Our Poppets Pantry
Heathly Eating At Merry Poppets
All meals are freshly prepared at the Merry Poppets kitchen by our own Professional Cook. Our cooks recipes are carefully selected to provide a varied and appetizing menu, this is based on a Government healthy eating guidelines which ensures that over the course of the day our children get at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables. The children get into the habit of eating unprocessed fruit and vegetables everyday by having snack foods like carrot sticks with dips or washed and cut up fruit. We ensure the menu is appropriate for very small children so there is no added salt and conforms to Government nutritional guidelines for very young children. We include healthy amounts of protein, butter, semi-skimmed, full fat and soya milk. For special diets we ensure substitutes are also highly nutritious and we have a mixture of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes on our menu every week.
The menu at Merry Poppets is updated seasonally and on a three-week rota. It caters for all, with variety of balanced healthy options. We have noticed that since our child started nursery, his appetite has increased dramatically and he now eats fish and many other foods, he would not normally try at home.
View rotational winter & summer menus
A Tasty Varied Diet
We understand young palates. Young children are more receptive to different flavours than some of us expect and we offer a varied menu with dishes from all over the world, a wide variety of meat, fish, vegetables, and pulses. We have a strict policy NOT to serve any “fatty junk food” such as chips. We do not use additives in our food and we don’t give the children sweets or chocolate.
'S' has always loved the food at Merry Poppets. She always talks about the different lunches she’s had and typically eats all of her meals (unlike at home).’’
However, we do make our own tasty and healthy fruit cakes and some homemade puddings so the children get to enjoy these treats. We actively encourage good table manners and behaviour whilst supporting our parents through the weening process.
Allergies and Special Diets
The cook as well as our Nursery Practitioners are trained in Merry Poppets meal time practise that ensures children don’t receive foods they are allergic to or for religious belief. We have a very robust check system in place that is followed from kitchen to the table which safeguards this procedure.
‘’The catering team are extremely accommodating regarding my child’s allergies. The chef ensures all the children are having the same meal and will just provide a meal alterative to ensure my child never feels left out’’
Promoting Good Eating Habits
Our Nursery Practitioners observe the children during meal times encouraging good behaviour and social skills.
We help children to progress when they are ready from baby bottle to beaker and from beaker to cup. We encourage children to sit nicely at the table and move them from high chairs to sitting at the big table in a chair appropriate to their age. The children learn to feed themselves and we introduce a children’s cutlery as soon as they are ready to progress from a spoon.
Parents are constantly delighted with the progress their children make at Merry Poppets Nursery, feeding themselves and learning to eat a varied diet and more grown up food. All the children eat together at regular meal times. Our Nursery Practitioners observe the child during meal times encouraging good behaviour and social skills.
What if my baby is on breast milk?
We welcome any parents to bring expressed milk to nursery, but bottles MUST be clearly labled with your child’s name. It can be given to your child at the times specified by you. We will record how much your child has had as part of our daily feedback to parents.
‘Our daughter and son have both attended Merry Poppets and we are very pleased with the quality of the care received, especially the wide variety of snacks and food offered. Different holiday foods are also sampled, and my daughter especially appreciates the allowance for second helpings, on occasion.’