Summer means there’s lots more opportunity for getting outside with your little ones.  Keep reading for some ideas of how to use those sunny days as an opportunity for some fun food play too. 

These activities are ideal for children aged 1-5 years. Remember not to leave your child unattended while doing any of these activities.    

Cooking 

Lettuce cups with peanut butter dip  

Did you know that smooth peanut butter can be included in snack as a source of protein to help your little one build strong muscles?   

These lettuce cups are the perfect sidekick to this peanut dip and can be a fun filled assembly activity to involve the children with.  

Lettuce cup 

Ingredients 

• Little gem lettuce 

• Cooked rice noodles or quinoa 

• Cherry tomato, sliced into quarters 

• Cooked chicken or tuna 

• Spring onion, diced or sliced 

• Peppers, diced or sliced 

• Cucumber, diced or sliced 

Equipment 

• Chopping board 

• Knife 

• Spoon 

How to make it 

1. Wash and drain all the vegetables 
2. Cut the tomato, spring onion, peppers and cucumber (Cut the tomato into quarters lengthways to reduce the chance of choking).  
3. Shred the chicken into smaller pieces by hand 
4. Take a lettuce cup and encourage children to sprinkle/spoon different foods in to make their own lettuce cup.  
5. Serve with the dipping sauce below.  

What the children can do 

• Washing the vegetables 

• Cutting the vegetables 

• Shredding chicken 

• Assemble lettuce cup  

Skills 

• Washing 

• Chopping 

• Hand-eye coordination 

Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients 

• 1 heaped tablespoon peanut butter 

• Juice of half a lime  

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger 

• 1 garlic clove, pressed (or finely chopped) 

• 2-4 tablespoons water 

Equipment 

• Measuring spoons 

• Garlic press (or use a knife) 

• Mixing bowl 

• Spoon/whisk 

How to make it 

1. Combine the peanut butter, lime juice and garlic in a mixing bowl.  
2. Mix/whisk the ingredients together to make a paste.  
3. Add a tablespoon of water at a time into the paste to make the paste smoother until desired consistency.   

What the children can do 

• Mixing ingredients 

• Adding ingredients 

Skills 

Mixing 

Adding 

Counting 

Hand-eye coordination 

Activities 

Stained Glass Pasta Sun Catcher  

Equipment 

• Dried lasagne sheets 

• Felt-tip pens 

• Glue 

• Plain see-through freezer bags 

Steps 

1. Put a few lasagne sheets into a freezer bag and break them into small pieces like the photo shown above.  
2. Carefully take the small pieces out of the bag and colour them in different colours felt-tip pens.  
3. With adult’s help, cut 2 sides of the empty freezer bag open to create a flat surface. 
4. Once dried, you can glue the pieces on 1 side of the freezer bag to make your patterns. 
5. When finished, glue the 2 sides down and it is ready to Sellotape onto the window. Watch and see how it looks when the sun shines onto your stained glass.  

Rainbow Scavenger Hunt

Equipment: 

• Card 

• Different colour paper/ Felt-tip pen 

• Pegs/ Glue/ Sellotape 

Steps: 

1. With adult’s help, cut different colour paper into rectangles and glue them onto a card or piece of paper. Alternatively, you can draw a square and use felt tip pens to colour in the boxes lots of different colours.  
2. Depending on what you have in the house, you can attach a peg to each colour, or take a glue stick/ Sellotape with you to stick the items you find 
3. It is now ready to be taken on a walk – see how many different items you can find that matches those colours. 

Top Tip!

You can cut the coloured strip out and make it into a wristband that can be worn around your little one’s wrist.

Create an edible garden 

Research has shown that children are more likely to try and eat the food that they are involved in preparing. Why not try and make an edible garden of your own with the children so they can learn where food comes from? Watch as they blossom into young gardeners and nurture the plants and nature.  

Choosing a space for the garden

• This could be a space in the garden, or it could even be some window greenhouses 

• This is a good opportunity for the children to learn about sunlight, soil and watering techniques. They can also help with setting up planters or small plot  

Choosing the right plant  

• Starting with easy-to-grow plants would be ideal to keep the children engaged and not lose interest  

• Some ideas would be:   

Herbs: basil, rosemary, parsley, chives, thyme or cress 

Vegetable: tomatoes, Kale, carrot, radishes 

Why not try our NYLO cress heads that can be found here Parent / Carer – NYLO  

Join a community garden today!

click here for more information on how to find your nearest garden: Get Involved – Grow Cardiff