For Little Ones
We’ve created this space with your little ones in mind.
Here you will find a fun and engaging collection of videos and printable activities designed to help children learn and explore food in a number of different ways.
Join our NYLO characters as they take you through different songs, food play and physical activities to support your children to grow well. There are even some top tips included in there for parents too!
Children’s Videos
Watch and listen to our NYLO character videos together with your children.
Discover NYLO’s favourite snacks to eat and make, learn what helps create a happy mealtime, and enjoy singing along to our NYLO healthy food song — all about eating well and staying healthy!
Favourite Snacks
Fruity Faces
Happy Mealtimes
Healthy Foods Song
Activities
Food Play
Active Play
Cooking with Children
Recipes for cooking with children
Ingredients
- 2 bread / English muffins, each cut in half width way
- 4 teaspoons of tomato puree
- 4 tablespoons of grated cheese
- Selection of toppings: Chopped or shredded cooked chicken, sliced peppers, diced onions, sweetcorn, sliced mushrooms, pineapple chunks, flaked tinned tuna (in spring water)
Equipment
Chopping board, knife, teaspoon, grater, tablespoon, tin opener, baking tray
Before you start
- Slice the muffins in half
- Prepare the toppings
- Grate the cheese
How to make it
- Pre-heat the oven to 200oC / fan oven 180oC / Gas Mark 4
- Spread a teaspoon of tomato puree over each muffin half
- Sprinkle a tablespoon of grated cheese over each muffin half
- Add the toppings of your choice. To make it fun, arrange the toppings to make a face or pattern
- Put the mini pizzas on a baking tray and place on the middle shelf of the oven.
- Cook for 10 – 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the muffins are lightly toasted
What the children can do
- Spread the tomato puree on the muffin half
- Sprinkle the grated cheese
- Help to chop toppings
- Add the toppings they want. They can also make a face or pattern with their chosen toppings
Skills
- Spreading, chopping
Ingredients
- 2 large tortilla wraps
- 60g cheddar cheese, grated
- Salad vegetables
- Fillings, such as: chopped or shredded cooked chicken, flaked tinned fish (in spring water), drained tin of mixed beans, hummus
Equipment
Chopping board, knife, weighing scales, grater, tin opener, teaspoon, frying pan, spatula / fish slice
Before you start
- Grate the cheese
- Chop, grate or shred the salad vegetables and fillings of your choice
How to make it
- Heat a frying pan, over a medium to high heat
- Fill one half of each tortilla wrap in layers, as follows – a sprinkle of cheese, layer of the salad vegetables, filling of your choice and another sprinkle of cheese around the edge of the filled half of the wrap.
- Fold the unfilled half over the top of the filling, to cover it, and cook in a frying pan, over a high heat. Cook on each side for 1 minute or until cheese has melted (sticking the edges of the wrap together) and the filling is warmed.
- Cut each quesadilla in half, thirds or strips and serve as a tasty snack
What the children can do
- Weigh the cheese
- Shred the lettuce or spinach, if using
- Shred the cooked chicken, if using
- Add the filings they want to their wrap
Skills
- Weighing, cutting, adding ingredients, grating
Hints and tips
You can watch a video on how to make the quesadillas on the Keeping Me Well website
Healthy snack recipes
Ingredients
A selection of fruit such as grapes, berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries), Kiwis, pineapple chunks, satsuma (any small orange), mango, melon
Equipment
Colander, chopping board, knife, peeler, coffee stirrers
Before you start
- Wash the fruit
- Remove the stalks from the strawberries
- Peel and destone the mango
- Slice the melon into rounds
- Peel the kiwi fruit
How to make it
- Prepare the fruit
a) Slice grapes lengthways
b) Kiwis sliced and halved
c) Peel and separate the satsuma
d) Cut the mango into cubes
e) Cut the melon into cubes - Thread the fruit onto the coffee stirrers in rainbow colour order
Show the children
- How to prepare fruit (e.g. using the ‘bridge’ to the cut strawberries and kiwi in half)
- How to peel the kiwi fruit with a peeler if using kiwi
- How to thread the fruit onto the coffee stirrers
What the children can do (with adult help):
- Cut the fruit as needed
- Peel the kiwi fruit
- Thread the fruit
Skills
- Cutting, peeling, threading
Hints and Tips
- Tinned fruit in natural juice such as tinned pineapple and peaches can be used as well
- Why not serve warm place under the grill for a few minutes, turning once and serve with natural yogurt
Ingredients
- 1 x 400g can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt
- 50ml of cold water (if needed)
- Black pepper to season
Equipment
Mixing bowl, tin opener, colander, potato masher or fork, garlic crusher, lemon squeezer, table spoon and teaspoon
Before you start
- Open and drain the tin of chickpeas
How to make it
- Empty the chickpeas into your mixing bowl and mash them up with the potato masher until a rough paste is formed.
- Peel the garlic cloves and crush with the garlic crusher, add this to the chickpea paste.
- Slice the lemon in half and squeeze each half into the chickpea mix.
- Add 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt and a sprinkle of black pepper and give it a good stir.
Show the children
- How to prepare fruit (e.g. using the ‘bridge’ to the cut strawberries and kiwi in half)
- How to peel the kiwi fruit with a peeler if using kiwi
- How to thread the fruit onto the coffee stirrers
What the children can do (with adult help):
- Help mash the chickpeas
- Crush the garlic cloves
- Help slice and squeeze the lemon
- Scoop and add plain yogurt
- Sprinkle black pepper
Skills
- Cutting, peeling, threading
Hints and Tips
- Add some herbs or other flavours i.e. beetroot, grated carrot, pea
- Serve with pita bread and vegetable fingers i.e. carrots, peppers, cucumber
Ingredients
- 1 soft tortilla wrap
- Plain yoghurt – 2 dessertspoons per tortilla
- A selection of fruit eg melon, small orange (clementine, mandarin, satsuma) strawberries, blueberries, bananas, apples, pineapple etc
Equipment
Chopping board, plate, colander, dessertspoon, vegetable knife, grater, small cutters, teaspoon
Before you start
- Wash the non-peel fruit
- Peel and cut the melon into flat round slices
- Quarter the apples and remove the core
- Remove the stalks from the strawberries
How to make it
- Place the tortilla wrap on a plate
- Prepare the fruit:
a. Cut out a range of shapes in the melon slices (ie circles for eyes) using pastry cutters
b. Peel the oranges and pull apart the segments
c. Chop the strawberries into slices/ halves
d. Peel and slice the banana
e. Grate the apple
3. Spread the yogurt onto the tortilla using a back of a teaspoon.
4. Arrange the fruits on the tortilla making a ‘face’ ie
a. Hair – grated apple
b. Eyes – melon circles or banana slices with a blueberry in the middle
c. Ears and nose – strawberry slices or orange segments
d. Mouth – a smile of blueberries or orange segments
5. To eat, either cut into quarters, or roll in up into a wrap and cut it in half.
6. Serve straight away.
Show the children
- How to prepare fruit (e.g. using the ‘bridge’ to the cut strawberries and kiwi in half)
- How to peel the kiwi fruit with a peeler if using kiwi
- How to thread the fruit onto the coffee stirrers
What the children can do (with adult help):
- Wash the non peel fruit, using the colander
- Cut out the melon shapes using the cutter
- Peel the small orange and pull apart the segments
- Cut the strawberries in half using the ‘bridge’
- Peel and slice the banana using the ‘bridge’
- Grate the apple
- Spread the yoghurt with a back of a teaspoon
- Arrange the fruit in a ‘face’
Skills
- Cutting, peeling, threading
Hints and Tips
- Add some herbs or other flavours i.e. beetroot, grated carrot, pea
- Serve with pita bread and vegetable fingers i.e. carrots, peppers, cucumber
Ingredients
- Cream Crackers
- Hummus, cream cheese, guacamole or tomato puree
- Chosen toppings for example chopped peppers, tinned sweetcorn, grated carrot, sliced strawberries, halved grapes, blueberries etc
Equipment
Chopping board, vegetable knife, teaspoon
Before you start
- Wash the chosen fruit and vegetables
- Prepare the ingredients for the toppings and place in the bowls (the children can help to prepare these)
How to make it
- Take a teaspoon of the base (hummus, cream cheese) and using the back of the teaspoon spread it over the cracker.
- Place the prepared toppings on the crackers in the design of your choice!
What the children can do (with adult help):
- Help chop the toppings
- Spread on the base with the back of a teaspoon
- Place the toppings on the cracker
Skills
- Chopping, spreading, decorating
Hints and Tips
- Maybe get your child to draw out a design beforehand.
- Try making animal face, different patterns or even vehicles!
- Why not try using a different variety and different shaped crackers
Fruity faces animation
Nancy Nectarine talks about her favourite food activity and snack.
