Making food your kids will eat can be a challenge at times. The people you have helping you look after your kids can
face the same challenge, whether it is your nanny who is with your kids every day or an occasional babysitter.
And you want those looking after your kids to give them their full attention rather than scrambling around in the kitchen trying to find something to prepare for dinner. It’s also fair to worry about safety with babysitters cooking or special instructions for your particular appliances.
You are not alone! Many moms face this issue. Whether it is meal preparation by the babysitter, meals done by your after school nanny or evening meals prepared by your sitter, we have got an answer for you. We have compiled a list of top tips for kid friendly meals that your babysitter can prepare with ease:
- After school snacks are probably the easiest. Cut up vegetables such as carrots are much more appealing when paired with something to dip them in such as hummus. And having the veg cut in advance increases the chances that both your nanny and kids will reach for the nutritious snack versus going for the easy but less nutritious bag of chips.
- Meals that do not require cooking are ideal. A summer pasta salad is even better when it is prepared a day in advance. Green salads should be assembled at the point of serving but the ingredients – such as cut up leaves, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. – can be prepared in advance.
- Sandwiches can also be a good choice. If you are worried about making sure your kids get enough vegetables, a big sandwich is a great place to hide lots of lettuce and other vegetables. In fact, you can serve almost anything on a bed of lettuce and the kids will not even notice.
- During the colder months you probably want your kids to have a hot meal. Using a crockpot allows you to prepare the food in the morning or night before and it cooks slowly during the day when you are at work and the kids are at school. Your nanny or babysitter simply needs to unplug the crockpot and put the food on plates for the kids.
- Freezing meals is an alternative to the crockpot. You can prepare a big batch of your famous spaghetti sauce or your autumn vegetable soup on a Sunday afternoon and put it in the freezer. Move the meal to the fridge in the morning to defrost and then the nanny or babysitter simply needs to heat it up and serve! Remember that the microwave can be your best friend.
- If cooking is not your thing or you just cannot find time to cook in bulk on the weekends to prepare meals to freeze, check out your local supermarkets. There are many frozen meals that you can buy – both from the big food manufacturers as well as the shops themselves. Again, the babysitter or nanny will simply heat up and serve.
And remember, make sure your nannies and babysitters are well aware of any food allergies your kids may have and keep the ‘what to do and who to call in an emergency’ list posted on the fridge.