Food for Fuel

Food for Fuel

11 January 2019

At Nurtured at Home, we promote healthy eating for our children. At our regular playgroups, children and adults are provided with a range of fruit and vegetables for morning tea, and participate in the preparation of it for everyone to share.

Spending the day learning and playing requires the right sort of fuel.  Good nutrition can lead to better concentration and improved learning as well as healthy growth and development. The following information is taken from our parent’s booklet and in line with the Heart Foundation’s healthy eating guidelines for young children.

It’s important to fill children's lunchboxes with tasty food that is both healthy and appealing.  With guidance from the Heart Foundation, we recommend choosing at least one item from each of the four food groups:

Bread and cereals: sushi, sandwiches, wraps, pasta, rice, muffin splits, rewena

Vegetables and fruit: carrot sticks, mandarins, apples, grapes, cucumber sticks, celery, bananas

Milk and milk products: yoghurt, dairy food, cheese

Lean meats, chicken, seafood, eggs and dried beans, peas and lentils: boiled egg, skinless chicken, hummus, baked beans, nuts

*muesli bars are not the best everyday choice as they are often high in sugar and fat.

Here’s some ideas for including vegetables in the lunchbox:

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Corn or courgette fritters
  • Mini vegetable quiches (make in a muffin tin)
  • Snow or sugar snap peas
  • Celery, carrot, capsicum and/or cucumber sticks with either peanut butter or hummus
  • Traffic light skewers – cherry tomato, orange capsicum, cucumber.

Water, in addition to infant formula and milk as appropriate, is the best drink for children.