Silver Challenges (11 - 13 year olds)
Pupils should complete one of the following:
Perfect pizza, Marvellous meals, Home time, Pasta mania or Perfect picnic
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Perfect pizza
Make a pizza or calzone that could be shared by you and your friends. Look at ways to increase its fibre and vegetable content, while reducing total fat and salt, through smart choice of ingredients in the base and as toppings.
Getting started
- How many different styles of pizza can your class identify
- Do some internet research from well known pizza restaurants to get some crust and topping ideas
- What sort of ingredients could you use to increase fibre in the crust, sauce used and toppings?
Ideas for running the activity in your school
Invite friends to share the pizza or calzone that you have made
Make the healthier pizzas as a part of a Health Day Challenge
Resources on the website to help you teach the challenge
Links
Flour advisory bureau – information on different types of flour for home-baking
Marvellous meals
Plan and cook a main meal which could be served to older people in a home. The meal should contain:
- meat or vegetarian alternative;
- potatoes, yam, pasta, dumplings or rice;
- a dairy food;
- vegetables.
Getting started
Do some research to find out what older people like eating, ask family or neighbours
Think of what issues need to be considered when catering for this age group such as dental health
Find out from a care home for the elderly what is on the menu
Ideas for running the activity in your school
Invite a catering manager from a local care home to come and help with your recipe planning or sample your final dishes
Resources on the website to help you teach the challenge
Links
Eatwell dietary advice from the Food Standards agency for older people
Home time
Create and cook a tasty, fun dish that could be made and eaten as a snack when you get home from school. The dish must contain wholegrains, e.g. Wholegrain bread, pasta or rice.
Getting started
- Make a chart of all the snack foods you eat separating them by their main carbohydrate component e.g. pot noodle under pasta, pizza under bread
- What flavours are the most popular
- Think of ways that you could make healthier versions of these snacks using the ingredients in the brief and favourite flavour combinations
- Find out what ingredients you would need to use to include wholegrains
Ideas for running the activity in your school
Ask the manager or pupils who use your breakfast or after school club to sample your snacks
Resources on the website to help you teach the challenge
Links
Pasta mania
Plan and make a traditional pasta dish which includes a red meat, or alternative, tomato and/or cheese based sauce. Give serving suggestions and comment on ways in which the dish could be healthier through choice of ingredients and cooking method.
Getting started
- Find out as much as you can about traditional pasta dishes: these can come from Italy and Asia
- Learn how to make some of the classic sauces using the pasta diploma
- Research some healthier alternatives to some of the ingredients such as lower fat cheeses
Ideas for running the activity in your school
- When the healthier pasta dishes have been made invite the canteen manager to sample the products and talk about ways in which they could be included on the school lunch menu.
Resources on the website to help you teach the challenge
Links
Advice on adapting recipes to make them healthier from the Food Standards Agency
Perfect picnic
Design and make a fruit based sweet dish or a vegetable based savoury dish which could be eaten as part of a picnic.
Getting started
- Find out the sort of foods that your friends and family take on their picnics;
- Use your knowledge of packaging available to transport food to help you e.g. plastic containers and resealable plastic bags so your food is easy pack;
- Think about food safety and keeping food cool or hot during transport;
- Research the internet using ‘picnic’ or ‘food on the go’ as key words
- Look at the sorts of ready made food that retailers sell to take-away for inspiration
Ideas for running the activity in your school
- Organise a picnic for friends to test your recipes or use them in a packed lunch
Resources on the website to help you teach the challenge
Links
Eat well, be well – tips on keeping picnic food safe from the Food Standards Agency
