Healthy Eating Inspired by Nutrition Week

Healthy Eating Inspired by Nutrition Week

To build healthy, happy bodies that can grow and flourish we need to fuel them with healthy foods. Healthy eating is a valuable habit to instil in children that will benefit their entire lives. Area 2 of the National Quality Framework ‘Children’s health and safety’ includes ensuring that healthy eating and physical activity are promoted and appropriate for each child. Nutrition Week is the perfect time to get some fresh inspiration for healthy eating in centres!

While maintaining a healthy weight range is important for good health, food choices are about more than that. Eating nutritious foods contributes to children’s lives in many ways, including:

  •         Brain development
  •         Mental health
  •         Behaviour
  •         Digestive health
  •         Dental health

Not to mention, their long-term attitudes towards food!

In early childhood education services, we can foster children’s love and appreciation of healthy foods by including a range of colours, flavours and textures in their meals. We can also get a healthy eating message across by celebrating fresh, unprocessed foods.

Eating healthy foods doesn’t need to be complex, expensive or bland. The Healthy Eating Advisory Service offers a variety of recipes to support early childhood education providers in offering children healthy, tasty meals. You can explore their recipes here, including allergy-friendly options.

5 Quick Tips for Simple Healthy Eating

  1. Eat the rainbow! Red apples, green spinach leaves, bright blueberries, yellow bananas, orange carrots — the more colours the better!
  2. Avoid wrappers. Foods without wrappers and packaging tend to be less processed. Plus, you’ll be caring for the planet.
  3. Grow your own. Grow herbs, veggies or fruit with children’s help — let them see the process and be involved in harvesting the fresh food to eat.
  4. Cook together. Children enjoy cooking and they tend to be more inclined to eat a healthy meal when they helpprepare it. It’s never too early to start learning the great life skill of preparing meals — especially healthy ones!
  5. Get creative. Have fun with food! Make vegetables into a smiley face. Give foods fun names. Cut fruit into different shapes.

Come on over to the Music Kinder at Home Facebook group where you can access a bunch of ‘Cooking Time’ sessions where we make delicious and very nutritious recipes that children just love – we’ve tested them with children for you so they are tried and tested!

Hope to see you over on the Music Kinder at Home Facebook group – share your own yummy healthy recipe with us too if you have one, we’d love to try!

Keep eating well and living well for a bright future!

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