Boosting Fruit & Vegetable Consumption with EYFS Teaching Resources. How Let’s Grow Supports Healthy Eating Habits.

Ensuring children eat a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables is crucial for their health and development. At Let’s Grow, we’re committed to helping early years practitioners use effective EYFS teaching resources to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among young learners. From hands-on activities to imaginative play, our resources are designed to make healthy eating an exciting part of daily life.

The Role of EYFS Teaching Resources in Promoting Fruit & Vegetable Consumption

Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is essential for children's growth and development. These foods provide vital nutrients that support overall health, boost immunity, and help maintain energy levels. However, introducing and encouraging children to enjoy these foods can be challenging, especially when dealing with fussy eaters. Quality nutrition in nurseries and schools, supported by comprehensive EYFS teaching resources, sets the foundation for lifelong healthy eating habits.

How the Let’s Grow EYFS Teaching Resources are Enhanced to Support Healthy Eating

1. Healthy Recipes and Practical Guidance

Our Handy Hints “Food & Body Talk” section is a valuable component of our EYFS teaching resources, offering practical advice on handling fussy eaters, promoting food and body neutrality, and fostering a positive approach to healthy eating. By incorporating these tips into your practice, you can encourage children to try new foods and develop a preference for fruits and vegetables.

Additionally, Let’s Grow provides a range of healthy recipes within our EYFS teaching resources that are both nutritious and appealing to young taste buds. These recipes are designed to be simple and fun, making it easy for children to get involved in preparing their own meals. From fruit smoothies to vegetable-packed muffins, our recipes help introduce children to healthy eating in an enjoyable way.

2. Interactive Activities and Hands-On Learning

In our EYFS teaching resources, we offer a variety of activities focused on fruits and vegetables. These include:

• Handling Fruit & Vegetables: Activities that involve washing, peeling, and cutting fruits and vegetables help children become more familiar with these foods and develop fine motor skills.

• Tasting Sessions: Allowing children to taste different fruits and vegetables helps them discover new flavours and textures, making them more likely to enjoy these foods.

• Growing Food: We encourage practitioners to grow fruits and vegetables in their settings. This hands-on approach teaches children where their food comes from, from seed to harvest, and fosters an appreciation for fresh produce. Our Get Growing Guide is an excellent resource for this.

Children learn about the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables and develop a positive attitude toward them by engaging in activities from our EYFS teaching resources.

3. Imaginative Play and Learning Through Stories

Imaginative play is a powerful tool for teaching children about healthy eating. Through role-playing and storytelling, Let’s Grow introduces children to a wide range of fruits and vegetables in a fun and engaging way. Characters like Mr. Bloom and the Nannies along with the fruit and vegetable babies featured in our EYFS teaching resources, make learning about food enjoyable and memorable, encouraging children to explore and enjoy different produce.

Our resources include interactive stories and games that highlight the importance of fruits and vegetables, helping children understand and appreciate these foods in a playful context. Children will become familiar with fruits and vegetables by interacting and caring for the babies, decreasing their aversion to them.

4. Creating a Positive Food Environment with EYFS Teaching Resources

The quality of food and nutrition provided in early years settings are essential for fostering healthy eating habits. Let’s Grow supports practitioners in creating an environment that promotes positive food experiences through our EYFS teaching resources. By offering guidance on setting up healthy eating routines, providing engaging food-related activities, and incorporating nutritious recipes, we help practitioners create a food culture that encourages children to eat more fruits and vegetables.

A Collaborative Approach to Healthy Eating with EYFS Teaching Resources

At Let’s Grow, we believe that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is a collaborative effort involving educators, parents, and children. Our EYFS teaching resources are designed to support practitioners in making healthy eating an integral part of early childhood education, actively engaging parents in the process. By fostering strong parental partnerships, we create a consistent learning experience both in early years settings and at home.

Educators are equipped with practical tools and resources to extend healthy eating lessons beyond the classroom. This includes sharing simple, child-friendly recipes that children have made in the setting, such as courgette and carrot muffins or veggie dips. These recipes can be recreated at home, offering a wonderful opportunity for families to continue exploring healthy eating together. By involving parents, children can reinforce what they’ve learned, building familiarity and excitement around fruits and vegetables.

In addition to recipes, Let’s Grow provides linked home-based activities, such as scrapbooking, storytelling, or even a vegetable baby playdate that parents and children can enjoy together. These activities create a bridge between the learning that happens in early years settings and everyday life at home, fostering greater engagement and reinforcing the key messages around healthy eating, personal development, and creativity.

This collaborative approach empowers parents to take an active role in their child’s learning journey, turning healthy eating into a shared, enjoyable experience. It also supports educators by providing the tools they need to engage families effectively, creating a stronger sense of community and continuity between home and school. With Let’s Grow’s comprehensive EYFS teaching resources, healthy eating becomes a fun, hands-on adventure for children, parents, and educators alike.

👉 If you'd love to learn more about Let's Grow and how our resources can enhance and support you in your classroom through a balanced combination of technology and practical activities, sign up for our completely FREE Getting Started Guide !