Menu Planning and Supportive Nutrition Environments

The following links and resources are available to help child care providers plan and review their menu.

Resources:

These child care nutrition resources were developed by the Ontario Dietitians in Public Health Child Care Working Group, to support child care providers in planning and preparing healthy food, as well as creating a supportive nutrition environment for children in their care.

*Please note that some of the resources below are being revised. Thank you for your patience as ODPH works on updating them.

• Menu Planning & Supportive Nutrition Environments in Child Care Settings - Practical Guide
• Menu and Nutrition Environment Self-Assessment Tool for Child Care Settings
• Paint Your Plate with Vegetables and Fruit - A Toolkit for Ontario Child Care Providers
• Online Learning Modules
• Common Food Allergen Substitutions for Child Care Settings

Recipes, Meal Planning Tips and more:

• Canada’s Food Guide (Health Canada)
• www.unlockfood.ca (Dietitians of Canada)
• Foodland Ontario
• Cookspiration - An app to find recipes for any time of the day or week
• Pulses.org
• Sample menus (Ottawa Public Health)
• Recipes (Ottawa Public Health)

Buying Guides:

• Better Foods to Buy: A guide for choosing healthier packaged food
• Best Buys at the Grocery Store (unlockfood.ca)

Sign Up for the EOHU’s Nutrition and Physical Activity FYI Newsletter!

For more support or information, contact your Eastern Ontario Health Unit liaison or call 613-933-1375 or 1-800-267-7120.