16/05/2010 by Ed.

Four out of five children are still not eating enough fruit and vegetables, potentially increasing their risk of getting cancer later in life, according to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). According to the latest Health Survey for England, on average, boys aged five to 15 eat just over three portions of fruit and vegetables a day while girls eat marginally more. On the day of the survey one in 14 boys and one in 25 girls hadn’t had any fruit or vegetables at all.

Nathalie Winn, nutritionist for the WCRF, said the results were concerning and stressed the importance of encouraging children to adopt health eating habits as early as possible. “Scientific research shows that eating a plant-based diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains and pulses probably reduces the risk of a number of types of cancer later in life. “There are lots of reasons why fruit and vegetables may protect against cancer. As well as containing a variety of vitamins and minerals, which help keep the body healthy and strengthen the immune system, they are also a good source of phytochemicals — biologically active compounds which may help to protect cells in the body from damage that can lead to cancer.”

The WCRF will be working with schools across the country to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables as part of its Fruity Friday campaign this week. As you will be well aware, children at Learning Curve get plenty of fruit and vegetables in the meals and snacks they eat at nursery.

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16/05/2010 by Ed.

Week                17^th – 21^st    May  

Monday:  Lamb and vegetable pie topped with sliced potatoes,  Tapioca and raisins 

Tuesday:  Turkey and butterbean Lasagne,    Apple Pie and custard

Wednesday:  Beef and vegetable plait with Anna potatoes,   Fruit trifle

Thursday:  Roast chicken with roast potatoes,   Banana bread pudding 

Friday:  Tuna and pasta bake,  Lemon tart and custard

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10/05/2010 by Ed.

Week                10^th – 14^th   May  

Monday:  Cod in Parsley Sauce,  Stewed Fruit 

Tuesday:  Curried turkey balls with pilau rice,    Rhubarb with oat crumble

Wednesday:  Pasta Bake,    Apricot Sponge

Thursday:  Salmon fishcakes with stir fry vegetables,   Apple Snow  

Friday:  Sausages with cauliflower and potato bake,  Banana custard

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30/04/2010 by Ed.

Week                3rd – 7^th  May  

Monday:  BANK HOLIDAY  

Tuesday:  Turkey Stir Fry with potato cakes,    Fruit crumble with custard

Wednesday:  Beef hash with vegetable spaghetti,    Rice pudding

Thursday:  Roast Cod with vegetable rice,   Fruit and Ice cream

Friday:  Lamb casserole with swede mash,  Chocolate Mousse

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26/04/2010 by Ed.

Week                April 26^th – 30^th  

Monday:  Savoury mince with herb potatoes,   Fruit Smoothie 

Tuesday:  Lamb koftaballs with sliced potatoes, Orange curd tart

Wednesday:

Turkey Pasta Bake, Fruit Salad  

Thursday:  Tuna and basil fishcakes with mixed salad,   Semolina   

Friday:  Sausage and potato cakes with goats cheese couscous & salad,  Fruit pie and custard

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23/04/2010 by Ed.

Play patterns established in childhood are linked to adult health and health behaviour. In particular playing creatively as a child predicts a healthier diet, and more active play is associated with generally better health. These findings are presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference.

505 young adults were surveyed about their experiences and opportunities for play during childhood. A range of information about weight, health and health behaviours was also collected. Four types of play were identified; active play, play involving technology, playing alone, and creative play. Four types of play were found to be linked in different ways to adult health.

Adults who had engaged in more creative play as children were more likely to have a healthy diet and have more health protective behaviours, such as eating a healthy diet and taking regular exercise. Those who reported more active play had better health status and engaged in more exercise as adults, while those reporting environmental restrictions on play (e.g having less time to play) were more likely to be overweight and have less healthy lifestyles.

This study indicates that children’s play patterns may have far reaching implications for establishing healthy habits in adulthood. Tony Cassidy commented: “Having the freedom and opportunity to play is important for all aspects of child development and is a right that is often overlooked. It is something that most children want to do, and do naturally, but its importance is not always recognised by adults, particularly policy makers.

“For all sorts of reasons our society has restricted child play. To remove restrictions and reverse a potentially damaging trend requires a change in attitudes across adult society”.

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19/04/2010 by Ed.

Week                April 19th – 23rd  

Monday:  Roast lamb with mint sauce,   Rice pudding 

Tuesday:  Roast fish and vegetables,    Fruit Salad

Wednesday:  Meatballs in Curry Sauce and Vegetable rice,    Lime sponge

Thursday:  Turkey Cumberland pie,   Rhubarb pie and custard   

Friday:  Lasagne with seasonal vegetables,  Cheesecake

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11/04/2010 by Ed.

Babies learn more from hearing words than they do from listening to tones, according to new research. A study at Northwestern University in Illinois in the United States found that at three months old, babies could already use language to help them understand the world around them.Lead author Alissa Ferry said, ‘This is the youngest we have found an impact of language on how infants group objects in their environment. In some ways it is unexpected, but recent research with infants keeps showing us they know far more than people expect.’ She added, ‘Parents and carers should be talking to their babies well before they say their first words. Children are learning about their language and using it to help them figure out the world.’

Researchers showed three and four-month-old babies a series of pictures of different fish. Half heard the words for the picture, while the other half heard a beeping noise. The children were then shown pictures of dinosaurs. The babies who heard words got bored quickly with the fish pictures as they had formed the category, but those who heard the beeping sound looked equally as long at the dinosaur and the fish pictures.

Speaking on behalf of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Sue Roulstone, Professor of Speech and Language Therapy at the University of the West of England in Bristol, said, ‘This research shows that words are an important mechanism for helping babies make sense of the world, to organise what they see and to focus on the similarities and differences between objects. The research confirms the importance of talking to your baby right from the start.’

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11/04/2010 by Ed.

Week                April  12^th  - 16^th  2010  

Monday:  Lamb Hotpot topped with sliced potatoes,   Lemon Sponge 

Tuesday:  Captains fish pie,    Rice Pudding

Wednesday:  Sausage, pea and potato casserole,    Apple pie and custard

Thursday:  Macaroni Cheese with cauliflower/broccoli,   Chocolate Cake 

Friday:  Steak burger and Cajun potatoes,  Jelly

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06/04/2010 by Ed.

Week                April 5th – 9th 2010 

Monday:  EASTER MONDAY

Tuesday:  Spaghetti Bolognese with garlic bread,    Semolina

Wednesday:  Savoury filled

Yorkshire puddings, Rhubarb Crumble 

Thursday:  Chicken curry and Vegetable rice,   Jam sponge and custard

Friday:  Breaded Cod, Peas and Roasties, Ice Cream

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