Examples of Healthy Nursery

Menus

Prepared by

The Nursery Food Specialists

Commissioned by:
HM Partnerships
Tel: 0151 928 7830 Email: info@hmpartnerships.co.uk
www.hmpartnerships.co.uk
 Page

Liverpool Nursery Nutrition project 3

Why is it important to meet nutritional guidelines? 3

What are the nutritional guidelines for nurseries? 4

Nursery menu development 5

Supporting notes for menu 6

Disclaimer/ Acknowledgements 7

Menu: week 1 8

Menu: week 2 9

Menu: week 3 10

Appendix 1. Graph comparing new menu to guidelines:- averaged week 1-3. 11

Appendix 2. Graph comparing Liverpool nursery survey 2009/2010 to guidelines 12

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Liverpool Nursery Nutrition Project
In 2009 Liverpool First for Health and Wellbeing Partnership identified a need to offer support
in food and nutrition to early years settings across the city. HM Partnerships was
commissioned to carry out an evaluation of the existing practice, knowledge and provision in
nurseries. This report showed that all nurseries required support on healthy eating at a policy,
knowledge and training level.

This led to the development of a structured support package designed to enable nursery staff
to increase their knowledge and skills in early years nutrition. This included access to a
nutrition for early years educational programme, along with a number of resources to support
nurseries in providing healthy, balanced and nutritious food in their settings.

HM Partnerships commissioned nursery food specialists Menu Matters, to devise a

nutritionally balanced 3 week menu plan suitable for use in nurseries for children aged 1-4
years. The menu plan is a complete package comprising full menus for 3 weeks, recipes,
costings and shopping lists.

Why is it important that your nursery menus meet nutritional

guidelines?
To guarantee that children attending nursery are receiving a diet that fulfils their
nutritional requirements.
o There is evidence demonstrating that a good diet underpins more effective
learning.
o A varied menu for this age group will help to encourage healthy food choices as
they progress through life.

To enable you to reassure parents that their childs nutritional needs will be met

To enable you to promote your nursery as a healthy eating establishment using the
supporting evidence of nutritionally balanced menus.

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What are the nutritional guidelines for the under-5s in childcare?
For the under 5s in childcare, they specify the levels of 12 different nutrients and some foods
that children should get from their nursery food.

The nutritional guidelines for nursery food are defined as Nutrient-based standards. These are
clear nutritional guidelines based on current dietary reference values which are published by
the Department of Health. Dietary reference values are the amounts of energy and nutrients
needed by groups of people; they are the benchmarks which can be used to ensure that the
needs of all the individuals in a population group are likely to be met.

Who set them?

The nutritional guidelines for under-5s in childcare were issued by the Caroline Walker Trust
(CWT) www.cwt.org.uk, a body that is dedicated to the improvement of public health through
good food, in 2006.

Why were they needed?

The guidelines were formulated because research shows that the diets of many under-5s are
inadequate (1)

There is mounting pressure for the nutritional guidelines for nursery food to be made
mandatory, as is the case with school meals: The Georgie Porgie report (2), published in
autumn 2008, achieved significant TV and press publicity after drawing attention to
deficiencies in nursery food. More recently a Panorama report (3) in January 2010 stated that
the results of a national survey of nursery food highlighted concerns - of the 10 results
available at the time of the programme, all had problems:

None provided enough energy

None provided sufficient iron or zinc.

A survey of nursery nutrition across Liverpool (4) in 2009/2010, commissioned by the Liverpool
First for Health and Wellbeing Partnership, showed similar trends. (See graph in appendix 2
which summarises the average nutrition of the sample, as a comparison to the guidelines)

The School Food Trust recently reviewed the need for clear nutritional standards in nurseries.
They assessed a sample of current nursery menus against the CWT guidelines for nursery
food. They submitted their report and recommendations to the Government in October 2010
and are currently awaiting a response.

References
Please refer to extracts from the CWT (Source: H Crawley 2006. Eating well for under-5s in child care: Practical and
nutritional guidelines. The Caroline Walker Trust)

1. Gregory JR, Collins DL, Davies PSW, Hughes JM, Clarke PC. 1995. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Children
Ages 1 to 4 Years. Volume 1: Report of the Diet and Nutrition Survey. London: HMSO.
2. Fookes C. 2008. Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie. Exposing the truth about nursery food. Organix and the Soil
Association.
3. Panorama. January 2010. Whats really in our kids food? BBC
4. Nursery nutrition and food provision in Liverpool commissioned by the Liverpool First for health and Wellbeing
Partnership April 2010 http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Images/tcm21-179861.pdf
5. www.cwt-chew.org.uk
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A nursery menu has been developed to provide the following:
A 3 WEEK MENU that adopts the guidance for the under 5s in childcare, set by the
Caroline Walker Trust (CWT)*

RECIPES THAT ARE SIMPLE TO PREPARE, from ingredients readily available in

Supermarkets.
o There are a wide variety of dishes, with key nutrients being supplied through
numerous different ingredient sources that are likely to appeal to children. It has
meat, fish and vegetarian choices, with cultural dishes along side established
favourites and regional specialities.
o Preparation and cooking requirements for tea and snack recipes have been kept
to a minimum where time and resource may be an issue.

COSTINGS: ingredient costings have been calculated for the menus based on
average Supermarket prices w/c 22/11/10. The average daily ingredient cost per head
across the menu is 1.34. See menu plans and shopping list for a more detailed
breakdown.

A SHOPPING LIST has been attached for each weekly menu, to use as a guide for
buying ingredients. This will help to keep costs to a minimum and to reduce wastage.
The shopping list is based on actual recipe weights; an allowance needs to be made for
fruit and vegetable peelings.

* It meets the energy and nutrient intakes for all nutrients with the exception of sodium/ salt which are slightly
over, at 110% of the current target levels. However, the CWT have noted the target population averages of
2g/day for children aged 1-3 years and 3g/day for children aged 4-6 years were based on calculated values, and
the committee did not attempt to see if these figures were achievable when the sorts of varied and tasty foods we
want children to eat were used in the menus. They are very challenging standards to meet, and we believe that a
further review of these figures is needed. Menus devised by CWT have allowed for 125% of the current salt
target levels, we have set a limit of 110% of the current target levels.

The graph in appendix 1 shows how the menu compares to nursery guidelines

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Notes to accompany the menus
1. Check labels of products when selecting for menu use often own label varieties have
lower salt levels than branded ones e.g. Cereals, pesto etc.

2. For ease of preparation, ingredient quantities have frequently been referred to as

whole items rather than specific weights. E.g. 3 carrots, 1 tsp herbs etc, the
corresponding weights for these have been taken from the Food Portion Sizes book,
published by the Food Standards Agency. Where published data was not available an
average weight was determined in the Menu Matters test kitchen:

Ingredient Quantity descriptor Weight

Herbs * 1 level tsp 1g
Spices * 1 tsp 3g
Pepper * 1 level tsp 2g
Spice (dried) * 1 tsp 3g
Garlic paste 1 tsp 5g
Tomato puree 1 tbsp 30g
Mustard * 1 level tsp 8g
Pesto 1 tbsp 25g
Onion * 1 medium 150g
Celery stick 65g
Courgette 1 160g
Carrot 1 80g
Leek 1 200g
Parmesan 1 tbsp fresh grated 5g
Sweet potato 1 170g
Sugar * 1 tbsp 20g
flour 1 tbsp 15g
rd
* Values taken from Food Portion Sizes Book 3 edition

3. Frozen vegetables may be listed in a recipe for ease of preparation. The fresh variety
would be preferable and should be substituted if time and budgets allow.

4. The Following table gives useful conversion factors for oven temperature

Electricity C Electricity f Gas Mark

Cool 140 275 1
150 300 2
Moderate 160 325 3
180 350 4
Moderately hot 190 375 5
200 400 6
Hot 220 425 7

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 5. Breakfast. The nutrient-based standards dont include breakfast, therefore, they have
not been included in the analysis. However, breakfast is important and The CWT gives
the following advice about it.- Breakfast cereals with milk make an important
contribution to daily nutrient intakes. Look for ones low in sugar, avoid ones with added
sugar and salt and look for ones which are fortified with minerals and vitamins
(particularly iron) e.g. Cornflakes, Rice Crispies, Puffed Wheat, Weetabix. High fibre
cereals should be given in moderation because they are bulky and may fill children up
quickly. Cereals like muesli may contain nuts which should be avoided. Other ideas for
breakfast are available in the Chew guidelines (5)

6. The menu developed has been analysed using dedicated software from Saffron
Nutrition, a division of Fretwell-Downing Hospitality. Saffron Nutrition is the UKs
leading nutritional analysis solution, and is supplied to Local Authorities responsible for
primary and secondary school catering.

(5) www.cwt-chew.org.uk

Disclaimer
The analysis provided in this report is based on the specific data contained within
the menus and recipes provided.
The analysis refers to the CWT guidelines for 1-4 year olds in full day care.
Menu Matters cannot be held responsible for the nutritional content of recipes
where any variations are made to the quantity or type of ingredients originally
specified, or where any variations are made to the cooking process. If you wish
to make any changes to the recipes or cooking methods, we recommend that
your recipes are re-analysed against the nutrient-based standards.
Recipes have been costed using average Supermarket prices available w/c
22/11/10 which can be used as a guide for ingredient costings of the recipes.

Acknowledgements
The menus, recipes and shopping plans were complied by Nicky Dexter at Menu Matters for
the Liverpool Nursery Nutrition Project

If you are interested in finding out more about Menu Matters please visit their website
www.menumatters.co.uk and if you want to contact them directly, e-mail
nicky@menumatters.co.uk

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Nursery Menu 2010 Week 1

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Pitta (plain) Vegetable Wholemeal Crackers & Pitta

& houmous & bread toast slices & mixed fruit (wholemeal)
Morning Snack
dip with sticks & mixed fruit & vegetable
cucumber dips sticks with
sticks garlic dip
Drink Milk Milk Milk Milk Milk

Mixed Bean Lamb Corned beef Roast Beef Salmon &

Goulash, hotpot, hash Roast pasta bake,
rice Spring & baked potatoes, spinach
Lunch Main
Greens beans Carrot &
swede mash,
broccoli &
gravy

Greek Banana & Chocolate Apple Ice-cream &

yoghurt & custard rice pudding crumble & fruit puree
Pudding
tinned & raisins custard topping
peaches

Drink Water Water Water Water Water

Bagel & Popcorn, Crumpet with Breadstick & Fruit

cream grapes & cheese & houmous dip
Afternoon Snack
cheese, apple apple slices with cherry
cherry tomatoes
tomato
Drink Milk Milk Milk Milk Milk

Macaroni & Soup & roll Pasta salad Assorted Pizza and
Cauliflower sandwiches, potato
Tea Main
cheese, cucumber wedges.
and cherry
tomatoes.

Fruit salad Chocolate Fromage Greek Apricot &

rice Krispie frais yoghurt & raisin tray
Pudding
cakes, banana bake
strawberry pieces
garnish
Drink Water Water Water Water Water
COST/
HEAD 1.08 1.39 0.94 1.66 1.61

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Nursery Menu- 2010 week 2

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Bagel & cream Pitta Wholemeal Pitta Breadstick,

cheese, (plain)and toast fingers (wholemeal) cucumber
Morning Snack grapes veg sticks & sliced fruit & veg sticks & carrot
with garlic with slices &
and chive houmous garlic dip
dip dip
Drink Milk Milk Milk Milk Milk

Mediterranean Beef curry & Shepherds Quorn sweet Scouse

pasta, rice pie, peas & sour with red
Lunch Main
cabbage &
crusty
bread

Ice Cream & Chocolate Fruit salad Pineapple Banana &

fruit puree pear sponge upside down custard
Pudding
with custard cake with
vanilla ice
cream
Drink Water Water Water Water Water

Breadstick & Seasonal Crackers Yoghurt Popcorn,

Afternoon Snack houmous dip, fruit and fruit apple &
cherry pear
tomatoes
Drink Milk Milk Milk Milk Milk

Jacket potato Assorted Couscous Salmon fish Beans on

with tuna & sandwiches, salad cakes, toast
sweet corn cherry tomato
Tea Main
tomatoes sauce dip ,
cucumber
Raisins & sticks
sultanas

Pudding Fruit scone Mandarin Fromage Fruity Fruit salad

Jelly frais flapjack
Drink Water Water Water Water Water
COST/
HEAD 1.25 1.40 1.11 1.62 1.09

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Nursery Menu 2010 week 3

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Bagel & cream Toast Popcorn, Crackers & Pitta

cheese, cherry fingers, apple & pear fruit (wholemeal),
Morning Snack
tomato fruit & veg chunks houmous &
sticks cherry
tomatoes
Drink Milk Milk Milk Milk Milk

Tuna pasta Cottage Lamb Chilli & Fish pie,

bake, broccoli pie & burger, rice, Broccoli
Lunch Main
Spring potato peas
Greens wedges,
peas

Stewed fruit & Greek Shortbread Chocolate Fruit salad

custard yoghurt & biscuit sponge &
Pudding
fruit Seasonal custard
fruit
(strawberry)
Drink Water Water Water Water Water

Pitta (plain) & Crumpet Pitta Sliced fruit Tinned

houmous, with (wholemeal) & Greek mandarins
Afternoon Snack cherry cheese & & carrot yoghurt dip and Greek
tomatoes & apple sticks with yogurt
cucumber slices garlic and
chive dip
Drink Milk Milk Milk Milk Milk

Mediterranean Jacket Roasted Soup & roll Savoury rice

Tea Main tart, new potato & vegetable
potatoes, beans Couscous
salad

Oatie biscuits Chocolate Yoghurt Melon & Chocolate

Pudding
flapjack, Gingernut brownie &
grapes strawberries
Drink Water Water Water Water Water
COST/

HEAD 1.22 1.44 1.21 1.24 1.82

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Autumn 2010 Nutrition Chart Plan
Weeks 1-3 averaged, Nutrition rule: 1-4 Year olds in Full Day Care, comparison to nutritional guidelines

The 3 week menu plan meets the energy and nutrient intakes for all nutrients with the exception of sodium/ salt which are slightly over, at 110% of the current target levels.
However, the CWT have noted the target population averages of 2g/day for children aged 1-3 years and 3g/day for children aged 4-6 years were based on calculated values,
and the committee [Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition] did not attempt to see if these figures were achievable when the sorts of varied and tasty foods we want
children to eat were used in the menus. They are very challenging standards to meet, and we believe that a further review of these figures is needed. Menus devised by CWT
have allowed for 125% of the current salt target levels, we have set a limit of 110% of the current target levels.
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Results from the Nursery Nutrition and Food Provision in Liverpool Survey (4), published in April 2010
Average results consolidated from all participating nurseries.

Nutrition rule: 1-4 Year olds in Full Day Care, comparison to nutritional guidelines

Full menu cycles - full menu analysis

233
200.0

167
162
Percentage of Target

117
112 111

100.0

72 75
66 68
61

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