Activity planner– Secondary
This activity planner contains a list of activity ideas and links to resources to help you plan your Healthy Eating Week. The activity ideas have been organised under the Week’s three themes: creative cooking, food provenance, eating and drinking well. The activity ideas also support the Week’s five health challenges:
- Have a healthy breakfast;
- Have 5 A DAY;
- Drink plenty;
- Get active;
- Try something new.
Food provenance
SecondaryIntroduce the pupils to a Farm to Fork topic focussing on the dairy industry.
Trace the origin of milk from dairy farming through processing and uses in cooking.
Divide the group and allocate each group a focus area; ask them to produce a short presentation or to create an information leaflet about their topic.
Complete a sensory evaluation of different types of milk. Consider the differences in nutritional content of each type.
Prepare and cook a recipe that demonstrates the use of milk and/or other dairy products.
Produce a recipe leaflet to accompany the dish that promotes the use of milk.
Recipe ideas
Investigate food assurance schemes. Use the presentation to introduce the pupils to the schemes and discuss the Red Tractor schemes. There is a Food assurance note sheet to help the pupils focus on key points. Show the pupils the logos from other schemes such as LEAF, Quality Meat Scotland , Farm Assured Welsh Livestock or Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme and see how many they recognise and if they are aware of their role.
Challenge the pupils to create a new recipe using ingredients certified through the Red Tractor scheme.
Inspiration for pupil friendly recipes can be found at Meat and Education.
Discover where and how fish are farmed, caught and processed for sale. This e-seminar provides an excellent overview of aquaculture and the role of fish farming.
Use the presentation to stimulate discussion.
Prepare and cook a fish or shellfish dish using different types of fish. For inspiration, click here.
Plan and hold a class or school breakfast serving foods with the Red Tractor and other Food Assurance logos e.g. Lion eggs, LEAF mark.
Ask pupils to develop display information to encourage people attending the breakfast to learn more about where their food comes from.
More breakfast activity ideas here.
Set up a gardening or growing club to encourage the pupils to think about where their food comes from.
There are resources and activity ideas on the Growing Schools website.
The pupils can use their produce, whether it is tomatoes grown in pots or produce from the school allotment to prepare and cook a signature dish for the school.
Check fruit and vegetable seasonality, as well as download fantastic photographs, here.
Use the Seasons cards to get the pupils to think about the seasons and what foods are available.
Discuss the advantages of using foods that are in season. Divide the group into four and allocate each a season to investigate further.
Collate the information and create a seasonality chart or information leaflet to promote the use of seasonal foods.
Create a dish using seasonal (and local, if appropriate) produce. Recipes ideas can be found here.
Invite pupils to a view presentation explaining more about Eggs.
The presentation provides information about how eggs are produced, consumer information and a nutritional profile. Suitable for 14-18 years.
Investigate the farm to fork journey of wheat to making bread.
Look at some familiar products with the pupils and discuss those which contain flour. What types of flour are the pupils familiar with? Have some samples to show them.
Use a video clip to show the pupils the journey of wheat to flour.
Make some bread with the pupils using a variety of different flours and compare the results.
Use the Consumer awareness workbooks for 11-14 years and 14-16 years to help pupils understand more about where food comes from.
Display the Where does your food come from? poster. Talk to the pupils about local, regional and national foods.
Ask the pupils to investigate the different foods that are grown/produced in their local area.
Create a display for the dining room or school reception showcasing local/regional produce.
Invite a local food producer or manufacturer into school to share their knowledge with the pupils.
Get the pupils to create questions in advance of the visit. Follow up the visit by planning, preparing and cooking a dish that uses the ingredient(s) that have been discussed. You could invite the speaker to school to review the dishes.
Interested in visiting a farm or knowing more about farming? If so, the following sites will help: and
Use the product development resources to explore product development with the class.
Be creative – get the class to modify a recipe to create a new dish for Healthy Eating week. It could be showcased in the school dining room.
Remember to take into account the food standards when planning dishes for the school dining room.
Collect packaging from a range of ingredients and foods (try to include a range of different countries). Give the pupils samples to investigate the information available to the consumer. Ask them to identify where each originated.
Pupils aged 16-18 years can be allocated one of three interactive PowerPoint presentations which are embedded with further reading, websites, videos and multiple choice questions.
Creative cooking
SecondaryGet involved in the cook-a-longs during Healthy Eating Week!
The recipes will be provided in advance of the live broadcast. If the timing does not suit, use the recording of the event at a later date.
Set up a tasting kitchen and invite other pupils in to try out their senses!
Organise the pupils to investigate a range of different sensory evaluation techniques. Select an ingredient or dish to be tested – you may wish to try local or regional produce.
Set up a ‘pop up’ test area and invite the school community to try, test and evaluate.
Ask the pupils to collate and evaluate the results.
Investigate the science of food with the pupils.
Focus on the functionality of main ingredients when preparing and cooking dishes.
Build up skills and knowledge of ingredients, including those with which they are less familiar.
Encourage the pupils to try new ingredients during the week!
Recipe ideas using fish and meat.
Create a Healthy Eating week breakfast café.
Plan (including costing), prepare and serve a range of breakfast food and drink. The dishes should reflect The eatwell plate and promote the 5 A Day message.
Each dish should be accompanied by a nutrition analysis card detailing the nutritional value.
Use Explore food to create the cards.
Remember to take into account the Standards when planning dishes for a breakfast café at school.
A wide variety of resources are available from the Licence to Cook programme. Lessons 1-16 provide a wide variety of opportunities to teach different practical skills. The resources available include lesson plans, recipes, videos and worksheets. Suitable for 11-14 years.
The Cooking workbook can be used by 11-14 years and 14-16 years to track the advancement of their cooking skills and knowledge.
The Food Safety workbooks for 11-14 years and 14-16 years can be used to underline the importance of hygiene and safety when working with food.
Create a cookery showcase for local and/or regional ingredients. Ask a local food producer to set the challenge and then come in to school to give the pupils feedback on their dishes.
Challenge the pupils to complete the Food hygiene interactive activity.
The Sausage Creator is an interactive activity where pupils can select from a range of ingredients to develop their own sausage recipe and food label.
Show the pupils the e-seminar Love Food, Hate Waste.
Discuss ways in which they promote reducing food waste to the school community.
Further information and resources are available here.
Plan a School food festival.
Discuss with school food manager how to promote Healthy Eating week through school food provision.
Cook a variety of dishes that could be served as part of school lunch provision. Offer sample testers to the pupils.
The dishes should reflect The eatwell plate and the 8 tips for healthy eating.
Remember to take into account the Standards when planning school lunch dishes.
Complete The overview of the functional properties of food interactive activity.
Healthy Eating and drinking
SecondaryUse The eatwell plate set of video podcasts to recap the model with the pupils.
Worksheets and guidance for each podcast are available to support classroom activities.
Fruit and vegetables
Bread, rice, pasta, potatoes & other starchy foods
Milk and dairy foods
Meat, fish, eggs, beans & other non-dairy sources
Foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar
Energy balance, diet and activity
Display a range of fruit and vegetables (or photos), including canned and dried. Ask the pupils to estimate how much of each type would be considered a portion for an adult.
Use the 5 A Day presentation to go over the key messages and portion size.
Look at the seasons with this fruit and vegetable calendar – click here.
Show the pupils a range of different activities and ask them to rank them in the order of energy expenditure from high to low.
Use the Energy presentation to discuss how much energy we need and the importance of physical activity in energy balance.
Print a set of Nutrient cards.
Select one of the nutrients and ask the pupils to stand in a line starting with the highest amount first. Repeat with 2 or 3 more nutrients. Question the pupils – what did they notice about some of the foods? Were there any surprises?
Show the pupils version 1 of each of the Shifting the balance meals.
Ask the pupils to make suggestions about changes that could be made and what the benefits would be.
Compare their suggestions with version 2.
Working in pairs, ask the pupils to carry out a nutritional analysis of a meal using Explore food. Compare version 1 and version2.
The Energy and nutrient case studies can be printed and shared between the group. Working in pairs, ask the pupils to complete the case study questions. Get each group to report back on the key points for their case study.
Explore nutrients with the pupils – there are a range of resources to support.
Alternatively use the set of video podcasts to introduce
Carbohydrate
Protein
Fat
Catch up on an e-seminar Introduction to nutrition suitable for GCSE/Standard grade pupils and teachers.
Challenge students to complete the Food route board game using the question cards for 11-12 year olds. The board game focuses on diet and health, shopping, cooking and food safety.
In addition, use the Food route resources to support learning around Diet and health.
Ask the pupils to keep a food and activity diary for 1 or 3 days.
Introduce the pupils to mywellbeing - an online diet and physical activity tool for young people aged 11 to 16 years.
Ask them to complete the online resource using the information from their diaries. mywellbeing will generate guidance on the balance of the diet.
The pupils can also make an online pledge to improve or reinforce certain aspects of their diet and physical activity.
Teacher’s guide and activity diaries.
Display the Healthy Eating around the clock poster.
Ask pupils to create their own Healthy eating around the clock menu plan, based on what they might choose to eat and drink the following day.
Divide the class into 8 groups. Give each group one of the 8 tips for healthy eating.
Challenge each group to plan and produce an ‘info card’ that gives more information about their topic. The cards should be suitable for their peers to collect as a set.
The 8 tips for healthy eating tutorial can be used to support this activity.
Does your school excel at a particular sport? Work with your PE staff to think about performance and nutrition.
Challenge the pupils to create a display and information for the school community about the importance of a balanced diet.
Introduce the topic with the e-seminar Sports nutrition.
Suitable for older pupils.
Explore the importance of fluid intake with the pupils. What is their recommended fluid intake?
Ask the pupils to record their intake over Healthy Eating week.
Collect a range of different types of drinks or empty packaging. Divide the examples between groups and ask the pupils to identify the kJ per 100ml for each. They should also note the ingredients used to make the drink.
Compare the results, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each type?
Board game activity – create a set of the multi-purpose board. Follow the instructions to play the games.
BNF Healthy Eating Week 2015 has been developed by the British Nutrition Foundation and is supported by the Agriculture Horticulture Development Board (DairyCo), Danone, the Garfield Weston Foundation, KP Snacks, the National Farmers Union, Seafish, ABF and Capespan.