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Healthy Eating and Menu Planning
Healthy eating and good nutrition are essential in the early years to promote proper growth and development. Did you know that a child’s eating habits are mostly formed from 0 to 6 years? This makes the early years a critical time to promote healthy eating habits.
Below you will find resources and tools to help you with menu planning and creating a healthy nutrition environment at your centre. For free copies of any of these resources, call the health unit at 519-426-6170 Ext. 3250.
Menu Planning and Supportive Nutrition Environment Toolkit
Everything you need to know about planning, preparing and serving a healthy menu at your centre. The Practical Guide includes information on food and beverage choices, label reading, menu planning templates, sample menus, a guide to portion sizes, and tips on healthy celebrations and fundraising.
- Introductory letter to the Practical Guide
- Menu Planning & Supportive Nutrition Environments in Child Care Settings
- Menu and Nutrition Environment Self-Assessment Tool for Child Care Settings
Sample Menus and Recipes
Six weeks of sample menus and recipes approved by dietitians from Ottawa Public Health.
Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants (6-24 months)
- Learn more about Health Canada’s recommendations on feeding infants and young children from 2 to 24 months.
Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants - Learn how to safely store and serve expressed breast milk at your centre.
Expressed Breast Milk in Child Care Centres
Canada’s Food Guide
Download a copy of the Food Guide and learn more about serving sizes and healthy choices for children 2 years and older. Learn how to choose healthy products using the Nutrition Facts Table.
Free Online Nutrition Course for Child Care Providers – Good Beginnings
Good Beginnings is a free online preschool nutrition course for child care providers developed by dietitians. Certificate is provided upon completion.
Food Allergies
Best practices for the management and treatment of anaphylaxis including an online anaphylaxis course.
NutriSTEP® – Nutrition Screening Tool for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Do you want to know if a child is a healthy eater? NutriSTEP® is a nutrition risk screening questionnaire that parents or caregivers can fill out to see how their child is doing in terms of nutrition. For more information on the program or to get free copies for your centre visit our NutriSTEP web page.
Healthy Fundraising Ideas
Choose activities to raise money that are unrelated to food or that offer the healthiest food and beverages.
Healthy Eating Activities
BOKS Bits help young children learn about healthy eating throughout the child care daily routine. You can build these “bits” of information or quick activities into the children’s day. Scroll to the bottom of the page on the link below.
Story Books about Food for Babies and Young Children
A list of books for story time that talk about food in a positive, healthy way. Developed by York Region.
Gardening at Your Child Care Centre
To speak to a dietitian about food and nutrition at your centre, or to have your menu reviewed, contact the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit at 519-426-6170 Ext. 3237
Page last updated: June 2016