DORSET nurseries are aiming to fight childhood obesity with their new sugar-free menus.

There are 17 Tops Day Nursaries across the south, including in Corfe Mullen, Wareham and Sturminster Newton.

The new menus have been designed to ensure children have a balanced diet throughout the day, and have reduced the sugar intake with the meals and desserts provided.

The new menu will include a variety of original meals such as mixed bean and root vegetable stew served with apricot and herb couscous, or potato and lentil cakes served with vegetable sticks. There will also be one vegetarian day per week as suggested by the national food trust.

Diane Wycherley, Senior Area Manager and creator of the new menus, said: “Encouraging children to eat a wide variety of foods and develop good dietary habits to take with them into later childhood and beyond is a core part of their understanding of healthy living.

“Planning meals and snacks each day to include a variety of food and drinks from the four main food groups will provide children with the right combination of nutrients they need to grow and develop.”

She added: “We understand a healthy, balanced diet and regular physical activity are essential for children’s health and well-being.

“At Tops Day Nurseries we have designed a balanced menu to support growth and development using the Children’s Food Trust recommendations. The key thing to remember is that overall, eating healthily is all about balance.

“Indulgent foods, such as those high in fat and or sugar, can be enjoyed and savoured, but only occasionally, not every day. The majority of our diet should be made up of balanced, nutritious everyday foods and this is the foundation of our new menus.”

Award-winning Chef, Tony Beales, Managing Director of acclaimed Dorset-based event caterers, Beales Gourmet Ltd, said he had been delighted to review the menus created by the nursery. He said: “What is apparent is the variety of fresh produce they have incorporated into the menu, clearly spending a great deal of time and energy researching for the perfect balanced children’s weekly menu.”

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