Why healthy matters at this age
Health authorities recommend that the eating habits formed in the early years often continue throughout life. Children grow and develop rapidly during this period, so nutritious food is important, not just for their energy through the day, but for the habits they're forming for life.
We encourage parents to make healthy choices when packing food. You don't need to get every meal perfect, just aim for variety, colour, and foods your child is actually likely to eat.
Our nut-aware policy
Roseville Kindergarten is a nut-aware centre. Please do not send:
- Whole nuts or nut pieces
- Peanut butter sandwiches
- Nutella or other nut-based spreads
- Muesli bars or snacks containing nuts
- Any food that contains nuts as an ingredient
This is to keep children with nut allergies safe. Check ingredient labels, nuts turn up in surprising places.
What we ask you not to send
Please avoid "sometimes foods" in daily lunchboxes:
- Cakes and cake-style bars
- Chips and crisps
- Sweet flavoured yoghurts (plain or naturally-flavoured yoghurts are great)
- Lollies
- Sweet biscuits
- Roll-ups
- Highly processed snacks
Healthy ideas to pack
Be healthy, be creative. Here are some ideas that go down well with preschoolers:
Savoury snacks
- Savoury biscuits with cheese spreads or dip
- Vegetable slices or sticks, celery, carrot, cucumber, capsicum
- Dips served with biscuits or vegetable sticks
- Cheese cubes or cheese sticks
- Plain popcorn
- Rice cakes
- Bread sticks
Fruit
- Whole fruit, cut fruit, or fruit salad
- Stewed fruit in a small container
- Dried fruit, apples, apricots, sultanas, pears
Baked goods
- Pikelets (you can add grated fruit or vegetables to the mix)
- Fruit muffins
- Sultana, raisin, or banana bread
Yoghurts and dairy
- Natural or fruit-flavoured yoghurts (avoid heavily sweetened varieties)
- Cheese cubes or cheese sticks
Cold salads
- Pasta salad
- Rice salad
- Green or Greek salad
Sandwich, wrap & roll fillings
You can use plain bread, Lebanese bread, pita wraps, or a bread roll. Please, no peanut butter or Nutella.
- Shredded chicken with cheese and lettuce
- Tuna, corn and lettuce
- Turkey breast with cucumber and lettuce
- Ham, chutney and alfalfa sprouts
- Cold roast meat, lettuce, tomato and chutney
- Vegemite and cheese
- Cream cheese, grated carrot and sultanas
- Avocado, tomato and lettuce
- Mashed banana
How we store food
All perishable food is stored in the fridges provided at the centre until it's ready to be served, to keep it at the recommended temperature.
Please pack food in clearly labelled containers and bring a labelled water bottle each day.
Thermos & hot food
We do not recommend children bring food in a thermos or food flask. Thermoses may not meet food safety temperature standards, and we are not able to reheat food brought from home at the centre.
If families choose to send food in a thermos or food flask despite this, Eikoh Seminar Australia Pty Ltd and its child care centres accept no responsibility for any illness that may occur as a result of children consuming food from a thermos or food flask. Families who wish to use one will need to complete a Food Storage waiver (form S.18).