Mealtimes at the day-care centre
A healthy and playful child needs a sufficient amount of nutritious food every day. It is also important for growing children to eat regular meals and to enjoy the experience. It’s important to us that children always enjoy mealtimes at the day-care centres.
Meals at the day-care centres promote a positive relationship with food
Engel day-care centres serve home-cooked food made with organic ingredients where possible. A home-cooked lunch is delivered to us by Kruunu Herkku, which prepares the meals from carefully selected ingredients. Snacks are prepared at the day-care centre. We follow a four-week lunch and snack menu, so the meals for different days are always known in advance. Fridays are a much-awaited dessert day, when we treat ourselves, within reason.
We take special diets into account at mealtimes at the day-care centres. Parents can feel peace of mind bringing their child to our day-care centres, even if their children have food allergies. We always go through ingredients that the child can eat and what must be avoided together with the child’s parents.
Varied meals provide energy throughout the day
A child’s day is filled with play, exercise, and all kinds of activities. That’s why it’s important for them to get enough rest and to eat a varied diet. Every meal should account for a sufficient amount of energy and nutrients. This is considered in Engel day-care centres’ menus, which are designed based on national nutritional guidelines for early childhood education.
The meals eaten at the day-care centre and at home supplement one another to form a comprehensive diet. It is important for children to eat a suitable balance of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fibre, vitamins and minerals. High-quality ingredients and varied meal options guarantee that children get these important nutrients.
Mealtimes at the day-care centre are fun and social
Mealtimes at the day-care centre are a social situation where children learn table manners and social skills. The adults at the day-care centre act as role models and set an example of a positive relationship with food and dining.
Positive dining experiences promote a healthy relationship with food for the children. They grow into adults who eat sensibly and understand that food is primarily fuel for the body, but that it is also something to enjoy. We gently encourage children to taste different types of food and to try out new flavours.
Children don’t always want to eat, and that is often the case when they start day-care. In such cases, we try different foods at the child’s pace and gently support them to eat enough food to have energy for the day’s games. When you give the child time, they begin to enjoy the food and mealtime itself.
FOUR-WEEK ROTATING MENU
We serve as many organic products and Finnish ingredients as possible, according to our supplier’s delivery ability.
WEEK 1
MONDAY:
Lunch: Forest mushroom bake, grated/seasonal vegetable/frozen beans or peas
Snack: Organic oat porridge and fruit purée, seasonal vegetable
TUESDAY:
Lunch: Salmon soup, rye bread, Oltermanni 17% fat cheese, tomato
Snack: Karelian pie and egg butter made with organic eggs, seasonal fruit
WEDNESDAY:
Lunch: Fried noodles with chicken and vegetables, garden salad, organic cottage cheese
Snack: Organic rye bread, sliced turkey, cucumber, seasonal fruit
THURSDAY:
Lunch: Chicken and vegetable patty, rice, two-cabbage gratin, garden salad
Snack: Organic wheat porridge, fruit purée, seasonal vegetable
FRIDAY:
Lunch: Sausage stroganoff, organic mashed potato, garden salad. Seasonal fruit as dessert
Snack: Natural organic yoghurt, Finnish frozen strawberries, oat bran, sesame seeds, seasonal fruit
WEEK 2
MONDAY:
Lunch: Organic minced meat patty and organic mashed potato, grated/seasonal vegetable, organic cottage cheese
Snack: Organic rye porridge, fruit purée, seasonal vegetable
TUESDAY:
Lunch: Pea soup, crispbread, sliced turkey, bell pepper
Snack: Multigrain bread, Polar 15% fat cheese, cucumber, seasonal fruit
WEDNESDAY:
Lunch: Broiler chicken pasta, garden salad
Snack: Rye bread, sliced turkey, lettuce, seasonal fruit
THURSDAY
Lunch: Feta and spinach pancakes, garden salad, organic cottage cheese.
Snack: Rice porridge, fruit purée, seasonal vegetable
FRIDAY:
Lunch: Fried noodles with chicken and vegetables, garden salad. Biscuit as dessert
Snack: Natural organic yoghurt, pineapple, wheat bran, sunflower seeds, seasonal fruit
WEEK 3
MONDAY:
Lunch: Meatballs in cream sauce, organic mashed potato, crushed lingonberries, grated vegetable/Finnish frozen peas
Snack: Organic buckwheat and oat porridge, fruit purée, seasonal vegetable
TUESDAY:
Lunch: Salmon soup, organic rye bread, Oltermanni 17% cheese, cucumber
Snack: Lapin rieskanen flatbread, Oltermanni 17% fat cheese, lettuce, seasonal fruit
WEDNESDAY:
Lunch: Organic spinach pancakes, crushed lingonberries, garden salad, organic cottage cheese
Snack: Organic rye bread, HK liver sausage, bell pepper
THURSDAY:
Lunch: Goulash and rice, garden salad
Snack: Organic barley porridge, fruit purée, seasonal vegetable
FRIDAY:
Lunch: Stuffed chicken pancake, garden salad, organic cottage cheese. Dried fruit as dessert
Snack: Natural organic yoghurt, Finnish frozen blueberries, pumpkin seeds, seasonal fruit
WEEK 4
MONDAY:
Lunch: Lindström burger patties, organic mashed potato, new potato salad, grated/seasonal vegetable
Snack: Organic oat porridge, fruit purée, seasonal vegetable
TUESDAY:
Lunch: Broad bean and gnocchi bake, Finnish frozen peas
Snack: Organic rye bread, Polar 15% fat cheese, cucumber, seasonal fruit
WEDNESDAY:
Lunch: Broiler tikka masala, rice, garden salad
Snack: Multigrain bread, sliced turkey, bell pepper, seasonal fruit
THURSDAY:
Lunch: Slow-cooked pork, organic mashed potato, garden salad
Snack: Organic 4-grain porridge, fruit purée, seasonal vegetable
FRIDAY:
Lunch: Stuffed salmon pancake, garden salad, organic cottage cheese. Ice cream as dessert
Snack: Natural organic yoghurt, fruit purée, oat bran, sunflower seeds, seasonal fruit