Happy Halloween

Halloween Tricks 'n' Treats

There is something about Halloween which really catches the imaginations of children! We have a huge selection of Halloween activities for you to explore. Find everything from easy Halloween crafts to Halloween costume ideas and much more spooky fun!

Healthy Halloween

All year we try to help our children choose healthy foods. We read labels, we look for deep reds and dark greens to provide vitamins minerals. We steam, we bake, and we don’t fry. Then why do we abandon all our efforts on Halloween and give into the Halloween sweet mayhem and stock up on high sugary sweets to give to children. I am all for celebrating an occasion; however there are many other alternatives to ensure your child still receives the goodies in other ways. 

Here are some alternative Halloween “Treats”

· Pencils, erasers, crayons
· Memo pads, coloring books
· Individual packs of organic pretzels, animal cookies, or dried fruit
· Individual packs of Playdough
· Bubbles
· Stickers
· Body decoration, temporary tattoos
· Piggy bank money

  Cauldron Pumpkin Soup

Soups are an incredible way to incorporate a variety of ingredients and numerous vitamins and minerals. They provide a sense of warmth to keep you comforted and at ease. And they help prevent overeating at holiday time especially with sugary treats.

Our KiddiChef.com menu has incorporated a variety of soups into our mid afternoon snacks this month. Not only do they encourage children to try a lot of new flavours its puree consistency allows you to add in an extra handful of vegetables without them knowing.  

- Serves 6 - 

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 20 mins

Cook 25 mins

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions finely chopped
• 1kg pumpkin or squash (try kabocha), peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks
• 700ml vegetable stock or chicken stock
• 142ml pot double cream
• 4 slices wholemeal seeded bread
• handful pumpkin seed from a packet

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan, then gently cook 2 finely chopped onions for 5 mins, until soft but not coloured. Add 1kg peeled, deseeded and chopped pumpkin or squash to the pan, then carry on cooking for 8-10 mins, stirring occasionally until it starts to soften and turn golden.
2. Pour 700ml vegetable stock into the pan, then season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins until the squash is very soft. Pour the 142ml pot of double cream into the pan, bring back to the boil, then purée with a hand blender. For an extra-velvety consistency you can now push the soup through a fine sieve into another pan.  
3. While the soup is cooking, slice the crusts from 4 slices of wholemeal seed bread, then cut the bread into small croutons. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan, then fry the bread until it starts to become crisp. Add a handful of pumpkin seeds to the pan, then cook for a few minutes more until they are toasted. These can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container. Reheat the soup if needed, taste for seasoning, then serve scattered with croutons and seeds and drizzled with more yoghurt, if you want.

KiddiCraft

KiddiCrafts aims to stimulate children through creative creations for the family to encourage and to get involved in. Halloween is a great time to explore your child’s imagination. Fancy dress, storytelling plays are a perfect tool to engage child’s play.

Family Time  
Get the family involved together:

*Decorate the house with the help of the family. For inspiration check our Halloween Board

*Pre-pack goodie bags ready for the trickle treaters.
*On a budget, make hanging spiders

*Trick or Treat, instead of tossing a coin make the choice fun, place the cards in the carved pumpkin and then ask the children to pull out a card. Tip: Place some spiders and gooey eyes inside to keep them excited.

Homemade Costumes 

Haven't gotten your kid's Halloween costume yet? (Don't panic!) Check out these super easy, make-in-a-night ideas. You can do these!

Take Your Parents To Lunch Day

The school nutrition professionals are promoting “National Take Your Parents to Lunch Day” on October 17th. They encourage parents to visit their child’s school/nursery and to celebrate what’s great about school lunch—and learn how we can all work together to make it even better.

Too often, parents don’t really know what is being served for school food. Let’s change that. The event is a chance to highlight all the great work your nursery is doing to provide healthy—and delicious—meals. The Lunch Day is an opportunity for parents to learn more about lunchtime—from what goes into getting a healthy meal on a child’s plate.

KiddiChef.com want parents to engage constructively with your nursery and to discuss how they can serve as a model for their children on the importance of healthy eating and to support the nursery to continually provide fresher and healthier meals. Book a KiddiChef Meal at your nursery and see the response from the children and the parents!

KiddiChef.com works hard to ensure that the food quality of our meals encourage healthy behaviour. We aim to create a healthy balanced diet which releases energy throughout the day. We want to educate children and families on food education and why certian foods are good for them. With our meals your parens will get to see the quality ingredietns used, the variety of ingredients provided and most importantly get to taste the food too! It is also a great way for parents to spend time witht their children and talk to them about the importance of healthy eating habits at lunch — and every meal.

 

Make a Difference

Promote " Tak Your Parents to Lunch Day" at your nursery. Host a Lunch Day event for one class, one grade—or the whole school!

– We promise with our KiddiChef.com meals, they will be impressed and delighted to know their child is receiving the nutrition goodness they deserve. 

If you looking to see what we can offer we can supply a trial at your nursery, for you to gain the response and comments from your nursery parents and children. 

1.       Upload pictures to our Facebook page of your lunches (get permission first)

2.       Get the word out and encourage parents to get involved.

3.       Start building a healthier future 

Note: You can organise an event like this anytime at your nursery; not only will it provide a fun day out it will aim to build your teacher and parent relationship and communicate how you promise to provide healthy fresh food everyday.   

British obesity epidemic leads to heart disease in children as young as 5.

A recent study carried out by Oxford academics on nearly 50000 5-15 year olds in Great Britain came to some very shocking and indeed worrying findings regarding the health of our children.

The study concluded that children as young as 5 are suffering from heart damage as a result of obesity, a problem more commonly thought to be associated with much older generations. The obese children that were assessed were found to have significantly enlarged hearts, have a 40% higher blood pressure, and have cholesterol levels 9X higher than their healthy peers. This means that obese children are much more likely to develop severe health problems early on in life as a result of their weight, and it is predicted that, unless a change in lifestyle is implemented immediately, obese children have a 40% increased likelihood of dying from a heart attack or stroke as adults.

Currently in Great Britain, just under 1 in 10 5 year olds and 1/5^th of all 11 year olds are classified as obese, according to NHS records. These shocking statistics have been commented upon by researcher of the study, Dr. Matthew Thompson, stating ‘It’s almost like a ticking time bomb of damage going on in their hearts and blood vessels… Most of the damage that happens in kids will still be there in adults. But it can be reversed-it’s just difficult because you’re talking about changing lifestyles.’ From this data, and with Britain currently having the highest rate of obesity in Europe, it is clear that change is needed IMMEDIATELY to reverse this childhood obesity epidemic, and prevent these fears for our children’s future health becoming a reality.

Save the Children find shocking numbers of children in the UK are living in poverty

A survey carried out by children’s charity, Save the Children, has found shocking numbers of children in the UK are living in poverty, urging the government to take drastic action to reverse the statistics.

The Survey was carried out on more than 1500 children aged 8-16 in the UK, and over 5000 parents that fall into the lowest income group, and the results have made it very clear that children too are shockingly being affected by the strain of the recession. 61% of the parents assessed admitted that, due to the recession, they have had to cut back dramatically on family food provisions, with 19% of parents noting that their children have at times had to go without basic requirements, such as new shoes, due to their financial strain. 58% of the children assessed were aware of their parent’s financial struggle, and 43% strongly agreed that their parents had recently cut back on food.

The results of Save the Children’s survey support the figures given by the Institute of Fiscal studies, claiming that 3.5 million children in the UK are currently living in poverty, and this figure is set to steeply increase. It is clear from these shocking figures that drastic action is required immediately to ensure that our children have the best possible start to life.

                                   

Save the children are urging the government to intervene in the issue, indicating that the UK minimum wage for adults is nowhere near enough to support a family, and are calling for employers to pay a ‘living wage’ to ensure that every family has enough to provide at least the basic things, such as food, required to reasonably live off. In addition, it is being suggested that the government should aim to truly help in eradicating this problem in the UK by funding 80% of childcare costs for the lowest income group to ensure that the strains of childcare do not complicate work and income.

As well as strongly urging government intervention, Save the Children have started their own fight against UK child poverty. The charity aims to raise £500 000 to help boost education opportunities for children of the lowest income groups, and provide basic essentials, such as furniture, ovens, and toys to their families to ease financial strain and eradicate these shocking figures of childhood poverty.