Illinois Child Care Bureau NewsFebruary/March 2013

Recently, the Illinois State Board of Edu-cation (ISBE) provided CACFP sponsors with updated National School Lunch data. This data is used to classify day care homes as Tier 1 for the purpose of reimbursement under the CACFP if the home is located in an area served by any public school in which at least 50% of the enrolled children are certified eligible for free and reduced-price school meals.

If you are a Tier 2 provider, and your resi-dential school boundaries now qualify for Tier 1 reimbursement, you will be notified by the Illinois Child Care Bureau office during the month of February.

TWO CHANGES WITH THE PUBLICA-TION OF THE NEWSLETTER:

The Illinois Child Care Bureau has changed the publication schedule of the ILLINOIS CHILD CARE BUREAU NEWS from every month to every other month. We hope you continue to read the newsletter as it is filled with interesting information for day care home providers.

The second change will happen with the April/May edition as the Illinois Child Care Bureau GOES GREEN. Beginning with this issue, the Illinois Child Care Bureau will no longer mail a copy to you. You will be able to read the newsletter at IllinoisChildren.com. The newsletter is available in two locations at IllinoisChil-dren.com – under the Resources tab and under the Training tab. Like you, the Illinois Child Care Bureau needs to spend our budget wisely and hopes you enjoy reading the newsletter on-line.

The Illinois Child Care Bureau has the good fortune of maintaining long-term relationships with many of the day care

providers under our sponsorship. Spe-cial thanks to Lois Baker of Calumet City, Joan Cafaro of Lisle, Jana Conev of Willowbrook, Michelle Heurung, Mokena, Dinah Hoover of Chicago, Patricia Meeks of Matteson, Karen Morrissey of Bolingbrook, Pam Surmo of Cherry Valley, Marlene Szweda of Harwood Heights, and Paula Woods of Aurora who have been a part of the Il-linois Child Care Bureau for twenty years or more. The Illinois Child Care Bureau is proud to serve you!

The Illinois Child Care Bureau hopes you have taken advantage of the mild winter weather in December and January by taking the children outdoors. Some cold weather suggestions from USDA:

• Cover the child’s head with a hat, maybe earmuffs. A lot of body heat gets lost through an uncovered head. A hood can interfere with moving and see-ing.

• Dress the child in layers for warmth. Be sure that she/he can move easily for fun and safety.

• Tie a scarf over the child’s nose and mouth to warm air that’s breathed in. Tuck the scarf inside the coat so it will not get caught in play equipment and choke the child.

• Remember mittens or gloves and boots.

• Always stay with the child(ren) for safety’s sake.

• Protect the child’s skin with sun-

screen – even in cold weather.

• Check the safety and conditions of sleds and other play equip-ment.

• Bring water if you plan to stay outside longer than an hour. When you are physically active, you sweat – even in winter.

• Take a neighborhood walk. How does it look in cold weather?

• If your neighborhood has snow, bundle up for snow play. Create angels. Make a ‘snow family’ – with a pet. Go sledding. Climb a snow mountain. Make paths through the snow.

• In late winter/early spring take a nature hike. Look for signs of spring: wild flowers and buds on trees.

And when you are not able to take the children outdoors, get them moving indoors by:

• Act out a story. Read a book together; move to give it an ac-tion. If it is a book about food, make it in the kitchen together later.

• Create an obstacle course. Kids love to tumble over pillows, crawl through open boxes, and jump into hula-hoops.

• Turn up the music and DANCE. Swing your arms like a conduc-tor. Or move to the music like a cat, bird, horse, elephant, or bug.

Dear Provider:

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2 • Illinois Child Care Bureau News | February/March 2013

National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the Academy of Nutri-tion and Dietetics, formerly the American Dietetic Association. The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physi-cal activity habits. Initiated in March 1973 as a week-long event, “National Nutrition Week” became a month-long observance in 1980 in response to growing public interest in nutrition. The mission of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is to promote optimal nutrition and well-being for all people by advocating for its members. The Academy is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.

Celebrate NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH® in March by teaching the children in your care about the importance of good nutrition. Studies show that US children do not meet the daily recommend-ed requirements of fruit and vegetables. Children age 3 – 5 years old should eat 1 ½ cups of vegetables and 1 ½ cups of fruit each day and children age 6 – 12 should eat 2 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit. You may want to use ChooseMyPlate to show the children a simple image of how much fruit and vegetables they need to grow up healthy.

When planning meals, snacks, and activities, remember to always consider the nutrition needs of each child. It is recommended to abide by the following:

• Avoid serving any sugar-sweetened beverages (sodas, juice , sports drinks, etc.)

• Serve water each day.

• Serve fruits and/or vegetables during each meal and snack.

• Avoid serving any foods with trans fat.

• Serve whole grains.

The keys to success in nutrition related activities:

• Preparation – always prepare activities at least one week in advance.

• Supervision – always supervise children during all activi-ties.

• Positive attitude – always model a positive attitude, mak-ing each activity a special occasion.

• Clean-up – always clean up as an ongoing activity.

• Follow-through – always follow through so each child has an opportunity to participate.

Enjoy Moving – Be physically active every day

• Do plenty: playing outside, riding a bike, throwing a ball

• Do more: Playing baseball or softball, playing soccer, jumping rope, skateboarding, playing basketball, hiking, swimming, dancing, skipping

• Do enough: Stretching and building your muscles

• Do less: playing on the computer, watching television, playing electronic games

Suggestions on helping children to choose fruits and vegetables:

• Have the children select the fruit color for the meal (i.e. white cauliflower, green beans, orange carrots).

• Have the children play grocery store and select the fruit and vegetable for the meal.

• Talk to the children about recipes you can make with each of their fruit and vegetable selections.

• Each day, designate a child to be the official taster while you are preparing the meal.

The children in your care may follow a variety of ethnic traditions. Find a book in your local library to read to the children about a specific culture. Where possible, purchase items to follow healthy ethnic traditions as a means of introducing new foods to the chil-dren. Examples of healthy menu items from ethnic traditions that follow the MyPlate recommendations include:

• Chinese: Stir-fried chicken and vegetables such as bok choy, snap peas, carrots and bean sprouts; brown rice; and a dish of lychee fruit.

• Italian: Minestrone (a hearty, tomato-based soup with beans, vegetables and pasta) with kidney beans added for

National Nutrition Month®

Illinois Child Care Bureau News | February/March 2013 • 3

• Start planning your garden. Find a library book about kids and gardening. Look at seed cata-logues. Plan for spring activities.

The Illinois Child Care Bureau welcomes new day care home providers Diana Bissic of Calumet City, Diane Bolds of Belvidere, Carolyn Boykin of Chicago, Tiffany Brown of Chicago, Myriam Colon of Chicago, Maribel Gomez of Chicago, Ana Hernandez of Chicago, Janelle Lasky of Aurora, Rosa Oros of Chicago, Kate Simone of Lake Villa, Brittany and Kevin Singer of West Chicago, Lashawn Walls of Chicago, Judy Ware of Chicago and Debra Young of Chicago.

~ Cathy, Kim, Marguerite, Mary, and Sonia

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Save the DateA workshop for Illinois Child Care Bureau providers will be held at two locations. One on Wed, May 8, 2013 at the South Holland Community Center from 6:30 – 8:30 pm and the other on Thursday, May 9 at Oakton Community College from 6:30 – 8:30 pm.

Please note the change in location for the May 9 work-shop from Elmhurst to Skokie’s Oakton Community College.

More information to come.

folate, fi ber and protein; gnocchi (fl our or potato dump-lings) with chopped vegetables like spinach mixed into the dough and served with lycopene-rich tomato sauce.

• Greek: Tzatziki sauce (a creamy dressing of low-fat yogurt, garlic and cucumber) served on pita sandwiches or as a dip with vegetables; and dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with ground meat, vegetables, such as bell pep-pers, eggplant and squash, rice, dried fruit and pine nuts).

• Mexican: Jicama (a crisp and slightly sweet root veg-etable) peeled, sliced and served on a salad with lime vinaigrette or chopped for a crunchy addition to salsas; and gazpacho (a cold tomato-based raw vegetable soup) made with spinach or cucumbers.

Additional menu ideas for ethnic foods that meet the recommen-dations of the Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate include:

• Fruit chutney (Asian Indian)

• Grilled pineapple as part of a chicken shish kabob (Middle Eastern)

• Mango or other tropical fruit smoothie (Latin American)

• Baked pumpkin sprinkled with cinnamon (African)

• Polish beets (European)

• Stir-fried greens (Asian)

• Cactus salad (Latin American)

• Succotash (Native American or Southern U.S.)

• Couscous (African)

• Quinoa (Latin American)

• Naan bread (Asian Indian)

• Egg noodles (German)

Offering a variety of fruits and vegetables also helps the children to make healthy choices. Try Ratatouille, a traditional French vegetable-based dish, packed with nutrients the children may not get enough of on a daily basis.

Choose My Plate

visit ChooseMyPlate.gov for more recipe ideas as well as healthy snack and meal ideas.

Illinois Child Care Bureau News is published by Illinois Child Care Bureau, 10500 W Cermak, 2nd Fl, Westchester, IL 60154, VOICE 708/409-6070, FAX 708/409-6078, www.illinoischildren.com or info@illinoischildren.com. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call toll free (866) 632-9992 (Voice). Individuals who are hearing impaired or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339: or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

4 • Illinois Child Care Bureau News | February/March 2013

Baked Pumpkin from USDA, SNAP education

Ingredients1 pumpkin (small, peeled and cut into cubes)1 cup sugar1 tsp salt1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.2. Place pumpkin cubes in a baking dish and sprinkle with

sugar and salt.3. Cover pan with foil and bake until soft.4. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Servings: 8

reci

pes Ratatouille

from EatRight.org by Sarah Kreiger, MPH RD LD

Ingredients1 small red onion2 medium cloves garlic1 small eggplant1 medium zucchini1 medium yellow squash1 large tomato3 TB canola oil1 tsp dried basil1 tsp dried oregano¼ tsp salt¼ tsp ground black pepperCooking spray

Instructions1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees2. Rinse and peel onion. Peel garlic. Rinse egg-

plant, zucchini, squash and tomato.3. Dice onion and eggplant into ½ inch pieces. Slice

zucchini and squash in ½ inch slices. Chop to-mato. Mince garlic.

4. In a medium bowl, add onion, eggplant, zucchini, squash, garlic, oil, basil, oregano, salt and black pepper. Toss until veggies are well coated.

5. Coat baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Spread veggies out in a single layer so they do not touch. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

6. Add tomato to baking sheet. Return baking sheet to oven. Bake, stirring occasionally, until veggies are golden crisp, about 15 to 20 minutes more.

Servings: 12 half-cup servings

Chef’s Tips• If fresh tomatoes are not in season or not avail-

able in your store, use 1 (14 ½ ounce) can diced tomatoes, no salt added. Drain in a colander. Add to baking sheet in step 6.

• Serve over polenta, spinach, brown rice, whole wheat pasta or with hearty whole grain bread.

• Top with grated parmesan cheese, if you like.• For a faster version, cook veggies in a large skillet

on top of the stove with 1 tsp oil instead of baking.

Special thanks to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the National Food Service Management Institute. For more information on healthy choices visit EatRight.org.