At The Nursery Catering Company, we saw the introduction of the new EYFS Nutrition Guidance as a welcome opportunity to revamp our menu, not only to align with these all-important EYFS changes but also to ensure that every meal provided by us is supporting early childhood growth, development and lifelong food behaviours.

 

What we’ve changed - Desserts ... we've also introduced Starters!

The biggest change you will notice is on our desserts menu.  We have completely removed all of our old desserts and replaced them with a nutritious and naturally sweet selection.  Here’s some of the options children will be able to enjoy; Magic Mango Carrot Slice, Berry Nice Apple Rice, Fruity Veggie Crumbles and Choco Bean Dream. We've also introduced two new delicious starters to each week to our menus.

 

These starters and desserts have been designed to support early childhood development.  Desserts or starters are not just another course.  They're part of a meal, and that meal should support child health.  We’ve used lots of veg, protein rich beans, healthy fats such as avocado, and only fruit for sweetness, always ensuring our allergy children are fully catered for too.

 

The EYFS states quite clearly that sugar is to be avoided

“Avoid foods high in saturated fat, salt, and/or sugars like cakes, sweet and savoury pastries, biscuits, crisps, chocolate and other confectionary.  Avoid artificial sweeteners as they may encourage children to prefer very sweet foods.”

 

We have opted for a full refresh of our desserts to ensure that they are not just being replaced with something ‘with less sugar’ but are well thought out and balanced to support early childhood development at this critical biological window of opportunity for future health.

 

Other changes

We have delved deeper into our menu and made further changes to ensure that we fully align to the EYFS Nutrition Guidance.  The changes to the ingredients used eliminate any products which contain unnecessary additives and/or sugar.  These small changes can have a big impact on overall child health.

 

Setting Guidance & the EYFS

There are some actions which apply directly to settings such as the provision of drinks, cereals and snacks.  We’ve covered the Starters, Lunches, Desserts and Teas, but to ensure compliance please familiarise yourself with all aspects of the EYFS Nutrition Guidance.  We’ve also ensured we are adhering to the EYFS safer eating requirements which fall under the statutory framework.

The message on sugar - Changing our menu is not just about EYFS compliance.  There are some very serious health consequences linked to the early introduction of sugar.

 

High sugar consumption in early years is linked to both immediate and long-term health risks, including increased susceptibility to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and poor dental health.  Children are not exempt from adult diseases.  Sadly, t’s a myth that they will just ‘grow out of it’.

 

Perhaps most importantly, early exposure to sugary foods can biologically rewire a child's brain, activating the dopamine reward system, which shapes cravings, emotional eating, and long-term food preferences. This early conditioning can lead to habitual consumption patterns that are hard to reverse, long into adulthood.

 

Sugar and food behaviour patterns - With this in mind, we have made another big change to our menu.  Instead of offering a desserts every day, we now have exciting menus which include a starter or a pudding.  We have provided three puddings and two starters each week.

 

Starters are a great way for children to explore new tastes in small portions, sneak in a lot of beneficial nutrition, and most importantly, we are breaking up patterns of the expectation of pudding after every meal.

 

Wider health message

The EYFS Nutrition Guidance mentions obesity.  We know this is a concerning health factor for children in the UK but is a complicated and emotive subject.  Sugar does impact and children don’t grow out of it.  Excessive sugar intake influences fat cell development, where children who become overweight early may carry more fat cells throughout life, making it harder to maintain a healthy weight throughout a lifetime.

 

Even small, frequent sugar exposures can normalize unhealthy eating habits, countering common myths that "a little won't do any harm”.

 

We hope you enjoy the new changes and additions to our menu and join us in welcoming these changes for the benefit of child health and development.