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Daily Meal Plans Combining the Five Food Groups 21
their nutrient requirements, so their snacks should the UK in recent years but some parents never offer
include nutritious foods from food groups 1–4 to children water to drink as they do not drink water
ensure adequate nutrient intakes. themselves and some think it is cruel to offer water
in place of flavoured drinks.
Examples of nutritious snacks are:
Daily Meal Plans Combining the
●● fresh fruit (dried fruit can be cariogenic (decay- Five Food Groups
causing) when eaten as a snack so it is not
advised) A variety of different eating plans, depending on
a family routine, can provide a healthy eating
●● vegetable sticks, such as carrot, cucumber, regime with the desired combination of the food
pepper, baby corn with dips based on yogurt, groups. There are two examples below. They both
cream cheese or pulses such as hummus meet the principles of a balanced nutritious diet
having:
●● wholegrain breakfast cereals with milk
●● three meals
●● cheese cubes and crackers/breadsticks or
chapatti ●● two snacks
●● unsalted nuts (not whole nuts for children under ●● six drinks
5 years)
●● two courses at each main meal
●● sandwiches, filled rolls and pitta breads
●● bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy
●● French toast or toast with a range of spreads foods (group 1) at each meal
●● slices of pizza with a plain dough base that has ●● fruit and vegetables (group 2) at each meal
not been fried
●● three servings of milk, cheese and yogurt (group 3)
●● yogurt and fromage frais
●● 2–3 servings of meat, fish, eggs, nuts or pulses
●● crumpets, scones, pitta bread with a spread (group 4)
●● currant buns and teacakes ●● some high-fat high-sugar foods (group 5)
included for flavour and enjoyment of meals
●● pancakes, fruit muffins and plain biscuits
●● sweet foods only offered a maximum of four
●● home-made plain popcorn times per day.
●● cakes containing dried fruit or vegetables or Example eating plan 1
nuts (e.g. fruit cake and carrot cake).
In this example, breakfast is a quick meal based
Suitable drinks for meal and snack times include: on cereal with fruit and milk – a quickly prepared
breakfast that would suit a family that has little
●● still water time in the morning. The midday meal might be
served at nursery or school and the evening meal
●● milk (plain or flavoured) is a cooked meal that the family might eat
together.
●● well-diluted pure fruit juice
The three milk servings are taken at breakfast,
●● vegetable juices mid-morning snack at nursery or school and for
the evening meal pudding.
●● no added sugar (sugar-free) squashes – very
dilute.
The best drinks to offer between meals and snacks
are water and plain milk which do not have the
same damaging effect on teeth as acidic and sugary
drinks. Water has become a more popular drink in
