ABC Childcare
  • ABC Tigers

Nutrition


Each day, the children’s dinner is cooked from scratch by our Chef Mary.  There are monthly menus available for you to take home and if you would like to taste some of our dishes then samples can be arranged!  We endeavour to provide the children with nutritious, varied, high quality food each day and our meat is sourced from Ireland’s only Guaranteed Irish Butcher.

In ABC Childcare we feel that a good diet is particularly important for young children as early food experiences will impact on eating patterns and habits in their adult life. When planning our monthly menus with our in-house chef we are conscious of the childrens’ needs and also on a weekly basis note the children’s likes and dislikes when it comes to their food intake.

Research shows that young children need energy (in the form of calories from food) and nutrients such as protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals to make sure that their bodies work properly and grow. Your child has different nutritional needs to your own and as their bodies grow and develop their needs will change.

Why is a healthy diet for young children so important?


  • It helps to improve their concentration, learning and behaviour.
  • Promotes proper physical growth and development.
  • Builds up their strength.
  • Promotes resistance to infection.
  • Gives plenty of energy.
  • Helps them to establish healthy eating patterns and habits for life.

What does a healthy diet for very young children look like?

  • Lots of choice and balance.
  • Lots of fruit and vegetables.
  • Lots of starchy foods, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta.
  • Contains calcium and iron‑rich foods – milk and dairy, and other sources of protein, such as meat, fish, eggs, beans.
  • Regular healthy meals and snacks.
  • Low salt and sugar contents.
  • No monosodium glutamate or other artificial flavourings


Our Menus:

Our menus are designed on a monthly basis and variation of foods is a key element in this. Children's dietary requirements, food allergies and children’s likes and dislikes are taken into consideration in the design of the menus. The manager is responsible for keeping up to date with current regulations regarding any additives in foodstuffs etc. Where possible and age appropriate we aim to get the children involved in the preparation of the snacks, table preparation and serving of the snack to teach them new life skills as part of our curriculum in the older rooms

The following meals are provided daily :

·         Breakfast                      Variety of healthy cereals, toast and milk.

·         Mid-morning Snack     Fresh fruit, milk or water.

·         Lunch (12 noon)            Substantial main meal of the day (see monthly menus)

·         Afternoon Snack           Homemade healthy treats are cooked / baked in-house

·         Evening Tea                  Variety of nutritious snacks

All our ingredients are sourced locally and deliveries are made weekly / bi-weekly depending on product. All suppliers are of the highest quality and all stock is checked and temperature probed in accordance to HACCP regulations on delivery.

See our Suppliers page for more information
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • ABC Tigers