of foods, sugars contribute to food quality and safety, especially in baked goods and other processed foods.

For example, sugars serve as an energy source for yeast for leavening baked goods. Sugars also give texture to these products, and as foods brown, sugars add color. Finally, sugars preserve foods by binding water so microbes cannot grow.

Read the Label

Rarely do you see the word glucose on food labels. If it is in a food by itself, it is listed by the name dextrose. Labels generally mention carbohydrates, corn syrup, and terms such as sucrose or fructose. Foods can include both naturally-occurring as well as added sugars. Some people think it is better to use one kind of sugar instead of another, such as raw sugar or molasses instead of white sugar. The body treats glucose the same no matter where it comes from.

Some of the terms for added sugar ingredients in processed and prepared foods include white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugars, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, maple syrup, pancake syrup, fructose sweetener, liquid fructose, honey, molasses, anhydrous dextrose (another name for glucose), crystal dextrose, and sucrose.

When reading the label to determine a product’s sugar content, you must consider any and all of these terms. The more the label lists, the more sugar in that product.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Fructose is sometimes considered healthier because of its natural origin in fruits. Many people believe that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is nutritionally acceptable.

Fructose and glucose both supply energy to body cells. High fructose corn syrup is a mixture of glucose and fructose produced from corn. Years ago, HFCS was 80 percent fructose and 20 percent glucose, hence the term ‘High.’ Today, the most common form of HFCS has 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose, almost identical to the equal mix of 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose found in white sugar (sucrose).

Some people have suggested that HFCS might be contributing to the obesity problem in the U.S. It is true that HFCS is found in carbonated and other sweetened drinks and that our consumption of these beverages has increased.

However, Mexico also has experienced a rise in obesity rates, and HFCS is banned from their food supply. The increase in weight may be due to over consumption of calories and lack of exercise and not just use of HFCS.

Moderating the Amount of Sugars

Sugars are not bad--they just need to be consumed in moderation. One way to moderate the amount of sugar you serve children (and yourself) is to examine food labels, specifically the ingredients section and the Nutrition Facts Panel.

The ingredients section identifies what sugars are in the food. It also lists the ingredients in the order of how much is in the food. This helps you compare brands of the same food as well as different kinds of foods.

For example, one brand of baked beans may have brown sugar listed as the second ingredient, while another has it listed as the fifth ingredient. Therefore, it is more likely that the second brand has less brown sugar than the first one. But look out for other ingredients that might mean “sugar” as explained earlier.

The Nutrient Facts panel will provide the actual amount of sugars in one serving of the food. It is very important when comparing these panels to make certain the serving sizes of both foods are the same, and if not, do some calculations, so that you can tell which product has less sugar.

Here are other ways to moderate the amount of sugars in your diet:
Prepared breakfast cereals often contain added sugars. Avoid high-sugar cereals by using the WIC standard of six grams or less per serving to ensure you are choosing the healthier cereal.

Choose fruits canned in their own syrup instead of in sweetened syrup.

Serve water or skim/low-fat milk instead of soda, sweetened drinks, and juice. Even 100 percent fruit juices contain a lot of sugar (fructose).

Remember, the recommendation is to moderate sugar intake, not eliminate sugars entirely from the diet. A little good sense, planning ahead, and shopping carefully will help you meet the guideline and make the children in your care happy and healthful eaters.

Madeleine Sigman-Grant,PhD, RDProfessor and Area Extension Specialist
Resources
Sugar Association, 1300 L St., NW, Ste. 1001, Washington, D.C. 20005; 202-785-1122; http://www.sugar.org/

Internet Resources
10 Ways to Cut Sugar, yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/top-10-ways-cut-back-on-sugar.html
Lower Sugar Intake, www.rd.com/living-healthy/lower-your-sugar-intake/article15980.html
My Pyramid, http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/discretionary_calories_sugars.%20html
Sugar and Children’s Diets, www.drgreene.com/21_42.html
Healthy Childcare® Home Page Library Search Questions & Answers Study GuidesLinks I Am Amazing Hip On Health Health & Safety Resource Guide Order FormProduct Spotlight Free Issue Publisher's Letter Contact Us Author Guidelines
HEALTHY CHILD PUBLICATIONSPO Box 624, Harbor Springs MI, 49740Fax: 231-526-0428 • Phone: 877-258-6178 or 231-526-6342email: info@healthychild.net Click here to download a printable order form
google_protectAndRun("render_ads.js::google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);

Managing Food Allergies in Childcare

I found this great article that you might find interesting. Hope that you enjoy!

http://www.healthychild.net/NutritionAction.php?article_id=507

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT H1N1?


Attend a free training on H1N1 on Tuesday, October 27 from 6:30-8:30 pm.
Please contact Joslyn at (317)636-5727 ext. 257 to register and get location information.

I was visiting Disney FamilyFun.com and thought you'd enjoy this:

These are great ideas for creating fun meals and snacks with the children.

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/holiday-seasonal-recipes/halloween-recipes/halloweensnacks-treats/hot-dog-mummies-715031/

Indianapolis Expo

Bebe Paluzza Productions Presents:

Indy Baby and Toddler Expo

"Everything from Bellies to Tots" TM

Indiana's Largest and Premiere Baby and Toddler Expo Show TM

Location: Indiana State Fairgrounds- Toyota Blue Ribbon Pavilion

Dates: Saturday, October 17 from 10:00am-5:00pm

and

Sunday, October 18 from 11:00am-4:00pm

Admission: General-$7.00

Grandparents-Half price

Children 5 and under are FREE

www.indybabyexpo.com

Child Obesity Fight Shifts To Day Care - Staying Healthy News Story - WRTV Indianapolis"
The link:
http://www.theindychannel.com/health/21272762/detail.html?taf=ind

Did You Know?

Tables must be clean before they can be sanitized. This means cleaning debris from the table with a soap and water solution. Only then, could the tables be sanitized by wiping or spraying with the sanitizing solution. Use the cloth on one table, rinse it in the sanitizing solution, and then move on to the next surface. Sanitizing more than one surface without rinsing the cloth is not acceptable. ~Department of Ed.

Day Nursery recommends using paper towels instead of a cloth. If you use a cloth, you can only use it for one cleaning!

Enrollment Forms

Just a quick reminder that for the OCTOBER claims, remember to have all of your children's green 2010 forms turned into the office with your September claim!

Dangers of Hand Sanitizer

With flu season upon us, I wanted to take a moment to remind you of the dangers associated with alcohol based hand sanitizers. One of our staff members got an email from her mother today and we wanted to find out if these horror stories were in fact true. According to snopes.com they are. Although the specific anecdotes in the email were not verified, snopes reports that there are documented cases of alcohol poisoning and intoxication associated with hand sanitizer. Remember that this is a form of alcohol (ethyl alchol) that causes intoxication, not isopropyl alcohol commonly used for sanitizing injection areas.

Snopes goes on to say that ingesting as little as an ounce or two could be fatal to a toddler. So please remember to keep these products out of the reach of the little ones this fall and winter, and if you allow them to use it, do not let them ingest any and keep an eye on them until they have rubbed it in and the alcohol has evaportated.

If You Are Blue - watch this!

MEDIA ADVISORY
Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Communications Division Mica Perry, Communications Director 317.232.1292 or mperry@cji.in.gov Kelly Scott, Communications Manager 317.232.1056 or kescott@cji.in.gov
“Protect Your Precious Cargo: September 12-19, 2009 is Child Passenger Safety Week.” 101 W. Washington Street; Suite 1170 E ● Indianapolis, IN. 46204 ● 317.232.1295 Dr. T. Neil Moore, executive director www.in.gov/cji

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2009

Free Clinic Reminds Indiana Parents, Caregivers to Protect Their Precious Cargo

What: In an effort to raise awareness about Indiana’s Child Passenger Safety law, the Governor’s Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving will conduct a free child safety seat clinic to kickoff Child Passenger Safety Week (September 12-19) in Indiana.
Staff from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI), the Automotive Safety Program, the Marion County Traffic Safety Partnership, Indiana SafeKids, the Indiana State Police, and Day Nursery will be on hand to provide parents and caregivers with valuable information about the life saving benefits of proper child restraint use.

When: Monday, September 14, 2009

Where: Orr Parkway Island, Robert D. Orr Plaza off West Street (near Indiana Government Center North).

Who: Representatives from ICJI and partnering agencies, including the Automotive Safety Program, the Marion County Traffic Safety Partnership, Indiana SafeKids, Indiana State Police, and Day Nursery will be available for media interviews.

Media Availability Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (EST).

Note: Seat inspections are by appointment only from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. To register, contact (317) 327-5356. A mock child safety seat inspection and “Spot the Tot” demonstration will be conducted for media during the availability period.
-30-

information for parents

http://www.nfsmi.org/documentlibraryfiles/PDF/20090702092253.pdf


Follow this link for CACFP parent information poster.

Nutrition web sites

FirstGov for ConsumersA "one-stop" link to a broad range of federal information resources available online. See Food and Health links for information on nutrition and disease-related topics.

Food and Nutrition Topics from A to ZThis USDA site lets you search food and nutrition topics in both simple and detailed ways. Include topics from A to Z.

Glossary of Obesity, Physical Activity and Weight ControlWeight Control Information Network provides definitions of many terms used on this site.

Interactive Tool BoxThe USDA Interactive Toolbox contains links to Web sites that allow consumers and professionals to input information and receive individual feedback to help with dietary assessment and planning, checking personal health risks, testing knowledge, and evaluating needs.

Make Your Calories CountThis presentation from the USDA helps explain the basics of the nutrition facts label.
Mayo Clinic, Healthy Living Centers* http://www.mayoclinic.com/findinformation/healthylivingcenter/index.cfmInformation and tools about a variety of health topics from Mayo Clinic, including nutrition and healthy recipes.

MyPyramid.govThe new Department of Agriculture (USDA) food pyramid replaces "one size fits all" with a customizable eating plan. Explore the new pyramid to learn about the food groups and to see how much you need to eat.

MyPyramid TrackerMyPyramid Tracker is Department of Agriculture's (USDA) online dietary and physical activity assessment tool that provides information on your diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages, and links to nutrient and physical activity information.

Portion Distortion!To see if you know how today's portions compare to the portions available 20 years ago, quiz yourself on National Institutes of Health (NIH) Portion Distortion.

Nutrition Education Activity

In this activity, children will learn how sweet potatoes grow and why they are a healthful food choice.

Activity Instructions:

1. The teacher or older children can stick tooth picks around the middle of a raw sweet potato.

2. The teacher should fill paper or styrofoam cups with water (one cup per child).

3. The teacher or older children can suspend the sweet potato in a cup of water using the toothpicks. The bottom half of the sweet potato should be in the water.

4. The teacher should place the cup holding the potato near a window to get light.

5. The teacher and/or older children should add water as needed to keep the cup full of water. Children can watch the potatoes sprout.

Teaching Points:

Use the following teaching points to talk to children about sweet potatoes as they watch their plants sprout.

* Talk about how sweet potatoes grow. Tell them that sweet potatoes grow in the ground like the roots of a tree. Tell them that the sprouts on sweet potatoes can be planted in the ground and will produce more sweet potatoes.

* Tell children that sweet potatoes are harvested August through October.

* Tell children that sweet potatoes are a native American plant.

* Tell children that sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins and minerals. Tell them that the vitamins in sweet potatoes do many important things for their bodies, such as helping them to see and helping prevent infection.

Sandwich ideas

http://www.parents.com/recipes/cooking/kid-friendly-food/lets-do-lunch/

Her are some ideas for fun and different sandwich fillers. Just be sure to add enough of each component to meet serving amount guidelines.

Essential Nutrition for Kids

http://www.everydayhealth.com/kids-nutrition/essential-nutrition.aspx?xid=cs_cocr_nl&xid=nl_EverydayHealthDietandNutrition_20090708

A New Look Inside Babies\' Minds

A New Look Inside Babies\' Minds

August Mandatory Trainings

Tonight is the first of the mandatory trainings for this month. It is from 6-9 PM at the Day Nursery Lilly Center in the training room.

The next trainings are:

8/18/09 6-9 PM
8/26/09 6-9 PM
8/29/09 8-11 AM

All trainings are at the Lilly Center 3522 Central Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46205

English Muffin Pizza
Ingredients:
1 split English Muffin
pizza sauce
pizza cheese (shredded)
your favorite toppings such as: mushrooms, pepperoni, green pepper, hamburger,sausage, bacon...etc.
Directions:
1. Toast your English muffins.
2. Spread pizza sauce evenly on muffin halves.
3. Sprinkle cheese on top and add your toppings!
4. Put on tray and put into toaster oven set on broil. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes

This is a fun and easy recipe that the children can prepare themselves. Just make sure enough cheese and/or meat is added to meet the minumim serving amount for the meat/meat alternate component.

Learn more about Paths to QUALITY

Learn more about becoming a Paths to QUALITY provider with this fun and informative webpage!

http://www.sandersnet.com/ftp/ptq/media/paths_main.html

Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs

The Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs has been expanded and updated. It has a great new look, with an updated design, including color-coded tabs for each section, pictures, new charts and graphics. There are hundreds of new food items and much, much more.

Printed: November 2001

Revised: January 2008

For School Food Service: CD copies of the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs and the Menu Planner for Healthy School Meals will be packaged in a dual mailer and will be available to order in Fall 2008.For Child Care Centers: A CD copy of the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs will be available to order in Fall 2008.

To download the guide follow this link...

http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/Resources/foodbuyingguide.html

Immunization Tracking

Did you know that you can use Child Watch to track the immunization records of the children in your care?

When you are in a child's record, check the "Immunizations" box at the top of the information page then click "Refresh". If there are no immuizations recorded this is what the page will look like:

After you fill in the appropriate dates it will look like this:

Using this tool you will know when children are ready for their next set of immunizations and be able to tell at a glance when immunizations have been missed and send reminder notices to parents!

White vs. Wheat Bread

I thought that you might enjoy this article that I found at http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/

Most kids, even those who are picky eaters, like bread. And that's good, because bread, and grains in general, make up a big part of the Food Guide Pyramid. In fact, younger children, aged 2-6, should eat 6 servings from the grain food group, while older children should eat 6-11 servings each day.

But what kind of bread should you offer your child? There are so many choices, including white bread, wheat bread, honey wheat bread, etc.

For many kids, taste will be the determining factor of what bread they will eat.

After that, you should look at the nutritional values of different breads when you decide which bread to buy for your family. Although many things are similar for different types of bread, such as:

Calories - usually about 40-70 calories per slice
Total Fat - 0.5-1g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 90-130mg
Protein - 1.5-3g
Iron - 4-8%

there can be big differences in the amount of fiber and calcium that different breads have. And whole wheat breads usually have more vitamin B6, vitamin E, magnesium, folic acid, copper, zinc, and manganese. However, many white breads are fortified with these vitamins.

In general, 100% whole wheat/whole grain breads have more fiber than white bread or other breads made with wheat flour, although some white breads, such as Iron Kids and Iron Kids Crustless bread, have almost as much fiber as many kinds of wheat bread.

A high fiber diet is recommended for most people, and is especially helpful for children who are constipated.

Remember that 'wheat' breads that do not say that they are 'whole wheat' are a mixture of enriched white flour and whole wheat flour, and so will likely have less fiber than whole wheat breads. 'Whole wheat' will be listed as the first ingredient if the bread is made from 100% whole wheat.

But white breads often have more calcium, especially if they are made with milk, than wheat breads. However, many different kinds of wheat bread are now fortified with calcium too.

Bread as an extra source of calcium is good if your child doesn't drink much milk or eat other dairy products.

So what kind of bread should you choose?

Whether it is white bread or wheat bread, find one that is high in calcium (at least 10-15% per slice), high in fiber (at least 1-1.5g per slice), and which tastes good.

The American Academy of Pediatrics does state that 'whole-wheat bread offers a nutritional advantage over white bread.' So if your child likes it, a 100% whole wheat bread (remembe to check the ingredients) that is fortified with calcium would likely be the most healthy choice.

Reading the nutrition label can help you find a healthy bread. Just be careful when comparing labels that you check the serving size. Some breads list 2 slices as the serving size, while others list just 1. Since the amount of calcium and fiber is listed per serving size, 2g of fiber may be for 2 slices or just 1.

Menu Items

A provider called me today with a question about menu items. She said the her menus say "100% Fruit Juice" and she was out of it so she served Apple Juice instead, she wanted to know how to change that item on her menu.

The reason I added the menu item "100% Fruit Juice" was to cover ALL fruit juices. So if your menu item says "100% Fruit Juice" feel free to serve Apple, Grape, Grapefruit, Cranberry or anything else that is labled as "100% Fruit Juice." The only exception is that there is a separate entry for "Orange Juice."

I hope this clears up any confusion.

Kringlers

Let the children help prepare this tasty snack.
Try whole wheat tortillas for added nutrition!
8 6 inch flour tortillas
2 TBSP melted butter or margarine
5 tsp. cinnamon
3 TBSP sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small
bowl. Spread the tortillas out on a flat surface and lightly brush each with
margarine to the edge. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over each
tortilla. Roll up in jelly roll fashion. Place on a greased cookie sheet with
the seam side down. Bake at 350°F for 4 - 5 minutes.

Cool. Cut in half for easy eating.
Yield: 16 servings 1 serving = 1/2 tortilla = 1 grain/bread requirement for 3 - 5 year olds
Source: http://www.nde.state.ne.us/NS/cacfp/cookin.htm

Eat The Rainbow

From FamilyFun.com
When it comes to food, variety--of color, texture and flavor--is truly the spice of life. Eating a variety of foods greatly improves the chances of getting all the nutrients you and your family need for good health.

How can you tell just what nutrients a veggie contains? As the following chart shows, the outside color can be a clue to the vitamins and minerals found within.

COLOR: WHITE
Examples: potatoes, cauliflower, onions
Nutrients: fiber, potassium and other minerals

COLOR: DARK GREEN
Examples: spinach, broccoli, bell peppers
Nutrients: vitamins A and C, folic acid, fiber and some minerals

COLOR: GREEN
Examples: beans, peas, zucchini
Nutrients: fiber, potassium, vitamin A and some B vitamins

COLOR: ORANGE
Examples: sweet potatoes, winter squash, carrots
Nutrients: vitamin A, fiber, potassium and trace minerals such as iron and zinc

COLOR: RED
Examples: tomatoes, beets, red cabbage
Nutrients: fiber, minerals and vitamins A and C

FUNNY FRUIT FACES
Delicious and full of nutrients, fruit should be a staple on every family's menu, yet just five--orange juice, bananas, fresh apples, apple juice and watermelon--accounted for nearly half of America's fruit consumption in 1996. One way to get kids interested in new varieties is to turn tasting into an art. Choose interesting or colorful fruits at the store or farmers' market, then turn the kids loose making imaginative faces. Odds are, they'll snack as they create--and like what they taste.

Recipe- Fish in a pond

Fish in a Pond

Countless picky eaters believe that food tastes better when it is dipped before it is eaten. This charming recipe is perfect for parties, picnics or any other snck-tivity.
1/2 cup low-fat cream cheese or cheese spread
Fish-shaped crackers
4 celery ribs, stems removed
Step 1 Scoop the cream cheese into a bowl. (You can tint the cream cheese with blue food coloring to make it look like a pond.) Step 2 Place the goldfish in a separate bowl, or surround the "pond" with them. Let the kids dip the celery sticks into the cheese, then into the bowl of crackers to "catch" a fish. Serves 2.

Recipe found @ http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=52161

Menu Planning on a CACFP Budget

I just came across an article that I think might be helpful. It comes from the web site Suite 101.com and was written by Gabriel Cunningham

Making Your Food Program Monies Really Count

Whether you are Tier 1 or Tier 2, it can be difficult to make your Child and Adult Care Food Program reimbursement dollars count. This is in part due to the rising costs of food, especially milk, which must be served at every meal. How do you best stretch your reimbursement dollars so that food shopping does not cut into your bottom line, or worse, household budget?

Double Check Your Claims Forms Before Submitting
As obvious as it may sound, many reimbursement dollars are lost each year by providers who fail to fill in a circle completely or who don't check off the entire attendance roll in their submission software. While corrections can be made after submissions, amended claims take weeks to process and it will be an additional 2-3 months before the provider receives the monies due. Before submitting your claim for processing, be sure to dot your i's and cross your t's. Meticulous checking really can save you money.

Make a Budget and Stick with it
"Guesstimate" your monthly income from CACFP. This will fluctuate from month to month but usually, if your clients are pretty steady, you can assume that your checks will remain within a $50 range of one another. After you have assessed your food program income you can decide whether this amount is sufficient to adequately feed all those in care or whether additional funds will be necessary. Be sure to take children's ages into account as they grow from infants to toddlers, toddlers to infants and so forth as their meal needs (and the serving requirements for each) will change. Also consider before and after school children as they tend to be big eaters. Once you have figured out your food budget it's time to plan meals.

Meal Planning
This can be tedious and exhausting work if you have never done it before; however, it can save time, money, and sanity when done correctly. Many providers begin to menu plan and later fall out of the habit, resorting to cooking whatever they can find in the cabinets. There is nothing wrong with this methodology but it can cause food and money waste. The truth is, it can be difficult to find time to plan meals after devoting 50 plus hours to child care and countless additional hours to preparation and cleaning. Fortunately, there are many resources available to providers and all others looking to serve healthy meals.
The USDA has set up a wonderful site for menu planning, complete with menu suggestions
Use of cycle menus will keep your meals new while simplifying grocery shopping and budgeting. Cycle menus are meals planned for a period of time and then repeated. Most providers who use cycle menus find four weeks worth of meals to be sufficient.
Many child care resource offices offer menu exchanges wherein providers trade menus weekly or monthly either at an organized meeting, through email, or distribution of a newsletter.

Diversify Your Menus
Whether you decide to cycle or you'd rather fly by the seat of your pants, it is very important to provide different and interesting meals to the children in your care. When thinking in terms of dollars and cents this means purchasing either in bulk, cutting coupons, and/or using expensive foods items sparingly. These cost effective menus are proven to help you capitalize on the almighty dollar.

Menu Scheduling and Cycles

Child Watch has a new feature added that will allow you to schedule you whole month's worth of menus with just a few clicks of the mouse!

Here are the steps:

1. Make sure that all your menus are valid, meaning no meal has "Invalid CACFP" in red.
2. Go to "Menu Cycle" under the CACFP menu.
3. Click on the menu you want to schedule as the first Monday (or Sunday if you are open 7 days)
4. Click on "Day 1," you will see that they menu number is now in that box.
5. Continue to click on the menu and the day of the month it is to be scheduled.
6. When all 25 days have been scheduled, enter the name of the menu cycle and click "Save As New"
7. Now go to "Menu Schedule" under the CACFP menu.
8. You will see the current month's calendar. You will notice that there are dys with boxes, and days with "(skip)" in blue. If the first day of the month is a Thursday and your menu cycle starts on Monday, if you select your menu cycle and click the blue skip under the first Monday, you will see that your first Thursday menu falls on the first day of the month like it should.
9. Make sure you click "Save Changes" before you continue!

That is all there is to it! If you have any questions give me a call 636-5727 ext 249.

Traning location

We just had a comment asking where the trainings are going to be. They are at the Day Nursery Lilly Center. The address is 3522 N. Central Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46205.

Parents questions about drop off and pick up time

I just received an email from loving guidance that had this information in it. I thought that it might be helpful to you.
Questions & Answers:

1. What should I do when my preschooler clings on to me when I drop him off at preschool?

Your preschooler’s body is telling you important information about his feelings.This is not the time to trick him by talking about the fun activities he will be experiencing that morning. Be honest and listen to his body. Say, “Your body tells me you’re feeling a little unsure about staying. Take my hands and let’s find your S.T.A.R. power.” (Lead child in breathing.) Breathe and see the child as capable and strong, instead of feeling bad about leaving or angry that he is doing this again. Do an I Love You Ritual together, breathe again and assertively state, “I will see you in 8 hours, you can handle it.” Turn and walk away, breathing and him wishing well.

2. What should I do when my preschooler doesn’t want to leave preschool?

Your preschooler communicates to you through his/her actions. Let go of the list of things you are going to be late for and your agenda, and become present in this moment. This allows you to stop being angry or trying to bribe the child. Speak to the moment. Bend down at her eye level and say, “You’ve had a great day with all your friends. It’s hard to leave when you are having so much fun. You seem angry. When we are angry we can be a drain or a balloon. Which do you choose?” Perform the active calming technique and breathe together. Then assertively state, “You can take my hand or skip to the car,” or two other acceptable choices for getting into the car.

Infant Menu Form

Here is a link to the new infant menu/planning guides, so you can have a copy locally:

http:www.childcareanswers.com/infant menus.pdf

Upcoming Mandatory Trainings

We have scheduled the mandatory trainings for this contract year. All CACFP providers must attend one June training and one August training. We will only be able to accept 30 providers per training. Please call Molly, Lynn or Larry to reserve your space today.

June Trainings

• Tue. 6/2/09 6pm - 9pm
• Sat. 6/6/09 8am - 11am
• Mon. 6/8/09 6pm - 9pm
• Wed 6/10/09 6pm - 9pm

August Trainings

• Mon. 8/17/09 6pm - 9pm
• Tue. 8/18/09 6pm - 9pm
• Wed 8/26/09 6pm - 9pm
• Sat. 8/29/09 8am - 11 am

Swine Influenza Information for Child Care Providers

Swine Influenza A (H1N1) Information for Child Care Providers

CDC has identified cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in people in California, Texas and Kansas with possible cases in New York. CDC is working with local and state health agencies to investigate these cases. It has been determined that this virus is spreading from human to human.

Mexico has reported increased levels of respiratory disease including reports of severe pneumonia cases and deaths. The swine influenza viruses identified by CDC from cases in Mexico are similar to swine influenza viruses from patients in the United States, however the limited number of patients identified thus far in the US have not been severe, with only one hospitalized person. However, the CDC is concerned about these cases in the United States and the World Health Organization are concerned about continued spread of this new virus. Right now, there is no vaccine for this new virus and the current seasonal influenza is thought to be unlikely to provide protection against this new strain.

For child care providers, it would be prudent to:

First and most importantly, remind parents and enforce policies for having ill children stay at home during their illness.

In addition, remind and inform workers not to come to work while ill.

A child may be infectious for up to 10 days after illness onset with influenza while adults are generally infectious for 5-7 days.

Review their plans for responding to a pandemic and make sure they are up to date.

Know local/state plans for child care in the event of a mild or severe pandemic. This information may be available from state or local health authorities, child care licensing agencies or resource and referral agencies.

Develop and implement a system to track illness and absence due to illness among children and staff if one is not already in place. The system should be simple and easy to maintain but should record the number of persons with various illnesses (e.g. respiratory, diarrhea, rash) by day or at least by week. (see Caring for Our Children Standards 3.001 and 3.002 for information on how to do this http://nrckids.org/CFOC/PDFVersion/Chapter%203.pdf )

Review and implement CDC Guidelines and Recommendations for Preventing the Spread of Influenza (the Flu) in Child Care Settings: Guidance for Administrators, Care Providers, and Other Staff, (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/infectioncontrol/childcaresettings.htm)

Make sure staff are familiar with the above guidelines and that they are being followed in your program. Remind child care staff to clean/disinfect frequently touched surfaces within the facility.

Provide information to parents on steps that they could take to prevent flu. (See attached fact sheet that could be distributed to each parent or posted on a door to the facilities with providers calling attention to the posted fact sheet).

Monitor the postings on the CDC web site about this virus to see if child care facilities should begin preparing for possible closure or changes in operation (www.cdc.gov/swineflu).

Contact your local public health department if you have questions or suspected cases.

Review your facilities emergency preparedness plans and consult with state and/or local health department’s pandemic plans, particularly if the number of cases escalates dramatically.

Child care and preschool programs can help protect the health of their staff and the children and families they serve by calling attention to the every day preventive actions that parents can initiate to protect their children. (Please consider posting or distributing the attached message in your child care facility).

More information on preventing the spread of influenza can be found at: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/school/preschool.html. For generic information on disaster preparedness, see NACCRRA’s web site http://www.naccrra.org/for_parents/coping/disaster.php
Additional generic planning information for schools, including examples of state and local plans, can be found on the Department of Education's website at: http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/pandemic/index.html.
Preventing the Flu: Good Health Habits Can Help Stop Germs

Fact Sheet
Avoid close contact.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
Stay home when you are sick.
Stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. Keep sick children at home. You will help prevent others from catching the illness.
Cover your mouth and nose.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often.
Washing your hands and the hands of your children often will help protect you from germs.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
Practice other good health habits.
Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

There is no vaccine available at this time for the current outbreak of the Swine Flu virus, so it is important for people living in the affected areas to take steps to prevent spreading the virus to others. If people are ill, they should stay at home and limit contact with others, except to seek medical care. Healthy residents living in these areas should take the everyday preventive actions listed above.

People who live in these areas who develop an illness with fever and respiratory symptoms, such as cough and runny nose, and possibly other symptoms, such as body aches, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea, should contact their health care provider. Their health care provider will determine whether influenza testing is needed.

Receptionist Needed

If you know of anyone looking for a job please pass on this information.

The receptionist is the initial contact for all visitors to Child Care Answers. The individual will answer and or direct questions in person and via the phone regarding child care training, resources, regulations and child care licensing. The receptionist will register clients for trainings and process their payments. The individual will provide walk in clients who are seeking child care with the initial paperwork that they need to complete to get a referral. The typical hours for this position will be Monday – Wednesday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Thursday 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM and Friday 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM but may on the occasion include nights and or weekend work.

Essential Functions:
- Act as the initial office contact for walk in visitors.
- Register walk in clients for desired trainings.
- Sort mail and process all training registration requests.
- Answer all in coming phone calls and direct to appropriate departments or community partners.
- Make monthly office supply orders and submit records to CCA’s accountant and Director of Programs.
- Assist Staff with mailings.- Other duties as assigned by Director of Programs.

Education:
Minimum of a High School Diploma

Skills and Knowledge Requirements:
- Must be able to work with people of diverse cultures and skill levels
- Display excellent oral and written English communication skills
- Strong time management and organizational skills
- Must be well versed in Microsoft Office products
- Must be able to perform multiple tasks at one time
- Must have excellent customer service skills
- Must be able to function well as part of a team
- Must be able to operate a multiline phone system

Licenses, Certifications, or Registrations:
- Must possess a valid Indiana Driver’s License and have access to reliable transportation
- Must successfully pass background and drug screening

Essential Physical Skills:
· Lift equipment up to 35 lbs occasionally
· Adequate health and fitness to be able to maintain a busy schedule
· Use of gross motor skills to perform organizational duties
· Use of fine motor skills to operate keyboard equipment
· Regularly required to sit and stand for extended periods
· Specific vision abilities required in this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus

To apply email resume by April 30, 2009 to:
mindyb@childcareanswers.com

To research Child Care Resource and Referral you may visit these web sites:
http://www.childcareanswers.com/ (Our agency web site)
http://www.iaccrr.org/ (Our State organizations web site)
http://www.naccrra.org/ (Our National organizations web site)

FREE Dessert Jazz Social

When: Saturday April 25th 12pm-2pm

Where: Day Nursery Lilly Center, 3522 N Central Ave Indianapolis 46205

Why: To celebrate the Week of the Young Child (April 19-25), to meet other providers and Child Care Answers Staff, and of course to eat some delicious desserts!

Please register 72 hours in advance, call 636-5727 ext. 241.

It's not baby fat: Among 4-year-olds, nearly 1 in 5 is obese

By Madison Park
CNN

(CNN) -- Nearly one-fifth of American 4-year-olds are obese, and children of color are at higher risk, according to new research.

Researchers calculated the body mass index from a sample of 8,550 Hispanic, black, white, Asian and Native American 4-year-olds. The children were born in 2001, and in 2005, their height and weight were measured -- 18.4 percent of them were obese.

"Significant differences in the prevalence of obesity between racial/ethnic groups were evident at 4 years of age," the researchers wrote in the April issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Using body mass index, they found that 31.2 percent of American Indian/Native Alaskans, 22 percent of Hispanics, 20.8 percent of blacks, 15.9 percent of whites and 12.8 percent of Asians were obese.

"It's surprising that there are large differences by racial/ethnic group by that age," said Sarah Anderson, an assistant professor of epidemiology at The Ohio State University and lead study author.

Anderson and co-author Robert Whitaker's analysis showed that children were becoming obese even before encountering soda and candy vending machines in schools.

"These results really do point to the need for us to focus attention on early childhood and the need for research to understand how these differences can emerge so early," Anderson said. "To do that, we may need to understand the different family and cultural factors that are at play in these children's lives."

The cause for the early health disparities is hard to pinpoint, childhood obesity experts said.

"It's always possible there are biological factors within ethnic groups," said Dr. Tom Robinson, director of the Center for Healthy Weight at the Stanford University School of Medicine. "We know most of the changes that have occurred in body fat tend to occur from being in an environment that promotes very easy access to high-caloric foods and limited opportunities for physical activities."

Michael Rich, an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, called the disparities between ethnic groups disturbing.

"The expectations, lifestyle, behaviors are different on a cultural and socioeconomic basis," he said. "Kids who live in the inner city, whose neighborhoods are perceived as dangerous, stay at home more, sit more, eat more snacks, because that's all they can get at the local bodega. There are no supermarkets to get produce. That's what mom is eating, so that's what kid is eating. What we're dealing with here is whole life issues."

Previous research has shown that older children are becoming less active and spending more time in front of a computer or TV.

"That is displacing physical activity," said Dr. Sarah Barlow, director of the Obesity Center at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. "You can imagine strollers, less outdoor play -- all those kinds of things that have shifted how much activity younger kids are getting. At the same time, portion sizes are increasing for everybody."

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults fare no better. Approximately 45 percent of blacks, 36.8 percent of Mexican Americans and 30 percent of whites are obese.

"It's a very bad sign if we see obesity at a young age," Robinson said. "When we see children obese at age 4, we're likely to see complications -- high blood pressure, abnormal lipids -- which can lead to heart disease and stroke, diabetes in children."

Diseases commonly seen in 40- or 50-year-olds are presenting in 6- and 7-year-olds. Obese children are developing type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and musculoskeletal problems, which occur because their bodies can't carry that much weight, doctors said. Calculate your child's body mass index.

"The heavier you are as a child, the likelier that extra weight will follow you through life," Robinson said. "That's why we see adolescents who need weight-loss surgery, because they have life-threatening complications from obesity."

If you have an obese child...

The first step is for the parents to acknowledge that the child is overweight, instead of making excuses or comparing him or her to heavier children. Many of the parents of obese children are overweight themselves, which makes that acknowledgment difficult, said Rich, who is also director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital in Boston.

"While it's important to focus on it and take it seriously, it's also important not to give up or feel hopeless," he said. "Then you won't try. You want to look at it for what it is and not be defeated by it."

When you're trying to help your child achieve a healthy weight, remove the stigma attached to obesity.

"It should always be about health, not about losing weight," Rich said. "You're trying to build the positive."

He recommended the 5-2-1-0 plan. Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables, cut screen time down to two hours or less, exercise at least one hour, and have zero soda and sugary drinks.

Such changes, which are not seismic shifts to lifestyles, can help the child get into a health weight.
"It's easier to start that way, rather than try to change habits when they're 8 or 12 or 16," said Barlow, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

While it's possible for some kids to outgrow the excess weight, she warned parents not to count on that. "We've seen over time that the environment doesn't promote that," she said.

Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/07/obesity.preschool.children/index.html

Food Claim Reminder

Just a reminder to all of our online participants - your claims are due at the end of business (5:00 PM) today.

Also remember that starting May 1 - you will be required to enter your complete menus online as well as your attendance. If you need help adding your menus I will put up a tutorial here this week with pictures!

Thanks!

Cooking Skills by Age

Schools are out this week for spring break, why not include the children in helping prepare meals. Match your childrens' skill levels with various tasks for safe kitchen fun. Here are some suggestions from kraftfoods.com for age-specific tasks:

3-Year Olds

• Wash fruits and vegetables


• Stir ingredients in a bowl


• Tear lettuce


• Pour liquids

4-Year Olds

• Grease pans


• Open packages


• Peel oranges or hard-cooked eggs


• Snip fresh herbs with dull scissors


• Mash bananas with a fork

5-to 6-Year Olds

• Measure ingredients


• Cut soft foods with a blunt knife


• Set the table


• Garnish food

7-to 8-Year Olds

• Help plan the meal


• Roll and shape cookies


• Beat ingredients with a whisk


• Find ingredients in a cabinet or spice rack


• Make a salad

9- to 12-Year Olds

• Open cans


• Use a microwave oven


• Prepare simple recipes with few ingredients


• Use an oven (with supervision)


• Use a knife (with supervision)


• Shred cheese and vegetables

REMINDER: MAKE SURE CHILDREN WASH THEIR HANDS BEFORE/AFTER FOOD PREPARATION/SERVICE. THESE ARE JUST SUGGESTIONS, NOT ALL CHILDREN PERFORM AT THE SAME SKILL LEVEL!

Fun Spring Time Snack

Let your kids play with their food for a change.

They'll love decorating juicy red apples with pretzels for antennas, raisins for spots and eyes and peanut butter for wings, then snacking on them once they work up an appetite.
Ingredients
2 red apples
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon peanut butter
8 thin pretzel sticks

Cooking Instructions
Slice apples in half from top to bottom, and scoop out the cores using a knife or melon baller. If you have an apple corer, core them first, then slice. Place each apple half flat side down on a small plate.
Dab peanut butter on to the back of the 'lady bug', then stick raisins onto the dabs for spots. Use this method to make eyes too. Stick one end of each pretzel stick into a raisin, then press the other end into the apples to make antennae.

Adding Menus To Child Watch

Adding your 5 cycle menu to Child Watch is VERY easy. Here are the steps to adding you menus:

1. From the CACFP menu - select "Menus & Attendance"
2. Click on the menu icon for the first day of the month
3. Make sure you check the box "Archive this Menu"
4. For the name of the menu "Mon Wk 1" works for me because you can see the whole thing on the calendar
5. Now just go through and add each individual item - make sure that you use the correct components
6. When you have entered all of the menu items, click the yellow schedule button at the top of the page
7. Do the same thing for all 25 or 35 days depending on your days of operation.
8. Now for the next month all you need to do is select the appropriate daily menu from your archived menus.

If you have any questions about adding menus to Child Watch you can call me at 317-636-5727 et. 249.

Submitting Your Claim

Once you have all your attendance records and menus completed for the month, click the "Submit CLaim" button on the CACFP Menu.

This "locks" your claim, no further changes can be made to your claim online. If you discover an error, you will need to call us to make any changes.

Child Watch - Adding Your New Enrollments

You can add your own new students into Child Watch.

1. Log into your account.
2. Click the CACFP menu.
3. Select "Quick Family"
   
4. Fill in the Parent's Name, address, phone number, and email address (the rest of the information is not required.)
5. If you are only adding one child for this family, then select 1 and click refresh, for more children select the number and click refresh.
6. Fill in all the information for the child(ren)
7. Go to the "Family Data" menu and select "Children", locate the child you just added, click the checkbox next to "SCHEDULE" and click the Edit button. Check the days of the week the child will be in your care, although it is not required, you can add the hours the child is in your care, then you will be able to see how many hours you watch the child.
8. Click the Save button
9. Send in the enrollment form.

That is all there is to adding a child - you can now record their meals in Child Watch!

Healthy Children Are Active

With a rainy forecast today and Valentine's Day this weekend, your children are probably bursting with energy. Below is a fun activity that can help children burn some of that energy!

Creeping and Crawling
Children will alternate between creeping (flat on the ground) and crawling (on hands and knees) in a circle or across a room. Ask children to move like the following animals, and say what each animal starts with. Also feel free to have the children make the animal noises while they are acting out the movements.

Can you creep like a snake? Snake starts with the letter S.
Can you crawl like a baby? Baby starts with the letter B.
Can you creep like a worm? Worm starts with the letter W.
Can you crawl like a dog? Dog starts with the letter D.
Can you creep like a snail? Snail starts with the letter S.
Can you crawl like a spider? Spider starts with the letter S.
Can you creep like a caterpillar? Caterpillar starts with the letter C.

Feel free to add different types of animals. For example, "Can you jump like a kangaroo? Kangaroo starts with the letter K." Have fun with this activity and remember that children usually will participate in an activity when they see YOU doing the activity as well. Have a great day!

Changes in Child Watch

You may have noticed that there are a few changes in Child Watch. These changes have been designed to help you in submitting your claims without mailing us signed copies every month. We will roll out these changes to you in a letter shortly, until then if you have any questions please contact me at the numbers to the left and I will find answers for you.

Keep up the great work you are all doing online!

Day Nursery Food Program Office closed on January 18th

The Day Nursery CACFP office will be closed all day on Wednesday, January 18th. We will reopen for business regular hours on the 19th.

Make Valentine's Day Goodies!
(The following article appears on the Universal Preschool website)

Candy is often the predominant form of sustenance on Valentine's Day. But there are lots of nutritious ways to celebrate Valentine's Day too. Here are a few ideas to make every meal on Valentine's Day a healthy celebration with your little ones...

· Valentine Pancake Breakfast -- Make regular, whole-grain pancakes. Once they are cooked, use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the pancakes into heart-shapes. Top with sliced strawberries, maple syrup, and a dollop of whipped cream or yogurt.
Note: In a hurry? You can use whole-grain frozen toaster waffles too. Just use the cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes, toast as directed, and garnish with strawberries, syrup, and whipped cream.

· Heart-Shaped Sandwiches -- Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut heart shapes out of sandwich bread. Spread one heart-shaped bread slice with nut buttter or cream cheese and strawberry jam. Top it with another heart-shaped bread slice.

· Think Pink -- You can tint regular food pink (with a drop or two of red food coloring) to make it more festive. Pink milk, pink cream of wheat, pink scrambled eggs, pink dip for chips and vegetables, pink mashed potatoes, pink mineral water, pink sparkling apple cider, pink cream cheese on celery sticks or crackers, pink sour cream, pink biscuit mix, pink applesauce -- your imagination is the limit!

For more ideas or to see this article in its entirety visit: http://www.universalpreschool.com/how-to/valentines_day.asp

Lasagna Soup

From FamilyFun Magazine

When Meredith Deeds was working on her cookbook "300 Sensational Soups," her son, Kyle, came up with the idea of turning his favorite meal, lasagna, into a soup. The tomato-y broth, brimming with sausage and pasta, melts the mix of cheeses placed in each bowl before serving. A quick swirl of the spoon ensures diners will get a bit of gooey cheese in every bite.

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (bulk or with casings removed)
2 onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
8 ounces fusilli pasta
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
8 ounces ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Step 1: In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain any excess fat from the pot. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and sauté until the paste turns a rusty brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the broth, and the bay leaves and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Step 2: Add the pasta, then increase the heat to medium-high and boil the soup until the pasta is tender to the bite, following the time recommendations on the pasta package. Discard the bay leaves, then stir in the basil. If desired, season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Step 3: In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, the Parmesan, the 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the pinch of pepper. To serve, place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture in each bowl, sprinkle with some of the mozzarella, and ladle the soup on top.
Makes about 13 cups.

Nutritional Information:Per serving (1 cup):Calories 264Total Fat 11 g (17% DV)Saturated Fat 5g (26% DV)Cholesterol 38 mg (13% DV)Sodium 1162 mg (48% DV)Total Carbohydrate 22 g (7% DV)Fiber 1g (6% DV)Sugars 5gProtein 19 g (39% DV)Vitamin C 14 mg (23% DV)Calcium 259 mg (26% DV)

Free Mentoring Program

Did you know that all Licensed Child Care Home Providers qualify for Child Care Answers free mentoring program? If you are interested in learning more about it you can attend a free Paths to QUALITY introduction session. To register contact Lynn Harris at 636-5727 x 238 or lynnh@childcareanswers.com

Enrollment Forms Part II

Last week I commented about enrollment forms and how they relate to Child Watch - today I want to go into more detail about filling out enrollment forms.



The enrollment forms are a vital part of the CACFP. If these forms are filled out incorrectly - we must send them back to you as the provider to make sure that they get filled out correctly. If the forms are not turned in until the beginning of the claim week, and I have to send them back for any reason, this will cause a delay in the completion of your claim.



Here are some of the things to double check before you send in your enrollment forms:

• Make sure the entries are legible. Chances are if you can't read it, then I can't either. All entries should be printed neatly, except for the "Parent's Signature" which of course should be signed.


• The days of the week the child is in care, and the hours of each day should be completely filled in and all meals for those days checked. If the child is there for a meal but the parent has not checked that meal - then it will be disallowed.


• Parent's complete contact information, including COMPLETE address (street adress, city, state, and zip code) along with a functioning home or cell number and a work or secondary contact phone number. If the parents move or change jobs or phone numbers, you MUST complete a new enrollment form. This is vital if we do a random parent audit, if we can not reach the parents to verify attendance then those meals may be diallowed.


• The enrollment date must be filled out correctly, 12/08 is not a valid enrollment date.

It takes just a few extra seconds to quickly glance over the form to make sure it is filled out correctly. We are constantly looking for ways to make filling out these forms easier for you and parents, if you have any suggestions please let us know!