2019 marks the 3 - northern nsw local health district · 2019-01-15 · 2019 marks the 3rd year the...
TRANSCRIPT
2019 marks the 3rd year the Big Vegie Crunch
has been offered to Early Childhood
Education (ECE) services in Northern NSW
Based on feedback from ECE services we have decided to
create Vegie Month in the lead up to the Big Vegie Crunch.
This will help achieve some more sustainable changes to
increase the number of vegetables in lunchboxes!
The aim of Vegie month is to integrate vegetables into your
daily or weekly programs – whether that be songs, stories,
art, discussions, nutrition learning experiences or gardening
activities. We have included a range of ideas to get you
started.
DID YOU KNOW?
Only 1 in 20 Australian kids are eating enough vegetables.
Healthy habits are established early in life so we want to
get more kids eating vegetables more often!
This resource is designed as a guide only… feel free to
modify our suggestions to suit your service. You may want
to try all of the activities included, or just choose a couple.
We hope you enjoy Vegie Month!
Happy Crunching
Northern NSW Health Promotion
CONTENTS
Vegie Month Family Challenges
The Big Vegie Crunch
Songs
Books
Tablet / Smart Board Activities
Nutrition Learning Experiences
Recipes
Vegie Month is Over… What Now?
VEGIE MONTH
FAMILY
CHALLENGES
Here are a few challenges you can include in your newsletter or on social
media to encourage families to get involved at home. They are simple to
undertake but will serve as a reminder to eat vegies each day.
THE BIG VEGIE
CRUNCH
Vegie Month will culminate in the 2019 Big Vegie Crunch on the 4th April at 10am
(although as usual we invite you to host your own CRUNCH daily or at any time
during that week). Your service will join school aged kids all over NSW
CRUNCHING along.
This event can be run at your discretion. In the past some services have asked
parents send in whole vegetables or that can be cut up as a platter. Other
services have been fortunate enough to secure sponsorship from local grocers
for produce. You may wish to select a vegetable themed song from the list to
crunch along to, use the countdown timer available or make some vegie dips to
be tried as well.
We have been asked by a few services what others are doing to make the Big
Vegie Crunch more exciting. Some ideas that we have heard include:
- Measuring the sound of your “Crunch” using apps or
websites such as Decibel X (available on Apple and
Android devices, free), or Sound Meter (available on
Apple and Android devices, free)
- Inviting the community and / or local media in to Crunch.
The children love to see themselves in the paper and it
raises more awareness for the great work your service
does to promote healthy eating to kids
- Getting into the theme and dressing up with costumes.
Below is a picture of a couple of our Northern NSW
teachers. There are also some DIY ideas on the
Healthy Kids Association website found
here http://healthy-kids.com.au/wp-
content/uploads/2014/03/FVCostumes.pdf
SONGS Music is a great way to enhance a child’s development. It allows them
to have fun, be creative and supports social development. It can help
develop fine and gross motor skills, improve balance and co-
ordination and help children express emotion. It is also a great way to
help children learn. Here are a few vegetable themed songs you can
try throughout Vegie Month. Let us know if you have a favourite!
The Big Vegie Crunch theme song - The Vegetable Plot
https://healthy-kids.com.au/the-big-vegie-crunch-song/
Vegetables - The Beach Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRSrrFOTlDY
Vegetable Song - the Singing Walrus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE5tvaveVak
Hot Potato - the Wiggles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v4-eAefurY
Vegetable Plot Mini Movie (Spanish Onion) – the Vegetable Plot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPLBLzL4sAQ
"Breakin” Brussels Sprouts - Veggie Boogie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhc6-InBRAg
Root for Radish – Healthy Kids Music Factory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzCFaBXiWfg
Dreaming Vegetables – Johnny and the Raindrops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CS2zL8cl4U
Carrot Song - National Carrot Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWTd0BMdtvg
Five Little Pumpkins - Super Simple Songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trDl36m9pgA
The Farmers Plants the Seeds - The Kiboomers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRhGOdqWIIo
BOOKS
Books can be used in a number of ways to engage children. Here are some of our
favourite vegetable related books, with some questions you can use to create
discussion. Many of these can be streamed online if you can’t find a copy of the book.
The Great Big Enormous Turnip by Alexei Tolstoy
Has anyone tasted a turnip before? Have you grown vegetables before?
How many people did it take to harvest the turnip?
What does this story tell us about team work?
Growing vegetable soup by Lois Ehlert
What type of tools do you use in the garden?
What vegetables would you plant for your very own soup?
Do you help grow vegetables at home / at preschool?
What is your favourite part of growing vegetables - planting, watering, harvesting, or tasting etc?
Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert
Have you tasted XXX before? Did you like it?
Can we taste our own alphabet of vegetables and fruit?
What does XXX feel like / smell like / look like? Can we draw it?
Rah, Rah Radishes! A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre
Looking at the front cover, what do you think the story will be about?
Has anyone tried a radish before?
How many different types of vegetables can we count in this book?
Are there any that you would like to try?
Kindy Kitchen Series by Jessica Rosman
(The Cucumber Frog, Tomato Santa, The Capsicum Hand Puppet,
The Little Bean Baby, The Seaweed Whiskers, The Capsicum Boat)
Each of these books include a recipe and fun facts to discuss with the children.
A Few Bites by Cybele Young
Who has tasted “Dinosaur Food” (Broccoli) before?
How about “Orange Power Sticks” (Carrot)?
Do you know of a vegetable that gives you super powers?
Can you name some Everyday and Sometimes foods in this story?
Sylvia’s Spinach by Katherine Pryor
What is your favourite vegetable?
What did you learn about growing vegetables from this book?
What types of vegetables should we grow in our garden?
Some other titles you may want to try include:
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Veggies with Wedgies by Todd Doodler
Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman
I’m Having a Rainbow for Dinner by NAQ Nutrition
Avocado Baby by John Burningham
I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
Potato Joe by Keith Baker
The Enormous Potato by Aubery Davis
Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens
Rainbow food by Denise Greenaway
Oliver’s Vegetables by Vivian French
Carrot Soup by John Segal
What I do with Vegetable Glue by Susan Chandler
TABLET / SMART
BOARD ACTIVITIES
Tablet and smart board devices can be used in a variety of ways to engage children in
vegetable related activities and learning. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
Plant some sprouting vegetables and use the 1 second Everyday App to record its
growth across the month. This may also be used to take pictures or short clips of
children trying new vegetables each day, or record activities undertaken during
Vegie Month to share with your service community. Explore the Better Health Foundation “Food Champs” page. There are lots of
interactive games for 2-5 year olds including matching games, naming games,
grouping by colour games, finding hidden fruit / vegetables and identifying
whether foods are fruits or vegetables. Fruit and Veg Power E-Book, created by Healthy Kids Association https://healthy-
kids.com.au/fruit-veg-power-es1/ Vegetable Science Quiz, from Healthy Kids Association https://healthy-
kids.com.au/early-stage-1/ Interactive plant growing experience https://tvokids.com/preschool/games/get-
growing
Download a taste testing app such as Taste with Tiny. This is a free app that
allows you take pictures of foods the children are tasting and upload them to the
app so that “Tiny”, and animated animal can eat with the children as well.
Explore the app before using with a group to see whether it can complement
one or your activities. http://tastewithtiny.com/
Youtube clips from pages such as Dirt Girl. Her page
includes videos on gardening, composting, vegetables
and many other environmental themes that can be
used to support learning and any gardening activities
you may be undertaking.
NUTRITION
LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
The following pages include a collection of Nutrition Learning Experiences from the
Munch & Move manual and website, as well as Local Health Districts from across the
state. Each experience has a focus on vegetables. Let us know if you have any other
great ideas that we can share with services.
1. Eat a Rainbow
2. Celebrity Vegetable Heads
3. Vegetable Memory Game (or SNAP)
4. Garden Learning
5. Composting
6. Growing Carrot Plants from Carrot Tops
7. Food For Thought
8. Researching a Vegetable
9. Vegetable Tally Chart
10. Matching Games
This template can also be used for a “SNAP” game
Researching a Vegetable
Choose a vegetable with the children to explore. It may be something growing in the
garden, a vegetable you wish to plant in the garden, a familiar vegetable or one that the
children have never heard of before. You may wish to pick a vegetable from one of the
books you have recently read.
Alternatively, you could use a “Vegetable Mystery Bag” to choose the vegetable and
have the kids feel and guess what is inside the bag before you research it together.
Find out:
- Where does it grow? (on a plant or in the ground?)
- What season does it grow in?
- Does it have seeds?
- Does the outside of the vegetable look different from the inside?
- Make sequence cards for the children to learn about the cycle of the vegetable
from planting, growing, harvesting and cooking
- Explore the types of recipes you could cook using the vegetable
- Taste the vegetable raw and cooked (if safe)
- Explore different vegetables from around the world
Vegetable Tally Chart
1. Download the Vegetable Tally Chart or ask your Munch & Move contact deliver
one to your service.
2. Tally the amount of vegetables featuring in lunchboxes each day, asking children
to put their hand up if they have a certain type of vegetable going through the
list (Remember some children may have more than one type!)
3. Challenge the group to beat their vegetable scores each day across the whole
month.
Matching Games
Create your own vegetable matching game using our templates or cut outs from
magazines.
For younger age groups:
- Match identical vegetable pictures with each other
- Match vegetables to colours
For older age groups:
- Match the inside (cut) of vegetables to the outside (whole) vegetable
- Match how a vegetable grows (plant) to a picture of the vegetable harvested
- Match vegetables to describing words e.g. crunchy, small, sweet, long etc
RECIPES
The following pages include 10 recipes that you can use throughout Vegie Month. These
are only a small selection of what is available on our website. Feel free to visit
https://nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/health-promotion/healthy-eating-recipes/ for more
ideas, or to modify these ones based on ingredients you have available and child
preferences. You could make a “Vegie Month” recipe pamphlet for your families if you
have a few favourites. Most of these recipes have been tried and tested in our kitchens,
however some are from our friends at Foodbank WA “Superhero Foods HQ”.
1. Zany Zucchini Dip
2. Faster Pasta
3. Sandwich Sushi
4. Hummus
5. Rice Paper Rolls
6. Aloha Rice
7. Bread Based Quiche
8. Pizza Muffins
9. Hulk Fritters
10. Cheesy Scones
Tuna and Avocado Sushi Sandwiches
Serves: 5-6 children, or 20-24 as a taster Difficulty: Easy
Equipment: 3 chopping boards, 3 knives, 3 spreading knives, 1 grater, 1 can opener, 2 rolling pins
INGREDIENTS
1 loaf wholemeal bread
1 small tub reduced fat cream cheese
Medium (approx. 400 g) can tuna in spring water,
drained
1 medium avocado, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots
(Any combination of ingredients and vegetables could
be used such as capsicum, cucumber, lettuce, ham,
chicken)
METHOD
1. Place bread slices on
chopping board. Remove
crusts and flatten with a rolling pin.
2. Spread 1 side of each slice of bread with cream
cheese.
3. Thinly slice avocado
4. Peel and grate carrots
5. Arrange tuna, avocado and carrot in rows next to
each other on the bread leaving a 1cm border along 1
edge.
6. Roll up bread from opposite edge to enclose filling.
Cut into bite size pieces and place on serving platter
Hummus
Serves: 25 Difficulty: Easy
Equipment: 1 can opener, 1 food processor, 1 medium
bowl to serve, 2 chopping boards, 2 knives
INGREDIENTS 2 400g tins chickpeas
½ cup tahini
2 cloves garlic
Juice 1-2 lemons
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Vegetables and flat bread cut into strips for
dipping (such as carrots, snow peas, capsicum,
beans, cucumber).
METHOD
1. Drain chickpeas and place
into blender and process
briefly
2. Add tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt
and pepper and process again
3. Add a small amount of water to achieve a soft
creamy paste
4. Cut up vegetables into long sticks and flat breads
to dip into hummus
5. Serve a small amount of hummus to each person
either on a small saucer or in a small cupcake
case, with a selection of cut vegetable sticks or
bread strips
Rice Paper Rolls
Serves: 20 rolls Difficulty: Medium
Equipment: 2 graters, 3 chopping boards, 3 knives, 2 large bowls, 1 colander, 1
large dish (to wet rice paper) , plates / tea towels (to roll on)
INGREDIENTS
1 cup rice noodles
2 cups grated carrot
2 cups julienne cucumber
2 cups bean shoots
Small piece of ginger
Coriander \ Vietnamese mint
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Lime juice (1-2 limes)
20 rice paper roll sheets
Sweet chilli sauce
METHOD
1. Soak rice noodles in boiling water for 5-10 minutes or until soft
2. Grate or julienne (slice thinly) carrot and cucumber. Grate ginger and chop
mint
3. Mix carrot, cucumber, ginger and mint together with bean shoots
4. Add fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice to the salad mix
5. Place one rice paper sheet in a medium bowl of lukewarm water for 15
seconds or until soft. Place on a clean tea towel or plate
6. Place small amount of rice noodles and filling down the middle of the
softened rice paper sheet. Fold in both sides and roll to enclose the filling
7. Repeat with remaining rice paper rounds and filling. Store in airtight
container until ready to use. Can be stored in refrigerator
8. Serve with sweet chilli sauce to dip
Aloha Rice
Serves: 5-6 children, or 20-24 as a taster (1/4 cup each) Difficulty: Easy
Equipment: 1 grater, 3 chopping boards, 3 knives, 1 large bowl, 1 can opener, large spoon to mix
and serve, microwave to cook rice, plastic cup or bowls to serve
INGREDIENTS
½ carrot
½ celery stick
½ small red or green capsicum
2 spring onions
1 can pineapple rings in natural juice
2 slices reduced fat \ salt ham (optional)
4 cups cooked rice (brown rice is the best option)
4 tablespoons sweet corn kernels
Pepper to season
2 tablespoons reduced fat salad dressing (purchase
already made or make up using olive oil, balsamic
vinegar, lemon juice)
METHOD
1. Grate the carrot and put into a mixing bowl
2. Slice the celery finely and add to the bowl
3. Remove the seeds from the capsicum. Cut into small
squares and add to the bowl
4. Cut the root end off the spring onion. Slice finely, then
add to the bowl
5. Drain the pineapple. Cut rings into small pieces and
add to the bowl
6. Slice the ham into small squares and add to the bowl
with the cooked rice, sweet corn, pepper and dressing
7. Using a spoon, mix thoroughly
8. If not using at once, cover with cling wrap (or transfer
to a storage container) and refrigerate until needed
Pumpkin Bread Based Quiche
Serves: 12 quiches Difficulty: Medium
Equipment: 1 bowl, 1 12 hole muffin tin, 1 knife, 1 chopping board, 1 rolling pin
INGREDIENTS
2 cups mashed pumpkin (dry as
possible)
125 g frozen (or fresh) spinach,
diced
125g cottage cheese
½ onion, finely diced
2 eggs
2 tsp mild curry powder
1 salt reduced chicken stock
cube
12 slices wholemeal bread
Oil Spray
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and spray a 12 whole muffin tin with oil
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, except bread
3. Cut crusts off bread and then flatten them. Line each muffin hole with one
slice
4. Fill each bread cup with pumpkin mixture
5. Bake for 60min or until mixture is set
Pizza Muffins
Serves: 10, or cut in half and 20 as a taster Difficulty: Medium
Equipment: 4 chopping boards, 4 knives, 4 spoons, 2 oven trays, oven or a sandwich toaster
INGREDIENTS
1 packet English muffins (halved)
½ cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons of oregano
1 capsicum
5 mushrooms
2 tomatoes
1 onion
1 small can of pineapple
Reduced fat cheese (grated)
METHOD
1. Chop up all vegetables
and pineapple into small pieces.
2. Lay halved English muffins on oven trays. Spread with
tomato paste.
3. Cover each muffin with vegetables, cheese and
sprinkle with oregano.
4. Cook in sandwich toaster with lid half open, or in oven
for 100 degrees Celsius until cheese has melted.
Cheesy Scones
Serves: 15 scones Difficulty: Medium
Equipment: 2 baking trays, 1 chopping board, 1 knife, 1 grater, measuring cups, 1 large bowl, 1
wooden spoon
INGREDIENTS
3 cups wholemeal selfraising flour
60g margarine
1 cup milk
¾ cup chopped chives / shallots
2 large carrots (grated)
¾ cup finely chopped spinach leaves
1 ½ cups grated cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil spray
METHOD
1. Heat oven to 200 degrees (180 degree fan forced) and
line an oven tray with baking paper
2. Add flour, salt, pepper and margarine to a large bowl and
mix with your hands until it resembled a bread crumb
consistency
3. Stir through chives, carrot, spinach and 1 cup of cheese,
gradually add milk; mixing together to form a stiff dough
4. Gently knead a few times and flatten into discs
approximately 2cm think
5. Place small discs on oven trays, brush tops with
remaining milk and sprinkle with remaining cheese
6. Bake for approximately 20min or until the tops are lightly
golden
Hulk Fritters
Serves: 25 fritters Difficulty: Medium
Equipment: 1 small bowl, 1 fork, 1 grater, 1 chopping board, 1 knife, 1 wooden spoon, 1 large
bowl, 1 electronic fry pan, 1 egg flip
INGREDIENTS
750g green peas
3 tablespoons parsley (chopped)
5 eggs
350g ricotta
1 cup wholemeal flour
1-2 large zucchinis
Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
1. Smash peas and grate zucchini
2. Combine in a bowl with parsley, flour and eggs
3. Add salt and pepper to paste
4. Mix through ricotta
5. Spoon into a frypan and cook on medium / high for
approximately 2 minutes each side, or until golden
brown
VEGIE MONTH IS
OVER… WHAT
NEXT?
Keep the momentum rolling with all things veg throughout 2019. Save all of the ideas in
this resource and use them when you get a chance. Think outside the box… use potato
art as a chance to re-engage children with vegetables, or use garden produce to
continually encourage children to try different foods.
Encourage parents to pack a vegetable snack in lunchboxes each day, or if you are a
service that provides food, include lots of vegetable options throughout your menu.
Look at implementing a version of “Crunch Time” (a specific time that kids eat their
vegetable snack) at your service. You may even do this by reminding children to have
their vegetable snacks first at morning tea. This not only normalises snacking on
vegetables to children and families, but it is a great way to support transition to primary
school and the Crunch & Sip program commonly adopted there.
We would also love to hear from you! If you have any comments, feedback, ideas or
would just love to share your story about Vegie Month please email
[email protected]. We use this feedback to create bigger and better ideas
into the future.