Food and Health Guidelines - Torfaen Family Information Service
Food and Health Guidelines - Torfaen Family Information Service
Food and Health Guidelines - Torfaen Family Information Service
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6. Menu Planning<br />
<strong>Health</strong>y snacks<br />
<strong>and</strong> drinks<br />
Pre-school children often have small<br />
appetites <strong>and</strong> need regular meals together<br />
with 2-3 snacks per day. Snacks are<br />
important to help meet the energy needs<br />
of children. Snacks should be healthy, taste<br />
good <strong>and</strong> should have a clear nutritional<br />
benefit in that they should provide essential<br />
nutrients rather than just calories. The best<br />
snacks to serve are fresh fruit <strong>and</strong> vegetables<br />
<strong>and</strong> those free of added sugars. For further<br />
suggestions, see figure 1.<br />
To Avoid<br />
Sugary snacks to avoid in the Early Years<br />
setting include biscuits, sugary pastries, <strong>and</strong><br />
sugary desserts including yoghurts, dried fruit,<br />
sugary breakfast cereals <strong>and</strong> confectionery.<br />
These can damage teeth if served too often<br />
throughout the day. <strong>Food</strong>s such as yoghurts<br />
are best kept to mealtimes.<br />
<strong>Food</strong>s such as crisps <strong>and</strong> savoury snacks are<br />
very high in salt <strong>and</strong> are not recommended.<br />
Nuts- whole nuts can cause choking.<br />
Some children may suffer from nut allergies<br />
when even small amounts can cause<br />
serious <strong>and</strong> sometimes fatal reactions to<br />
sufferers. It is probably best therefore to ban<br />
nuts altogether. (See appendix 5 for more<br />
information).<br />
Dried fruit- fine to eat as part of a pudding<br />
after a meal but can be bad for teeth if eaten<br />
as a snack. This is because of their sugary<br />
<strong>and</strong> sticky consistency.<br />
General snack time rules<br />
• We talk about the food<br />
• We look at the food<br />
• We feel the food<br />
• We smell the food<br />
• We taste the food<br />
• We do not have to eat the whole snack<br />
• We can say whether we like the<br />
food or not<br />
• We only take a snack if there is enough<br />
for everyone to have a piece.<br />
J Clarke, Snack time. 2005<br />
Drinks<br />
Infants<br />
• Breastfed babies do not require any<br />
additional fluids other than breast-milk<br />
until they start to eat solid food.<br />
• Bottle fed babies less than 6 months of age<br />
should only be given cooled boiled water if<br />
additional fluid is required.<br />
• Breast milk or infant formula <strong>and</strong> water<br />
are the only suitable drinks for the first year<br />
of life.<br />
For healthy snack suggestions see Figure 1.<br />
12
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