Foods For OSHC/OOSH Services

[giggles_aa]

Hi Everyone,

we doing a menu for our OSHC and we are getting bored with all the same foods, does anyone have any great recipe ideas?

[catchmeifucan]

Bored with the same food everyday aye? I know what you mean. The menus at my centre is pretty boring as well..lol..Just to clarify can I ask what menu do you have now and what kind of recipes are you after? I mean do you want ideas for cooking activities with kids or like everyday recipes to provide lunch and other snacks to kids? Let me know and I can give you some ideas..

[giggles_aa]

Hi,
im mainly looking at recipes for the afternoon tea, morning tea for the OSHC. we dont have a cook at the centre so the food is basically cooked by me or with the kids help.

the menus at the moment are basically a fruit platter and then another thing. there are alot of crackers, sandwiches and cake.

[catchmeifucan]

fair enough.. I got a few ideas for ya which you can add to your menu plan:

- mini pizzas

- tacos

- pasta bakes

- dips with vegie sticks or bread sticks

- muffins

- toast melts

- cheese triangles

These are some ideas that I came up with and I think the kids will enjoy it. They're simple to cook and the kids can get involved as well. I'll post up some recipes over this weekend.. (thank god its long weekend)

Let me know if you like anything I've mentioned.

[Lorina]

Hey Sammie,

I think this is also a great opportunity to introduce foods to the children which they haven’t tried before. I remember when I used to work at an OOSH, once a week (each week on a different day) we used to cook something from a different country for the children to try. This was a great way for the children to taste something which they haven’t had before and we also created a multicultural food wall… Added a world map to the centre of the display, linked a photo and the recipe to the county on the world map using a coloured piece of string and then the children could add their comments etc… We would also incorporate this into the program and teach the children a song/dance from this country…. The children really enjoyed it… Also, it’s a great way to for families from a multicultural background to share what they enjoy to eat at home…

I have started a separate topic called “Multicultural – Ethnic Recipes For Kids" because I think that there are a lot of multicultural foods that we all enjoy and wouldn't mind sharing the recipes we can use for kids... Here is the link: http://www.aussiechildcarenetwork.com/v ... f=41&t=575

Cheers ,
L.A

[Lorina]

Hey Sammie,

If you're looking for something a little simpler here are a few recipe ideas:

Fruit Crumble (serves 40 children)

Ingredients:
3 x 800g tins of solid pack apples
1 1/2 cups of plain wholemeal flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup coconut
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp nutmeg
200g poly margarine

Method:
1. Place fruit into oven dishes.
2. Melt margarine and pour into all other ingredients and mix well.
3. Sprinkle crumble over top of fruit and bake in moderate oven (180 degrees) for 15-20 mins.
--> You can use any fruit that's available.

Wholemeal Cheese Scones (serves 40 children)

Ingredients:
4 cups white self raising flour
4 cups wholemeal self raising flour
4 T poly margarine
2 cups grated cheese
4 eggs
2 cups milk

Method:
1. Beat together eggs and milk.
2. Rub margarine into flour and then add grated cheese.
3. Stir in combined milk and eggs to make a soft dough.
4. Knead dough on a lightly floured board and cut into scones (approx 4cm across).
5. Place scones onto greased tray, bake in hot oven for 15 - 20 mins.

Zucchini Slice (serves 40 children)

Ingredients:
2 kg zucchini scrubbed
4 onions chopped
3 cups grated cheese
3 cup self raising flour
1 cup grated carrot
24 eggs. beaten

Method:
1. Grate zucchini coarsely.
2. Add chopped onions, carrot, cheese flour and egg.
3. Pour into 2 greased baking dishes.
4. Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) for 30 - 40 minutes.

Let me know if you ended up cooking any of these,

Cheers ,
L.A

[giggles_aa]

Hi, L.A

just wanted to say thanks for the awesome suggestions for the menu. i am deffinately going to be trying all of them. and i love the idea of a multicultural food wall. i spoke to my staff and they love the idea to so that is something we are going to put in place after the school holidays.

[Lorina]

Here's a yummy and easy recipe that I'm sure kids will enjoy!

Baked Cheesy Pasta (serves 6- double or triple ingredients depending on how many children)

300g dried spiral pasta
250g frozen spinach, thawed
150g sliced ham, coarsely chopped (optional, I'm vegetarian so I wouldn't add this)
1 x 130g can corn kernels, drained
150g (1 cup) frozen peas, thawed
140g (1 1/3 cups) Coon Pasta Cheese (cheaper cheese works well too)
3 eggs
185ml (3/4 cup) thickened cream

Step 1
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place four 375ml (1 1/2-cup) capacity ovenproof dishes on 2 baking trays. Cook the pasta following packet directions or until al dente. Drain well. Use your hands to squeeze the excess liquid from the spinach. Combine the pasta, spinach, ham, corn, peas and 80g (1 cup) COON Pasta Cheese in a large bowl.

Step 2
Use a balloon whisk to whisk the eggs and cream together in a large bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the pasta mixture and stir until just combined.

Step 3
Spoon the mixture evenly among the prepared dishes.

Step 4
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over each pasta bake. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Ref: taste.com.au

When serving, it's a good idea to serve in plastic/styrofoam cups which can easily be thrown out afterwards...

,
L.A

[Sandradee4]

Try this delicious Quinoa Carrot Cake

2 cups brown sugar
1.5 cups oil
6 eggs
2 cups wholemeal self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp mixed spice
2 cups cooked quinoa
4 cups carrot
1/2 cup sultana
Bake at 180 for 1 hour in 2 cake tins and frost with lemon, cream cheese and icing sugar.