healthy eating activities for nursery​

Teaching young children about healthy eating doesn't need to feel like a chore. When you weave nutrition education into play, exploration, and hands-on activities, children develop a genuine interest in food that can last a lifetime. At Little Mowgli Nursery, we believe that building positive relationships with food starts early, and the right activities can make all the difference.

This guide explores practical, engaging healthy eating activities for nursery settings that help children learn about nutrition whilst having fun.

Why Start Healthy Eating Education in Nursery?

The early years are when children form their eating habits and attitudes towards food. According to NHS guidance, children in the UK consume too much saturated fat, salt, and sugar whilst not getting enough fruits, vegetables, fibre, and oily fish. Starting nutrition education in nursery settings gives children the foundation they need to make better choices as they grow.

Research shows that children aged two to five are most likely to experience reluctant eating, where they refuse familiar foods or won't try new ones. This phase is normal, but the right activities can help children move through it more quickly. When children participate in food-related activities, they become familiar with different foods without the pressure of having to eat them straight away.

Sensory Exploration Activities

One of the most effective healthy eating activities for nursery children involves using all five senses to discover food. This approach, often called sensory exploration, helps children become comfortable with new foods before they're expected to taste them.

Set up a sensory table with different fruits and vegetables. Let children touch, smell, and examine the foods. Ask questions like "What does this feel like?" or "Does it smell sweet or strong?" This activity works particularly well with foods that have interesting textures, such as pineapples, kiwis, coconuts, or cauliflower.

You can extend this activity by cutting open fruits and vegetables so children can see what's inside. The University of Georgia's "Eat Healthy, Be Active" programme, which focuses on 3 to 5-year-olds, recommends hands-on activities that allow children to explore food through multiple senses.

Another simple sensory activity is the "guess the food" game. Place a familiar fruit or vegetable in a bag and have children guess what it is just by feeling it. This builds familiarity whilst keeping things playful.

Growing and Gardening Projects

Growing food with children is one of the most powerful ways to teach them about healthy eating. When children plant seeds, care for plants, and harvest their own vegetables, they develop a deeper appreciation for where food comes from.

Start small with easy-to-grow options like cherry tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, or beans. These vegetables grow quickly, which keeps young children interested. You don't need a large outdoor space either. Window boxes, plant pots, or even plastic bottles cut in half work well for container gardening.

At Little Mowgli Nursery, we embrace nature-inspired learning, and growing food outdoors gives children the chance to connect with the natural world whilst learning about nutrition. Children can water the plants, measure their growth, and observe changes over time. This teaches patience, responsibility, and the connection between effort and reward.

Quick growing vegetables to try:

• Cherry tomatoes (7-8 weeks)
• Radishes (3-4 weeks)
• Salad leaves (4-6 weeks)
• Spring onions (8-10 weeks)
• Strawberries (seasonal)

When harvest time arrives, let children pick the ripe produce and taste what they've grown. This completes the cycle and shows them the direct result of their care and attention.

Food Group Sorting and Recognition

Teaching children about food groups helps them understand balanced eating. Make this learning visual and interactive with sorting activities.

Create a food group display using pictures of different foods. Give children images to sort into categories: fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy. You can use real food packaging, photos from magazines, or printed pictures.

The "Go, Slow, Whoa" system is another effective approach developed by early childhood nutrition programmes. "Go" foods are the healthiest and can be eaten anytime (like fruits, vegetables, and wholegrains). "Slow" foods are okay sometimes (like white bread or cheese). "Whoa" foods are treats that should make children stop and think (like sweets or crisps).

This system helps children start to categorise foods without making any food completely forbidden, which can backfire and make less healthy foods more appealing.

Creative Art with Food

Art activities using fruits and vegetables help children become familiar with different foods through creative play. This removes any pressure to eat and lets children explore food in a relaxed way.

Vegetable stamping is a classic activity. Cut vegetables like bell peppers, celery, or potatoes in half, dip them in paint, and use them as stamps. Children love seeing the patterns different vegetables make.

You can also use fruits and vegetables as still life subjects for drawing or painting. Set up a display of colourful produce and let children draw what they see. This encourages close observation and helps children notice details they might otherwise miss.

Some settings create "food faces" where children arrange sliced fruits and vegetables into funny faces on plates. This playful approach makes healthy foods more approachable.

Story Time and Food Books

Reading stories about food, farming, and healthy eating brings these concepts to life. Books like "Oliver's Vegetables" and "Oliver's Fruit Salad" by Vivian French are popular choices in nursery settings.

After reading, you can extend the learning with related activities. If you read about a character trying new vegetables, set up a tasting activity with similar foods. If the story involves a farmer's market, create a pretend market in your role-play area.

Story time also builds vocabulary. Children learn words like "crunchy," "fresh," "ripe," and "harvest" in context, which helps them talk about food more confidently.

Cooking and Food Preparation

Simple cooking activities teach children practical skills whilst showing them how ingredients become meals. At Little Mowgli Nursery, we know that involving children in food preparation makes them more interested in eating the results.

Start with no-cook recipes like fruit salads, smoothies, or sandwich making. Children can wash fruit, tear lettuce, spread butter, or mix ingredients together. These tasks develop fine motor skills alongside nutrition knowledge.

As children get older, you can introduce simple cooking with supervision. Making vegetable soup, preparing pizzas with healthy toppings, or creating their own snack boxes all work well.

The key is to choose age-appropriate tasks. Two-year-olds can wash and tear. Three-year-olds can stir and pour. Four and five-year-olds can use child-safe knives to cut soft foods and follow simple recipe steps.

Rainbow Eating Challenge

The rainbow eating challenge encourages children to eat a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables. Each colour provides different vitamins and minerals, so eating a rainbow ensures good nutrition.

Create a rainbow chart and ask children to name a healthy food for every colour. Red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow peppers, green broccoli, blue blueberries, and purple grapes all count.

You can extend this activity by asking children to bring in photos of colourful foods they've eaten at home, or by creating rainbow plates at snack time where each section holds a different coloured food.

The NHS recommends children eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables daily, and the rainbow approach makes this target feel achievable and fun.

Role Play and Pretend Markets

Setting up a pretend farmers market or grocery shop in your role-play area lets children practice healthy food choices through play. Stock the market with play food, empty packaging from healthy foods, or pictures of fruits and vegetables.

Children can take turns being the shopkeeper and the customer. They practice counting, sorting, and decision-making whilst reinforcing which foods are healthy choices. You might hear them say things like "I need some apples for my five a day" or "This broccoli is fresh from the farm."

This type of play helps children rehearse real-life situations and builds their confidence in making healthy choices independently.

Tasting Sessions

Regular tasting sessions help children become comfortable with new foods. The key is to remove all pressure. Never force a child to taste anything, but always offer the opportunity.

The "two bite club" is one approach that works well. Read children a story about trying two bites of new foods from each food group. Then offer a small tasting plate with tiny portions of different fruits, vegetables, or other healthy foods.

Some children will taste everything. Others might just touch or smell the food. Both are fine. The goal is exposure, not consumption. Research shows children might need to see a new food 10 to 15 times before they're willing to try it.

At snack time, try offering foods with fun names. Studies show children are more likely to eat vegetables with silly names like "x-ray vision carrots" or "power peas" than plain carrots or peas.

Physical Activity Links

Combine movement with nutrition education through food-themed games. These activities burn energy whilst teaching children about healthy choices.

Play "food movement" where you call out a food and children act out how it grows. They crouch small for underground vegetables like carrots, stretch tall for corn, or spread their arms wide for lettuce leaves.

You can also play modified versions of familiar games. In "fruit and vegetable tag," children become different foods and must run when their food is called.

The NHS emphasises that children should be physically active every day, and linking movement to food education makes both more engaging.

Making Mealtimes Social

The way children experience mealtimes shapes their relationship with food. Eating together as a group, with adults modelling healthy eating, creates a positive atmosphere around food.

Sit with children during snack and lunch times. Eat the same foods they're eating and talk about what you're enjoying. Children learn by watching, so when they see you eating and enjoying vegetables, they're more likely to try them too.

Keep mealtimes relaxed and social. Talk about things other than food too. When children feel pressure to eat, they often become more resistant. Let them serve themselves when possible and stop when they're full.

Connecting with Families

Healthy eating activities for nursery work best when families are involved. Send home information about what children are learning and suggest ways parents can reinforce these lessons.

Weekly newsletters can share the "food of the week" you're exploring at nursery. Include simple recipes families can try at home using that food. Some settings create family recipe books where parents contribute healthy recipes from their cultures.

Invite families to tasting events or cooking sessions at the nursery. This builds community whilst showing parents practical ways to encourage healthy eating at home.

Seasonal Food Exploration

Teaching children about seasonal foods helps them understand where food comes from and builds awareness of natural cycles. In spring, explore asparagus, peas, and strawberries. Summer brings tomatoes, courgettes, and berries. Autumn features pumpkins, apples, and squash. Winter offers root vegetables like parsnips and carrots.

Visit farmers markets with children when possible, or invite local growers to talk about seasonal produce. This makes the connection between farms and food more real.

Creating a seasonal food calendar that children help update each month reinforces this learning and builds anticipation for different foods throughout the year.

Making It Sustainable

You don't need expensive resources to run effective healthy eating activities for nursery settings. Use empty egg cartons as sorting trays, yoghurt pots as planters, and recycled magazines for food pictures.

Ask families to donate safe food items for sensory exploration or save packaging from healthy foods for your role-play area. Many supermarkets will provide educational resources or visits for nursery groups.

The most important investment isn't money but time and consistency. Regular, repeated exposure to healthy foods through varied activities builds familiarity and comfort over time.

Final Thoughts

Healthy eating activities for nursery settings work best when they're regular, varied, and pressure-free. Contact Little Mowgli Nursery, we understand that children learn through exploration, play, and positive experiences. When we make nutrition education fun and hands-on, children develop genuine interest in healthy foods.

The activities you choose don't need to be complicated or expensive. Simple sensory exploration, growing projects, creative play, and shared mealtimes all contribute to building healthy habits. The key is consistency and keeping the focus on discovery rather than rules.

Remember that every child develops at their own pace. Some will try new foods eagerly whilst others need more time and exposure. Both paths are normal. Your role is to provide varied, positive experiences with healthy foods and let children's natural curiosity lead the way.

By making healthy eating engaging and accessible, you're giving children skills and attitudes that will benefit them throughout their lives. That's the real success of these activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best vegetables to grow with nursery children?

Start with fast-growing, easy vegetables that give children quick results. Cherry tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, and beans work well. Strawberries are also popular because children love the sweet taste and can eat them fresh from the plant. Choose vegetables that need minimal maintenance and can tolerate some neglect, as young children are still learning to care for plants consistently.

How do I encourage fussy eaters to try new foods at nursery?

Remove all pressure and make food exploration playful. Use sensory activities where children can touch, smell, and examine foods without needing to taste them. Repeated exposure is key, as children often need to see a food 10 to 15 times before trying it. Give foods silly names, involve children in growing or preparing them, and model eating the foods yourself during mealtimes without forcing children to do the same.

What simple cooking activities work well with toddlers and young children?

No-cook activities are perfect for the youngest children. They can wash fruits and vegetables, tear lettuce for salads, spread soft spreads on bread, mix ingredients in bowls, and assemble their own snack plates. These tasks develop fine motor skills whilst teaching about food preparation. Always supervise closely and choose age-appropriate tasks that don't involve heat or sharp implements for younger children.

How can nursery staff make healthy eating fun without lots of resources?

Use everyday items creatively. Empty packaging becomes shop stock for role play. Magazines provide food pictures for sorting games. Recycled containers work as planters. Create simple games like "I spy" with food colours at snack time or food movement activities that cost nothing. The most effective activities focus on hands-on exploration and play rather than expensive equipment.

What role should families play in nursery healthy eating activities?

Family involvement strengthens healthy eating habits. Share what children learn through newsletters, photos, and conversations. Suggest simple ways families can continue the learning at home. Invite parents to contribute recipes from their cultures, join tasting sessions, or help with gardening projects. When children see the same messages about healthy eating at nursery and home, the lessons become more powerful and lasting.

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