Spotlight on Sardine Pate Recipe

The new Department for Education Early Years Foundation Stage Nutrition Guidance  came into effect from September 2025, with updated advice to support healthy eating in early years settings.

One of the key recommendations is to include oily fish (such as salmon, sardines or mackerel) at least once every three weeks (up to a maximum of twice per week). This can be offered at lunch or tea, and if it’s not included as a main meal, you may try offering oily fish as a snack. It provides important nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, which support children’s health and development.

In line with the guidance, settings are also encouraged to increase the range of savoury options on their menus, including a wider variety of starters and side dishes.  To help put this into practice, we are sharing our simple Sardine Pâté recipe which is from our range of family recipes and is suitable for young children. Unlike a traditional pate, this is a dip and an example of how oily fish can be served in a child-friendly and appealing way.

Serving the pate alongside vegetable sticks makes a healthy addition and contributes towards your Fay 5 a Day. Fruit and vegetables count as protective foods, as they help protect our bodies from getting poorly. Serving a Micky Me Size portion for a starter at lunch or tea, will help you to meet the new DfE EYFS Nutrition Guidance.

Why not share the recipe with your families via your electronic learning journals, email, newsletter and notice boards so they can have a go at making it at home.

As always, please remember to share your learning with us and tag us on Facebook @Startwellbham

*Please note that the serving sizes for the Family Recipes are based on adult portion sizes and not children’s portion sizes. If you are cooking with children, please reduce the quantity you make so that children will be eating the correct amount in line with our Micky Me Size message.

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Spotlight on Soup

As we move into autumn and the weather turns cooler, there is nothing like a comforting bowl of soup to warm us up.  We have three lovely autumnal soup recipes under our Family Recipes: Mushroom Soup, Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Soup and Spicy Lentil & Carrot Soup*

Why not have a go at making these with the children in your setting?  There are lots of lovely opportunities for food exploration and learning where our food comes from.  The recipes use vegetables and pulses (e.g. lentils) which count towards our Fay 5 a Day and count as our protective foods, as they help protect our bodies from getting poorly.  You could serve a Micky Me Size portion for a starter at lunch or tea, helping you to meet the new Department for Education Early Years Foundation Stage nutrition guidance. Food preparation and cooking is an excellent way for children to learn about the Startwell food characters and develop lots of Sammy Skills.  To support you with this, have a look at our Food Skills Sheet

 

You could also share the recipes with your families via your electronic learning journals, email, newsletter and notice boards so they can have a go at making these at home.

As always, please remember to share your learning with us and tag us on Facebook @Startwellbham

*Please note that the serving sizes for the Family Recipes are based on adult portion sizes and not children’s portion sizes. If you are cooking with children, please reduce the quantity you make so that children will be eating the correct amount in line with our Micky Me Size message.

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Spotlight Recipe: Spinach Cornmeal Bread

The Startwell recipes are designed to be healthy, simple in method and cooked on a budget. They are also very versatile as they can be used in various ways; they can be used with children for cooking activities in setting and at home, they can be sent home for families to try and they can even be used as part of your menus.

The Startwell Family Recipes and Startwell Cooking with Children recipes should be linked to the Startwell Characters to extend children’s learning. Please note that the serving sizes for the Family Recipes are based on adult portion sizes and not children’s portion sizes. If you are cooking with children please reduce the quantity you make so that children will be eating the correct amount in line with our Micky Me Size message.

Here is our spotlight recipe for March and how it can be linked to the Startwell characters and St Patrick’s Day.

Spinach Cornmeal Bread

Celebrate St Patrick’s Day (17th March) by making Soda Bread with the children. Our Spinach Cornmeal Bread is a healthy twist on this traditional bake as it includes vegetables and cottage cheese.  Children are more likely to eat what they have helped to make so this is great activity to encourage children to eat vegetables. It can be linked to St Patrick’s Day by using orange peppers in addition to the Spinach and Spring Onions/cottage cheese as these colours represent those on the Irish flag.

For a traditional Soda Bread recipe visit Soda bread recipes – BBC Food

Here is how you can link recipe to the Startwell Characters and some extension activities:

Sammy Skills

Here are the range of skills you can develop with the ingredients used in this recipe:

  • Peppers – chopping and deseeding
  • Spring onion – chopping
  • Flour, cornmeal and margarine – rubbing to form breadcrumbs
  • Eggs – cracking
  • Cottage cheese – spooning
  • All ingredients – mixing and pouring

Fay 5 a Day

  • Talk about the different vegetables that will be used in this recipe
  • Can the children name them? Have they tasted them before? Which one is their favourite? Which one are they excited to try?
  • Talk about the different colours and shapes e.g. spring onions have green tips and white bottoms
  • Talk to the children about how the frozen spinach appears different to fresh spinach and show them examples.
  • Explain to children that Fay 5 a day wants us to eat vegetables because they protect us from getting poorly

Micky Me Size

  • Explain to children that we need to eat the right amount for our tummies.
  • Show the children different sized baking trays and that the amount of mixture poured onto the trays should match the size of the tray; e.g add too much mixture to the small tray and it will spill off the edge.
  • Explain that it is very similar to our tummies, if we serve too much we are not going to be able to finish our food

Extension Activities

  • Ask the children what other fruits and vegetables are the same colours as the Irish flag
  • Make up fruit kebabs or salads using fruit and vegetables that are orange, green and white like the Irish flag
  • Show the children where Ireland is located in the world using an atlas or globe
  • Play the children clips of traditional Irish folk music and dancing and get them (and the practitioners) to dance about to the music
  • Talk to the children about how the raw mixture changes textures and form when it is cooked
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