LUNCH is TIME to all sit together and enjoy a good warm bowl of something delicious that tastes all the better in the outdoors.
At Mulberry Outdoor we are committed to encouraging good healthy, early eating habits that should last a lifetime, by growing our own food and providing nutritious tasty food for all children and staff.
Nutrition is an important element to Mulberry Outdoor Preschool. Children are involved in growing food in our fruit and vegetable garden throughout the year. This element offers such wonderful opportunities of learning, curiosity and discovery as the children experience first hand how a plant grows from seed to food first hand. There is so much excitement every time a child digs up a potato, pulls a bean from the stalk or tries a fennel seed straight from the plant.
After a busy morning, lunch is a time to all sit down together and eat a fresh cooked meal. Everyone is hungry. We have two brilliant cooks, Dee and Dani, who we work together with to tailor nutritional and exciting menus. All of the dishes are freshly cooked and nothing is frozen. The staff also eat the same meals and each half term we review the menu to keep it interesting.
Children may arrive with strong food preferences of what they don’t like, leaving them with a small list of foods eaten and some may even refuse to eat with us at all at the start.
Eating in a group with other children in the outdoors, after a hard mornings play can start to encourage even the most determined non-eater.
We have had terrific results with some of the most stubborn eaters and this comes from careful, individual encouragement for each child. Over time the children get to taste a range of flavours and textures and move on to become strong eaters, understanding how good a full tummy feels ready for an afternoons play.
– We can serve Vegetarian and Pescatarian meals.