Let's Dig: A School Garden Resource

Let’s Dig!
Introduction
This resource was first produced in 2012 to support the Top End Remote
School Garden Project, which was a collaboration between the Northern
Territory’s Departments of Education and Children’s Services (DECS), Primary
Industry and Fisheries (DPIF), Health (DoH) and the Menzies School of Health
Research.
The resource contains 4 key components:
Nutrition;
Gardening;
Food Safety and
Cooking.
These are designed to encourage and support interest in healthy eating, food
production and cooking. A range of additional resources are also highlighted that will
assist teachers.
The resource offers ideas or activities to run for each component of a School Garden
unit of work and extension activities for those more capable students. This resource
is suitable for Transition through to Year 6 students. It is expected that the teacher
will expand the ideas to suit the learning needs of their students.
Curriculum links to the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework (NTCF) have been
deliberately omitted from this document, as the options for delivery and use are
broad. Teachers will use their professional judgement to select suitable achievement
standards from the Australian Curriculum or NTCF to program and assess.
Acknowldegements
The Department of Health wish to thank the following for permission to
reproduce copyright material:
The National Heart Foundation (Eat Smart, Play Smart 2004-2008)
Milyakbura School for photographs from their garden.
City of Palmerston for use of photographs.
Palumpa School for photographs from their garden.
Driver Primary School for assistance with sourcing photographs.

Nutrition
These fun nutrition activities, courtesy of the National Heart Foundation’s Eat
Smart Play Smart 2004-2008 resource, will provide a great range of ideas to
teachers to get started with nutrition education. Extension activities are included,
to cover a wide range of student ages.
1.1 Arty Food Wall
1.2 Food Sensation Stations
1.3 Body Basics
1.4 Swap Soft Drink for Water
1.5 Food Groups
1.6 Healthier Choices
1.7 Recording Race
1.8 Vegie Man
1.9 Acting Healthy
1.10 Finding the Source
1.11 Money Matters
1.12 Recipe Book
1.13 Health Benefits of Physical Activity
Additional Resources

1.1 Arty Food Wall
Brainstorm with students to decide a
theme for a mural
 food from around the world,
 food that is red,

 food that is in my local store.
Create the mural on a wall, depicting
all the different food that fit the theme.
Children could paint, draw or create
foods from paper to include on the
mural. Empty food cartoons could
also be added.
EXTENSION 1: Write a list of
adjectives to describe the pictures.
Use the list to develop an acrostic
poem about a particular type of food
that has been drawn or painted.
M….
I …..
L ……
K …..
EXTENSION 2: Discuss favourite
foods eaten by different cultures
around the world. Students can
develop a report about food eaten in a
particular geographical area including
things like: Where is the country on the
world map? What is the weather like
there? What sort of food do people
grow or catch there?
1.2 Food Sensation Stations
Set up various “food stations” around a
room where children can explore the
dimensions of food using their senses.
You could include tastings at each
station, or you could have a taste
station, a smell station, a touch station
etc. Use a blindfold and have children
use their other senses to guess the
foods.
EXTENSION 1: Students research
online about a type of sense (seeing,
hearing, touching, tasting). Report
back to the class about which body
parts help us explore food and how
those body parts work.
EXTENSION 2: Class can discuss the
anatomy of organs of the body that
help produce senses. Students could
design experiments to check the way
they function (e.g. test how
concentrated something needs to be
before you can taste it using various
concentrations of sweet and salty
water) and or do anatomically correct/
scientific drawings of the organs.
Deadly ears [online comic]
http://www.inceptionstrategies.com/de.
htm

1.3 Body Basics
In groups, have children cut out a life-sized
body shape from paper. Fill in
the body shape with images from
magazines or drawings that show what
their body needs to be healthy (for
example, foods, activity, love)
EXTENSION 1: Pick out some of the
food pictures on the bodies and have a
class discussion about why they are
important e.g. milk because in builds
strong bones. Use the Food Function
Cards to assist with this activity
EXTENSION 2: Draw a life size
picture of the digestion system.
Discuss the function of the most
important body parts: mouth, teeth,
stomach, large intestine, small
intestine.
You may like to:
 Discuss the function of different
teeth: incisors, molars, canines.
Students can use a mirror to
explore their teeth and draw
them.
Related oral health resources:
http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.ed
u.au/key-resources/promotion-resources/?
lid=22344
 Discuss the function of the
stomach. Put a piece of bread
in a clear plastic bag with ½
cup of vinegar and ¼ cup water
to demonstrate the function of
the stomach.
 Discuss the function of the
small intestine. To show the
structure of the villi the teacher
can make a cardboard tube
with 4 holes in it on each side.
Then blow up two rubber
gloves and insert the fingers
into the holes.
 There are videos on the
internet that show parts of
digestion that could be linked
to topic discussion. You may
like to search Youtube for an
example to show the class.
1.4 Swap Soft Drinks for Water
Children can draw a poster that
teaches other kids to drink more water.
Use the Swap It activity sheet as a
background. Posters can also be
drawn onto tee-shirts with fabric
markers. Alternatively you could
decorate a set of water bottles to be
kept in class to encourage students to
be drinking during the day.
EXTENSION 1: Class discussion
about different types of media or
advertising. Class can look at “Billy the
kidney” song which promotes drinking
water
http://www.reddust.org.au/jukebox/billy
-the-kidney. Students could then
make up their own jingle to promote a
healthy activity (such as eating
vegetables) or make an advertisement
for drinking water in another medium
(such as write a short skit for a
television advertisement).

Children can also explore the benefits
of drinking water and what this does
for their bodies. You may like to set a
research assignment about
dehydration and the negative effects it
can have on the body.
EXTENSION 2: A science experiment
about the effect of soft drink, sports
drink and water on teeth. You will need
one week to complete this experiment.
Children draw up a poster for their
observations. On day one write down
a description of what your egg looks
like. Then put 3 raw eggs in plastic
containers and pour 250mL of each
liquid onto the eggs (you can include
some maths equations around how
much liquid should go into the
containers e.g. “375mL can of soft
drink subtract 250mL how much
should we have left?” can be
integrated into this exercise). Each
day the students write down their
observations. At the end of the week
remind students this could be what is
happening to their teeth when they
drink lots of soft drink.
1.4 Food Groups
Cut a variety of fruit and vegetables
into an assortment of shapes. Use a
spread (for example, ricotta cheese)
and let children stick on a face using
different ingredients. For example,
cucumber sticks as a mouth, radish
eyes with sultana pupils, alfalfa eye
brows, grated carrot hair and tomato
wedge ears. The funny face can then
be eaten as a snack.
During the exercise use the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Guide to
Healthy Eating plate. Students can
point to where various bits of the face
are on the healthy eating plate.
Students can make their funny faces
into different expressions for example
surprised, happy, angry.
EXTENSION 1: Use the Plate activity
sheet to fill a healthy eating plate with
fruits and vegetables from each food
group. Discuss what makes foods
within a group the same and what
makes them different.
EXTENSION 2: Students write a list of
what they had to eat yesterday
including sizes/amounts.
Look at the Australian Guide to
Healthy Eating and use it as a
reference.
Each student can use the Guide to find
out how many serves of a particular
group they had yesterday e.g. how
many serves of fruit?
1.5 Healthier Choices
Throughout the week, children fill up
an alphabet mural with healthy foods
for every letter of the alphabet (for
example, ‘a’ is for apple, ‘z’ is for
zucchini). Children can draw food
items, use food packaging or cut out
pictures from magazines.
EXTENSION 1: Use the Label
Reading information sheet to learn
about reading food labels. You could
then hold a competition to find a label
with a particular healthy feature e.g.
low in salt or to see who can do the
best “shopping” with empty food
containers and packages.

Encourage students to find:
- Foods with less than 10g of fat/
100g
- Foods with less than 400g of
sodium / 100g
- Foods with more than 3g of
fibre/ serve
- Foods that contain a particular
ingredient
EXTENSION 2: Go for an excursion to
the local store in small groups. Ask
children to find a better alternative to
some products using their skills as a
label reader. Products could include
things like:
- Standard soft drink – what
alternative has less sugar?
- Full cream powdered milk-what
alternative has less fat?
- Breakfast cereal – which cereal
has the most fibre?
- Sauce- which has the least
salt?
1.6 Recording Race
Children hold a fruit sticker collecting
competition over a school term.
Children collect the stickers from the
fruit they eat at home and at school.
Provide real sticker prizes for the
children who collect the most stickers.
EXTENSION 1: Students can write
down what they ate in the last week.
They can use the website “calorie
king” http://www.calorieking.com.au/ to
search for on average how many
kilojoules they ate each day. Class
discussion can compare the food they
ate to the fuel in a car.
EXTENSION 2: Students can design a
questionnaire to perform on family
members or other students. They
could ask what different types of food
they prefer, what they ate yesterday or
what they like to buy at the shop.
They could also ask about whether or
not they like to eat a range of healthy
foods. Class results can be combined.
1.7 Vegie Man
Children make a character out of fruits
and vegetables. They could draw
him/her or use pieces of cut up fruit
and vegetables and stack them
together with toothpicks.
EXTENSION 1: Each fruit or vegetable
character is given a name and a
personality. Students then write a
story about their character and an
adventure they had. All students can
include in their story a line that
promotes eating fruit or vegetables.
For example “Tommy the Tomato
Avenger had eaten 5 serves of
vegetables that day, so that he was
able to use his super human strength
to…”
EXTENSION 2: Your class could write
a comic that has their superhero
helping someone with chronic disease.
The superheros could teach someone
their super powers eat more fruits and
vegetables, drink more water and
exercise more often and the main
character could recover from their
chronic disease (e.g. diabetes). As a
class investigate this disease further.

Healthy Living NT produces some
relevant flip charts that can be used to
teach people about diabetes. These
can be purchased from
https://www.healthylivingnt.org.au/cont
ent/?id=84
1.8 Acting Healthy
Have children play food related
charades. Categories might include:
restaurants, breakfast foods, lunch
foods, dinner foods, foods from around
the world.
EXTENSION 1: Play “Which Food am
I?” in the same way you would, “Who
am I?” For example, “I am oval and
usually white or brown and people like
to eat me for breakfast- what am I? (an
egg). Students then make up their
own, “What am I?” cards and see if
other students can guess them
correctly.
EXTENSION 2: Create a food
scenario as a whole class, where
someone makes a good, healthy food
choice E.g. After a soccer game.
Repeat the scenario with someone
making an unhealthy choice. As a
class discuss what the outcomes of
each choice might be. Pairs could
then create their own scenarios
depicting good and bad nutrition
choices. Role-play to class and
discuss.
1.9 Finding the source
Children sit in a circle. Someone
starts by saying a food which is on the
Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and
starts with A three times (e.g. Apple
Apple Apple). The next person then
repeats the word and then adds a new
food that starts with B (e.g. Apple
Bread Bread Bread) and so on for the
next person (Bread Cheese Cheese
Cheese).


EXTENSION 1: Children sit in a
circle. Someone starts by saying a
food (for example, milk), the child next
to them has to say where it comes
(from for example fridge) and so on
(store, farm, cow). The last person to
comment says the next food item.
EXTENSION 2: Each child draws a
cartoon story board of a food as it
travels from seed to consumption.
Use the internet or library to research
more about one step in the process.
Go Grain is an excellent resource for
this activity: see additional resources
for link.

1.10 Money Matters
Set up a pretend store with some
pretend food and pretend money. Use
some students as actors to
demonstrate different activities at the
store and or maths.
EXTENSION 1: Compare prices of
various foods by working out the
price/gram. Compare processed and
fresh food in this way (for example
corn on the cob, frozen corn, canned
corn, corn chips). If possible, use
foods that are available at the local
store.
EXTENSION 2: Make a budget which
includes detail regarding the amount
spent on food. Compare examples of
spending a lot of money at the
takeaway or eating at home.
You may like to use an online budget
calculator for example
https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-and-
resources/calculators-and-tools/
budget-planner
1.11 Recipe Book
Children can make their own recipe
book by drawing pictures or taking
photos of their cooking activities during
the term. Incorporate a maths lesson
based on cooking at home to ensure
you have a multitude of pictures of
photos.
EXTENSION 1: Practice making a
shopping list for a recipe OR making
the recipe into a recipe for 10 or 20
people
*Make sure you are working within the
DECS NT Canteen, Nutrition and
Healthy Eating Policy
http://www.education.nt.gov.au/about-us/
policies/documents/schools/cantee
n-policy
EXTENSION 2: Use fractions in the
recipe. E.g. ½ a cup of flour, or make
¼ of the recipe.
x ½
1.12 Health Benefits of physical
activity
Class discussion about food as a fuel.
Then use active play running,
skipping, hopping to demonstrate how
the fuel is used up.

EXTENSION 1: Exploring what
happens to your body when you
exercise. Students can make a list of
how they are feeling now and what
they think they might feel like after 15
minutes of exercise (try to include
some discussion about why thing
happen after exercise e.g. why are you
going to be breathing faster) Do 15
minutes of exercise as a class then
decide whether the lists were correct.
Review: How do we benefit from
activity?
EXTENSION 2: Look at 2 case studies
as a class. One of a sports person
admired by students one of another
famous (but less healthy) person
known to students. Case study to
include: average amount of exercise
done by each person and examples of
some foods eaten. Students can then
research what would be happening
inside their bodies, what the benefits
of exercise are and write a report.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Guide to Healthy
Eating

Label reading
What do you see on a food label?
What do you see on a Nutrient Information Panel?
How do you chose healthy products using the Nutrient Information Panel?

Nutrition Educational Resource
Material
Please contact the Public Health
Nutritionist in your region
Jimmy Little Foundation Thumbs Up
Website
http://www.thumbsup.org.au
Take the Challenge Now
http://www.takethechallengenow.net/
Healthy kids Association
https://healthy-kids.com.au/
Go for 2 & 5®
http://www.gofor2and5.com.au/
Crunch and Sip
http://www.crunchandsip.com.au
Tooty Fruitie Vegie Program
http://www.ncahs.nsw.gov.au/tooty-fruity/
Food Bank WA Food Sensations
Program
http://www.foodbank.com.au/default.as
p?id=1,82,,63
Food For Health, Our Environment,
Our Future
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/public
ations/pdf/PP-Ch9.pdf
GoGrains
http://www.glnc.org.au/
DET NT Canteen, Nutrition and
http://www.det.nt.gov.au/__data/assets
/pdf_file/0006/7539/CanteenNutritionH
ealthyEatingPolicy.pdf

Gardening
The Gardening activities are designed to encourage students to learn about the garden before, during and
after the growing process. Where possible, it is a good chance to get the students to explore new elements of
the garden, however some of these activities can also be done in the classroom.
As the plants are growing, the Nutrition activities in this resource can be completed.
Begin with activity 2.1- Gardening and the 6 R’s to help establish the rules for working in and around the
garden bed. Remember that the activities are just suggestions so they can be adapted to suit your class.
2.1 Gardening and the 6 R’s
2.2 Getting to Know Your Fruits and Vegetables
2.3 My Seedling Growing Chart
2.4 How Does It Taste?
2.5 Arty Gardeners
2.6 Cartoon Plants
2.7 Across the Garden Bed
2.8 School Gardeners Growing Great Greens
2.9 Growing Up The Wall
2.10 Around the World
2.11 Class Menagerie
2.12 What can we eat?
2.13 Roots and All
2.14 What’s in Our Garden

2.1 Gardening and the 6 R’s
Develop a poster (to be laminated or
covered) to display near the garden
bed. Try using the 6 R’s to establish
good gardening behavior. Remember
to go over the rules before each
garden session.
RULE REVIEW- Revise rules
previously set for when working in the
garden with sharp tools, heavy objects
and small spaces.
REFLECTION- Reflect upon last
session and discuss the project.
REMINDERS- Remind the students of
the long term goals and then discuss
short term goals.
ROLES- Hand out roles for the day.
Team members all assist to complete
the task and then help others if they
finish earlier.
RIGOUROUS ACTIVITY- Get stuck in,
work diligently but carefully. Be safe
and remember to pack up everything
you used.
REPORT- Report back to class
regarding:
 the success of the day,
 improvements,
 set backs and how they were
overcome,
 ideas for the future
Remember:
 Respect towards others
 Repairing friendships if gruff
voices are used
 Share tools and ideas, support
each other
 Patience whilst waiting for tools
2.2 Getting to Know Your Fruit
and Vegetables
Use a table to write some interesting
things about your fruits and veggies.
Display when finished. Try comparing
similarities and differences of various
fruits and vegies.
2.2.1 Teacher instruction sheet
2.2.2 Student worksheet
EXTENSION 1: Develop the chart of
facts into a report to submit with
drawings and a collage from gardening
magazines
EXTENSION 2: Collate the charts to
create a large poster for the wall of 10
different plants (perhaps using the
ones in the garden beds). Include all
the different facts and pictures of each
plant and fruit/vegetable.
2.3 My Seedling Growing Chart
Create or develop a chart to describe
the progress of your seedlings (either
an A3 for the class or A4 for each
student). Use any topics to monitor the
progress of the seedlings (e.g. colour,
number of leaves, stem height).
2.3.1 Teacher instruction sheet
2.3.2 Student worksheet
EXTENSION 1: Discuss what makes
seedlings grow at different rates.
EXTENSION 2: Plot the growth of the
seedlings on a graph to show the rate
of growth each week.
2.4 How does it Taste?
Which parts of the plant can I eat? Try
creating a chart of all the plants that
are grown and what they taste like.
Other things you could include: how
does the plant smell, what does it feel
like in your mouth (crunchy, soft,
rubbery) and what does it taste like?
Be sure to include whether the plant
has to be cooked to be eaten or is it
tastier raw?

EXTENSION 1: Create multiple
sensory work stations around the
room. Children work in pairs; blind
fold their partner and ask them to
guess each fruit and vegetable based
on touch, smell, sound and taste.
2.5 Arty Gardeners
Every week draw a sketch picture of
your seedlings as they grow. Be sure
to include all new leaves, flowers,
changes in size and colour.
EXTENSION 1: If you can- take a
photo of the plant and compare it to
your sketch
EXTENSION 2: Create a scientific
drawing of the seedlings using graph
paper to make it to scale.
2.6 Cartoon Plants
Design a cartoon character, using the
seedling, the plant’s flower or the
edible part of the plant. Be sure to
include what the plant might say if he
could talk and any Super Health
Powers!
EXTENSION 1: Create a 6 to 8
square, short cartoon story with your
character as the hero
2.7 Across the Garden Bed
Create an acrostic poem using one of
the fruit or vegetables being grown in
the garden.
EXTENSION 1: Use 3-4 letter words
(e.g. bee, tree) and try writing an
acrostic poem as a whole class on the
board. Follow this up with the students
drawing pictures to represent their
Acrostic Poem.
EXENSION 2: Try doing an acrostic
with any garden words (eg, seedling,
trowel, shovel) and create a one word
poem for each letter.
EXTENSION 3: Try and create a
statement or sentence based on each
letter represented in the acrostic poem
2.8 School Gardeners Growing
Great Greens!
Create an Alliteration poem about your
garden. See how many words you can
use! For example: Our Grade Four
Gifted Gardeners are Growing
Glorious Goodies in the veggie
Garden to use in our Great big Green
salad.
EXTENSION 1: List onomatopoeia
words about some of the animals
found living near the garden bed (for
example bees like to buzz). Be sure
to include illustrations.
2.9 Growing up the Wall
Create a mural on the wall to stick on
your pictures of the veggie garden.
Draw a basic outline of the garden
bed, then in each section; create
poems, design scientific drawings,
photograph plants and paint the
seedlings as your garden bed comes
to life.
EXTENSION 1: Try to include some
textural pieces (felt for leaves, blue
cellophane for the water, cotton wool
for the clouds above)
EXTENSION 2: Be sure to include a
map of your garden bed, attempt to
make it to scale

2.10 Around the World
Discuss the origins of different plants
and vegetables with the class. Use this
time to talk about the different country,
who might have introduced it to
Australia and ways it is traditionally
used in other countries. (e.g. Basil
from Italy - used commonly in pasta
and bruschetta). Are their any new
varieties? What is commonly grown in
the Top End?
EXTENSION 1: Make some
Bruschetta to have with this activity,
using wholemeal or multigrain bread, a
smear of polyunsaturated margarine,
fresh tomatoes, red onions, garlic and
basil from your garden.
*Make sure you are working within the
http://www.education.nt.gov.au/about-us/
policies/documents/schools/cantee
n-policy
2.11 Class Menagerie
Create a class menagerie for the
school wall. Create classroom pets
using cut outs of different animals from
magazines, pictures from the internet.
Group the animals into their species
and draw or write some special
characteristics about each group.
Investigate what foods and drinks
each animal needs for growth.
EXTENSION 1: Include extra
information on each animal- for
instance the shelter that it needs and
what country or region it is native to.
EXTENSION 2: Make a chart of each
food the animals eat (and how often
across the day) and compare it to how
often students eat and their favourite
foods.
2.12 What can we eat?
Discuss what parts of the plant can be
eaten. Break this down into 5 groups;
roots, stems, flowers, fruit, leaves.
. Come up with examples of each one
eg:
- Roots: carrots, potato, sweet
potato, Cassava,
- Stems: Asparagus, celery,
rhubarb
- Flowers: broccoli, cauliflower,
artichoke
- Fruit: apple, avocado, banana,
beans, capsicum, cucumber
- Leaves: spinach, lettuce,
cabbage, herbs
Some of these vegetables and fruits
may not be well known. Get the
students to look them up on the
internet and together come up with 3
facts/features of unknown fruits and
vegetables.
EXTENSION 1: Make a salad using all
different edible parts of vegetables.
For example; roots, stems, flowers,
leaves and fruit. Chop all the different
parts of the vegetables up and ask the
students to identify which parts belong
to each of the groups (e.g. Broccoli
head = flowers or cabbage= leaves).
This activity will demonstrate that not
only the “fruit” of the plant is eaten.

Recipe:
LEAVES- ½ cabbage grated, 1 head
of lettuce
STEMS- 3 stalks celery, 6 stalks
tinned asparagus
FRUIT- 2 green capsicums chopped, 1
cucumber chopped, 3 tomatoes
chopped
FLOWERS- 3 stalks broccoli, ½ head
cauliflower
ROOTS- 3 carrots grated, 1 can sliced
beetroot
Method:
1. Wash and prepare all vegetables.
Refrigerate in separate containers
2. Each student to wash their hands
then assemble their own salad
choosing something from each group
3. Toss salad, top with a low fat
dressing (or low fat mayonnaise) or
arrange foods in a lettuce leaf on a
plate.
2.13 Roots and All
Head out into the garden and identify
any weeds. Using a trowel get the
students to dig up the weeds, making
sure to get the root system too. Take
the weeds back into the classroom
and have a discussion around the use
of roots for the plant (why do plants
needs roots? what do different roots
like? are all roots the same size? etc.).
Students can then draw sketches of
the roots, measure their length, and
look at the number of smaller roots
extending from the main root stem.
EXPERIMENT: Grow your own roots!
For this experiment you will need:
- Piece of sweet potato (or many
pieces if you want many
experiments)
- 2 wooden skewers for each
piece of sweet potato
- A jar large enough for the piece
of sweet potato to fit into
- Water
1. Push the skewers into the top
of the sweet potato at right
angles (so it forms a cross).
The skewers will then rest on
the rim of the jar to hold the
sweet potato up
2. Fill the jar with water so about
½ of the sweet potato is
submerged
3. Put it in a dark cupboard for 24
hours
4. Take it out of the cupboard and
put it on a window sill in the
light
5. Change the water every couple
of days to keep the water fresh
You will start to notice roots growing in
the water and after about 5 days a
sprout will form from the top of the
sweet potato. Continue to change the
water regularly and the potato will
keep growing.
Some questions to ask during the
growing phase:
- Will the stem grow from the top
first or the roots at the bottom?
- How many days will it take for a
root to grow?
- What will the root look like- will
it be a single root or have
multiple stems?
Chart the root progress on the white
board, be sure to include the length of
the root and stem.

2.14 What’s in Our Garden
This activity is designed to show the
people in the town or community what
is in the garden bed. Everyone wants
to know what plants you are growing,
what the garden looks like and what
animals you find around the garden. A
good way to tell people about the
garden is to create an alphabet story
book. To do this, we need to start with
a brainstorm about what things are; in
our garden, around our garden, what
animals come to the garden, what
tools we need to work in the garden
and what our garden looks like. During
the brainstorm write all the letters of
the alphabet on the board. Assign the
brainstorm words to the letter that it
begins with. If you don’t have enough
words for each letter, you can use
words that have the letter in them, for
example: D- We need to Dig the roots
out of the garden. Make sure to take
the students out into the garden after
the brainstorm to help them think of all
the different describing words about
the garden.
Assign each student a letter and
brainstorm word. They then need to
make a short sentence using the word,
do this on a large piece of white paper.
The students can then illustrate their
sentence on the paper. Once all the
pictures are finished, compile them all
to make a garden alphabetic book.

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden
Program
http://www.kitchengardenfoundation.or
g.au/
Nursery & Garden Industry Australia:
Know How for Horticulture (HAL) Kids
Grow
http://www.ngia.com.au/SiteMap
The Australians School Gardens
Network- Gardens for Learning
http://www.sustainableschools.nsw.ed
u.au/Default.aspx?tabid=656
Remote Indigenous Garden (RIG)
Network
http://www.remoteindigenousgardens.
net/
Multicultural School Gardens program
(Victoria)
https://www.gould.edu.au/html/docume
nts/MSGReport_2006.pdf
Edible Gardens, Permaculture School
Kitchen Gardens using Permaculture
for Kids. GROW EAT LEARN program
http://edibleschoolgardens.com.au/gro
w-eatlearn
Health Info Net
http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/
http://www.det.nt.gov.au/__data/assets
/pdf_file/0006/7539/CanteenNutritionH
ealthyEatingPolicy.pdf
Community Centres SA resources on
gardening with schools and children
http://www.communitycentressa.asn.a
u/wp-content/
uploads/2012/02/gardening_sc
hools.pdf
http://www.communitycentressa.asn.a
u/wp-content/
uploads/2012/02/gardening_c
hildren.pdf

2.2.1 Teacher Instruction Sheet
Name_____________________
Getting to Know your Fruits and Vegetables
Name and draw your fruit or vegetable What is the outside
colour? What is the inside colour?
What does the
outside feel like?
(shiny, rough,
furry)
Does it have a seed?
Red Red Shiny and smooth Yes, lots of little white
seeds
Draw a cross-section of
the fruit or vegetable
Draw a picture of the seed. Be sure to include
colour!
Red capsicum
Small white seeds

2.2.2 Student Worksheet
Name_____________________
Getting to Know your Fruits and Vegetables
Name and draw your fruit or vegetable What is the outside
colour? What is the inside colour?
What does the
outside feel like?
(shiny, rough,
furry)
Does it have a seed?
Draw a cross-section of the fruit or vegetable Draw a picture of the seed. Be sure to include
colour!

2.3.1 Teacher Instruction Sheet
My Name_____________________
Week/
Date
How tall is my
seedling? (centimetres)
How much has my seedling
grown since last week?
(new height - last weeks
height= how much my seedling
has grown)
How many leaves has my
seedling got?
What changes have happened to
my seedling since last week?
- New leaves
- New flowers
- Change of colour
- Has it grown
1 3cm
Last week the seedling was not
above the ground.
(3-0)= 3cm
No leaves yet
The seedling has come out of the
ground. It is light green. There are
no flowers
2 4cm 4-3= 1cm
2 very small leaves have
started to grow from the tip of
the plant
There are 2 new small leaves. The
stem has become thicker. It is still
light green
Tips for looking after your seedling
Water daily
Put in the sunlight
Watch it grow
My Seedling Growing Chart

2.3.2 Student Worksheet
My Name____________________
Week
How tall is my
seedling?
(centimetres = cm)
My Seedling Growing Chart
How much has my seedling
grown since last week?
(new height - last weeks
height= how much my seedling
has grown)
How many leaves has my
seedling got?
What changes have happened to
my seedling since last week?
- New leaves
- New flowers
- Change of colour
- Has it grown
Tips for looking after your seedling: Water daily, Put in the sunlight, Watch it grow

Food Safety
This section contains activities that cover food storage and handling,
handwashing, hygiene and unsafe food. Good sources of pre-reading include Eat
Smart, Play Smart and Environmental Health in the Department of Health. See
Additional Resources at the end of this section for more information.
3.1 Poster Study
3.2 Germ walk
3.3 Wash your hands the right way
3.4 Pin-tastic! Feed your friend
3.5 Freezer, fridge or cupboard?
3.6 Spot the unsafe food!
Appendices and Additional Resources

3.1 Poster Study
Display the ‘Didya Wash ya Hands?’
posters. These can be accessed via the
Campaign Materials page of the No Germs
on Me Handwashing Campaign (see
Additional Resources) or the
Environmental Health Officer for your
region.
Have a class discussion on the following
points:
• What is the green character
representing?
• Can you see it in real life? Why
not?
• What is happening to the green
character in the round symbol? Is
this a good thing?
• Why is the green character in all the
smaller drawings?
• Do you think the people in the
pictures can see the green
character? Why?
• Have you ever seen any of these
activities happening at school, at
home or in the community? If so,
which ones? Which do you see
most often? What problems could
come from these activities? How
could you stop these problems?
(Source: ‘Didya wash ya hands?’ Teacher’s
resource)
EXTENSION 1: Use plasticine/clay to show
how bacteria multiply. Divide the class into
small groups and give each a lump of
plasticine. Set a timer and call out at 15
second intervals. At the end of the first 15
seconds, the students can divide the
plasticine into two. After the next 15
seconds, divide these into two, so you
have four lumps of plasticine. In another 15
seconds make it 8 lumps, and so on.
EXTENSION 2: Using the ‘Safe Food is
Everybody’s Business’ DVD (available from
the Environmental Health Officer for you
region), show the students Chapter 1 –
‘Food Poisoning’ and complete the
interactive review questions
3.2 Germ walk
Go for a walk with your class around the
school or part of your community to
investigate where germs might live and
different ways that they may be spread.
Make a list as you go on your walk.
EXTENSION 1: Ask students to examine
their hands closely – use a magnifying
glass if one is available. Highlight all the
deep and shallow lines and cracks on the
hands, as well as the nail beds and the
web between fingers and thumb. Remind
them that they may see dirt, but they will
not see germs as they are too small.
Use poster sized paper for students to
create a trace of their hand/s and draw the
lines/cracks and/or nail beds. Ask them to
use their imagination to draw in some
germs hiding on their hands – they could
add little eyes, hairs, nose, etc. If possible,
display pictures of different germ cells for
inspiration:
http://cellsalive.com/gallery.htm
Students could also draw pictures of some
of the germy situations they observed on
their walk, and pictures of hand washing
and clean hands to their poster and use the
caption ‘didya wash ya hands?’ or ‘no
germs on me!’ to title the posters.
EXTENSION 2: Have a class discussion
about whether students think that their
friends and families know how important it
is to wash their hands regularly to prevent

the spread of germs. Brainstorm with the
class to come up with some ways that they
could spread the message – e.g. making
posters, creating postcards and sending
them to friends/family, writing a song or rap
and performing it to the class or at
assembly, making a video, making a class
mural and displaying it in the school.
resource)
3.3 Wash your hands the right way
Optional: Use glitter to demonstrate how
germs spread. Provide a bowl of glitter, ask
one student to come forward and put their
hands in the glitter. Then ask them to
shake hands with other children in the
room. The glitter will spread from the first
child’s hands, which demonstrates how
germs spread from hand to hand contact.
After this, go ahead with the hand washing
exercise below.
Use the ‘5 steps’ poster to discuss the right
way to wash hands to make sure we don’t
spread germs.
Practice hand washing together – sing the
song ‘happy birthday’ twice to make sure
the hand washing process is the right
length of time. You can make up new lyrics
to the same tune if you like, for example:
‘Wash the germs down the drain,
Wash the germs down the drain,
Scrub your hands with soap and water
Make them all clean again’
resource)
EXTENSION 1: Use glitterbug lotion and a
UV light (see below for details on where to
purchase) to demonstrate how germs can
remain on the hands. Experiment washing
hands with:
 Water only
 Water, soap and no rubbing
 Water, soap, rubbing and no drying
 Water, soap, rubbing, rinsing and
drying
Glitterbug lotion, UV lights and hand
washing kits can be purchased here:
http://www.foodstars.com.au/Handwashing
kit.htm
EXTENSION 2: Gather resources for the
class to make colourful sock puppets that
represent bacteria, soap and water, etc.
Put on a puppet show about washing your
hands, or germs in food. Let the students
get creative with their voices and
movements – how would a germ speak?
How would a germ move? They could
script a short play or create tableaux (a
motionless scene).
3.4 Pin-tastic! Feed your friend
Use the Feed my Friend example and a
large sheet of butcher’s paper to create a
‘pin the tail on the donkey’ style of game. In
this game, the tail is exchanged for a
spoon and the donkey is exchanged for a
girl (the ‘friend’). The aim is for a
blindfolded student to ‘feed their friend’ by
pinning the spoon on the girl’s mouth, as
opposed to pinning the spoon to the rabbit,
dirty clothes, basketball or other pitfalls
where the food will pick up germs.
3.5 Freezer, fridge or cupboard?
This exercise can be used to discuss the
importance of storing food at the correct
temperature.
You will need three small bowls, three
small sachets of dry yeast and 3 teaspoons
of sugar. Fill the first bowl with iced water,
the second bowl with water at room
temperature and the third bowl with boiling
water. Add a sachet of yeast and a
teaspoon of sugar to each bowl. Wait for 5-
10 minutes to see the effect. The yeast in
the room temperature bowl should have
increased in size and bubbled more than
the other bowls. This is because the yeast

contains live cells that multiply at the right
temperature and produce carbon dioxide
which creates the bubbles. Explain to
students that this is similar to bacteria
(although yeasts are not bacteria) – they
grow and multiply at room temperature and
they love warm moist conditions.
At low or high temperatures they are not as
active, this is why it is important to store
some foods in the fridge and to heat food
until it is very hot when cooking.
EXTENSION 1: Students can work
together to make a fridge/freezer and a
cupboard out of cardboard. Shelves can be
drawn on, and Velcro spots used to stick
images of foods in the right places, or
alternatively, create plastic pockets for
shelves and put food pictures in the
pockets.
Students can search for images of food on
the internet, look in magazines, or draw
pictures of foods they often eat. Use
cardboard backing or laminate the food
pictures to make them more durable.
Use the fridge/freezer and cupboard
models to discuss appropriate food
storage. Choose some high risk food
pictures such as:
 Raw and cooked meat, including
poultry such as chicken and turkey,
and foods containing these, such as
casseroles, curries and lasagne
 Dairy products, such as custard and
dairy based desserts like custard
tarts and cheesecake
 Eggs and egg products, such as
quiche
 Smallgoods such as hams and
salamis
 Seafood, such as seafood salad,
patties, fish balls, stews containing
seafood and fish stock
 Cooked rice and pasta
 Prepared salads like coleslaws,
pasta salads and rice salads
 Prepared fruit salads
 Ready to eat foods, including
sandwiches, rolls, and pizza that
contain any of the food above.
EXTENSION 2: Arrange with the school
canteen manager to take a group of
students on a tour of the canteen. Ask the
canteen manager to discuss the different
things they do to make sure the food they
serve is safe to consume. Topics could
include:
 Staff hand washing and hair nets/
hair tied back
 Food storage – fridge stacking,
temperature of fridge and freezers,
use-by and best-before dates
 Cooking – temperature, separating
raw and cooked items
 Washing equipment
 Etc.
Students could list the activities they hear
about and discuss these later in class.
Which of these things happen at their
home? What could they do differently?
What if you don’t have a fridge at home?
3.6 Spot the unsafe food!
Print out copies of the worksheet at
Appendix 2 and hand out to the class. The
students can circle or highlight the food
safety mistakes that they can see in the
picture.
The answers are: 1. Mayonnaise is in the
cupboard with the lid off. 2. Backpack is on
the counter. 3. Cat is on the counter. 4.
Milk is not in the refrigerator. 5. Sandwich
is on the floor. 6. Sausages are in the
cupboard.
EXTENSION 1: Using the ‘Safe Food is
Everybody’s Business’ DVD (available from
the Environmental Health Officer for you
region), show the students Chapter 2
‘Preventing Food Poisoning’ and complete
the interactive review questions.

Appendix 1
Appendix 1 Appendix 2
Appendix 2
Source: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/food/food_safety/handling/hgic3607.html
Appendices and Additional Resources

Appendix 2
Source: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/food/food_safety/handling/hgic3607.html

No Germs On Me campaign
http://www.health.nt.gov.au/Environmental
_Health/No_Germs_on_Me_Campaign/ind
ex.aspx
Images of bacteria viewed under a
microscope:
http://microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html
http://cellsalive.com/phage.htm
American Natural History Museum site:
some child-friendly games about germs:
http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/infectio
n/index.html
Partnership for Food Safety Education
(PFSE) – curriculum for kids
http://fightbac.org/for-kids/139-curriculum-for-
kids
Food Safety factsheets, Northern Territory
Department of Health
http://www.health.nt.gov.au/Environmental
_Health/Food_Safety/index.aspx#FoodSaf
etyFactSheets
Eat Smart, Play Smart 2004-2008 pp 37-
42. National Heart Foundation.
http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/active-living/
healthy-kids/Pages/eat-smart-play-smart.
aspx
Environmental Health, NT Department of
Health
http://health.nt.gov.au/Environmental_Healt
h/index.aspx

Cooking
These cooking activities can reinforce food safety principles learnt in the Food
Safety section. It is important to work through the activities prior to commencing
cooking so that students have an understanding of hygiene, food safety and
handling before getting in to cooking.
4.1 Preparing for the Kitchen
4.2 Methods of Cooking
4.3 Using Ingredients from the Garden
4.4 Become a Kitchen Wizard!
4.5 The Importance of Breakfast!
4.6 Cooking for a Crowd
4.7 Sensory Evaluation of Ingredients
4.8 Investigating Alternatives
4.9 How Fresh is Your Egg?
4.10 Recipe Evaluator
4.11 Recipes

4.1 Preparing for the Kitchen…
Revise earlier content covered with
students about the importance of food
safety. What will happen if food is old or
spoiled, hands are not clean, vermin are in
foods etc? (e.g. makes you very sick).
Provide an orientation for use of kitchen
equipment including the use of knives (e.g.
blades always towards the ground when
carrying, sharp – easy to injure). Ensure
first aid equipment is in reach. Prior to
making a particular recipe, discuss the
potential hazards of different cooking
equipment.
4.2 Methods of Cooking
Why do we cook food? What are the
different cookery methods? Have students
list how many methods for cooking they
know (e.g. baking, grilling, roasting, frying,
pureeing, boiling, microwaving, steaming,
chilling and setting (with gelatine),
freezing). Many foods can also be eaten
raw. Which foods are these?
EXTENSION 1: Have students look at the
included recipes and discuss which
different technologies are used for cooking.
What are some of the safety issues to keep
in mind when using different technologies
(e.g. stovetop = hot, risk of burning;
blender = risk of cutting etc).
4.3 Using Ingredients from the Garden
Plan a creative cook up using ingredients
that were grown from the garden. Have
students make or research a recipe using
one, two and three ingredients from the
garden. Students can research these on
the Internet or create their own recipe.
Award a championship title with a
certificate for the best recipes (voted on by
the class). Have students make copies of
their recipe to share with others in the
class.
EXTENSION 1: Develop a criterion to rate
each of the different recipes. The table
could include:
i. Taste (Delicious, nice, ok, dislike)
ii. Texture (Crunchy, soft, smooth)
iii. Appearance (How many colours?)
iv. Variety of ingredients (Less than 5,
5-10, more than 10)
Students can award stars to each recipe. 5
equals ‘delicious’, 1 equals ‘don’t like’. Ask
what could be changed to give the recipe 5
stars? Students can add or take away 3
foods per recipe. Ask students to write
down the ingredients for their favourite
meal.
EXTENSION 2: All the recipes developed
can be made into a recipe book. Name the
recipe after the student/s (e.g. Sarah and
Kumantji’s Pesto Sauce). Print out the
basic instructions and have students
decorate the recipe card with drawings of
the different ingredients. Laminate these
and provide for the students to use when
making the recipe.
4.4 The Importance of Breakfast!
What makes a good breakfast? Have
students draw a picture of what a healthy
breakfast looks like. Are there different
colours? (these reflect different
macronutrients, vitamins and minerals).
Discuss why these are important (e.g.
calcium for bones/teeth, iron for strong
blood/muscles, carbohydrates for energy).
4.5 Become a Kitchen Wizard!
Have students look at the different
smoothie recipes in this section. What are
the common ingredients? Discuss what
other alternatives could be put inside?
(Fruit? Dairy? Other flavourings and
ingredients?) Now have students design
their own smoothies.

EXTENSION 1: Make the smoothie and
have the class test each of the different
recipes. Which flavours go together really
well together? What colours are the
different smoothies? The class can vote on
their favourite.
4.6 Cooking for a Crowd
Using the recipes included in this section,
have students calculate making the recipe
for additional people. Double the recipe,
quadruple or multiply by 10. How much of
each ingredient would you need?
4.7 Sensory Evaluation of Ingredients
Taste testing: have students taste test
each ingredient grown from the garden e.g.
rocket, basil, tomato etc. Also include some
additional ingredients from the store such
as: yoghurt, banana, soy sauce, cheese,
grapefruit, cabbage, vegemite, lemon,
anchovy, etc. Make a chart and have
students categorise ingredients into:
• Sweet
• Sour
• Salty
• Bitter
EXTENSION 1: Find out who likes certain
ingredients that were grown in the garden.
Why? Who dislikes a particular ingredient?
Why? Discuss the different nutritional
benefits these foods offer. You can use the
Australian Guide to Healthy Eating for this
www.eatforhealth.gov.au.
4.8 Investigating Alternatives
Develop problem solving abilities by having
students find novel ways to make a recipe
when certain elements are missing from a
recipe. Divide students into two groups.
Have one group work on missing
ingredients (theoretical) and another on
missing cooking equipment (practical).
Missing ingredients: Have students provide
other alternatives if x ingredients from a
recipe are not available. What can be used
instead? Which ingredients go together?
(see Getting to know your Ingredients at
the end of this section)
Missing cooking equipment: You need to
make a smoothie or muffin but don’t have
a…
A) Blender. Either use a hand held stick
blender, or freeze fruit and defrost – then
use a masher.
B) Muffin tin. Students can use a cake/loaf
tin and cut these up, or shape ‘balls’ onto a
baking tray).
Have students trial these different methods
and any others that the students can come
up with to see how the recipe differs. Have
students discuss how these changes have
affected the recipe.
4.9 How Fresh is Your Egg?
Several of the recipes used have eggs.
However, it can be difficult to tell how fresh
an egg is unless it’s broken. Obtain some
fresh and old eggs (ask the store if they
have any past the use by date - otherwise,
keep some aside for one month). Have the
students place fresh and old eggs into a
basin of salty water and record what the
egg does (fresh eggs sink, older eggs turn
on their ends with narrow pointing up, very
old eggs float to the top). Now ask students
to crack a fresh and an old egg into a
saucer and describe what they see. Fresh
eggs have a ‘jelly like’ white and cover a
small area, older eggs spread out and have
a flattened yolk. Have the students draw
the differences between the fresh and old
eggs.

4.10 Recipe Evaluator
What needs to be considered to decide
whether a recipe is healthy or not? Things
to keep in mind are the amount and type of
fat used, whether any salt or sweetener
has been added and how much fibre the
recipe contains. Ask students to research
and choose a recipe from the internet that
they consider to be healthy and another
that they think is unhealthy. Discuss
reasons that students have chosen a
particular recipe and try and elucidate
general concepts for why particular recipes
were chosen by the students. Now look at
these recipes chosen a little more carefully
with students. Initial questions to ask might
be:
1. What are the main ingredients in
this recipe?
2. Are we adding any salt, sugar or
fat? If so, how much is being
suggested? Does it all need to be
added?
3. If the recipe not healthy, are there
ingredients that you can substitute
or additional ingredients we can put
in to make it healthier? E.g. can we
substitute half the flour used in the
recipe to wholemeal or are we able
to add some additional fresh or
dried fruit as a natural sweetener
which also increases the fibre
content (unlike sugar or honey or
other sweeteners)?
Discuss the different recipes with each of
the class and then ask students to re-evaluate
recipes and make any changes.
Also consider how the changes will affect
the taste, texture and appearance of the
recipe
4.11 Recipes
All recipes reproduced with permission
from Eat Smart Play Smart. A manual
for out of school hours care. National
Edition © 2004-2008 National Heart
Foundation of Australia.
1 Super Fruit Smoothies: Banana
Berry or Mango Magic (omit honey
from recipe)
2 Quick Creamy Porridge (use natural
sweetener e.g. apple puree instead
of sugar)
3 Wholemeal Pikelets (omit sugar
from recipe)
4 Sweet and Creamy Rice
5 Fruity Currant Pikelets
6 Banana Pikelets
7 Bliss Balls*
8 Baked Veggie Bruschetta (using
zucchini, tomato and basil from the
garden)
9 Sweet Corn and Zucchini Muffins
(using zucchini from the garden)
10 Basil Pesto*
11 Icy Fruit Delights
12 Mediterranean Roll Ups
13 Stuffed Jacket Potatoes
14 Fried Rice (adding mung bean
sprouts, coriander & sliced French
beans from the garden)
15 Bonza Beef Burgers (adding
radish, cucumber & tomato from the
garden)
*Check for any nut allergies and school
nut allergy policy

1. Super Fruit Smoothies
Smoothies are a delicious way to get a fruity start to the day! They also make perfect
afternoon pick-me-ups.
Use a food processor or blender to make the smoothies in batches. The banana berry
one is really delicious, but try using different fruits according to the seasons (see
Mango magic smoothie). Take advantage of the wonderful variety of fruits canned in
natural juice – try the vanilla peach smoothie.
Banana berry smoothie
Ingredients Makes 10 Makes 20 Makes 30
Bananas 3 6 9
Punnet/s of
½ 1 1 ½
strawberries,
hulled
Honey 2 tbsp 4 tbsp 6 tbsp
Reduced fat milk 1 ½ L 3 L 5 L
Method
Simply blend all the ingredients together until creamy and smooth; serve at once.
Mango magic smoothie
Mangoes, peeled,
2-3 4-6 6-8
sliced
Honey 2 tbsp 4 tbsp 6 tbsp
Reduced fat milk 2 L 4 L 6 L
Method

Vanilla peach smoothie
Note; include the juice from the canned peaches.
Canned peaches
in natural juice
825g can 2 x 825g can 3 x 825g can
Reduced fat
vanilla yoghurt
200mL 500mL 750mL
Reduced fat milk 1 ½ L 3 L 5 L
Method
Recipe reproduced with permission from Eat Smart Play Smart. A manual for out of school
hours care. National Edition © 2004-2008 National Heart Foundation of Australia

2. Quick creamy porridge
Serve piping hot in winter and offer warmed honey in a ‘squeezy bottle’ – children love
drizzling it over the top. They also love sprinkling brown sugar over hot porridge
because it melts on top in little caramel ‘puddles’. Sultanas or sliced bananas also
make a delicious optional topping.
Preparation time 5 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes
Quick-cooking
3 cups (300g) 6 cups (600g) 9 cups (900g)
oats
Water 3 cups 1 ½ L 2 ¼ L
Sugar 3 tbsp ½ cup ¾ cup
Method
1. Put the quick-cooking oats in a large saucepan and add the water and milk.
2. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, stirring every now and then.
3. Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently until thick and creamy (about 12
minutes), stirring occasionally.
4. If using, stir in the sugar and serve at once.

3. Wholemeal pikelets
This recipe makes good-sized pikelets about 8cm in diameter and allows for one per
serve. Serve with margarine spread and honey or jam.
Cooking time 5-10 minutes
Wholemeal self-raising
flour
1 ¼ cups 2 1/3 cups 3 ½ cups
Caster sugar 1 ½ tbsp 3 tbsp 4 ½ tbsp
Eggs, beaten 1 2 3
Reduced fat milk 1 cup 1 ¾ cups 2 2/3 cups
Vanilla essence ½ tsp 1 tsp 1 ½ tsp
Margarine spread
2 tsp 1 tbsp 1 ½ tbsp
or a canola spray
for cooking
Method
1. Combine the flour and sugar.
2. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and gradually stir in the eggs, milk and
vanilla.
3. Allow the mixture to stand for a few minutes so that the flour absorbs some of
the milk and the mixture thickens slightly.
4. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat (200°C if using an electric frying pan).
5. Brush 1 tsp of margarine spread over the pan to coat it evenly.
6. Cook the mixture in scant ¼ cupfuls until bubbles rise on the uncooked surface
(about 1 ½ minutes).
7. Turn the pikelets over and cook for a further 2 minutes on other side
8. Put the cooked pikelets on paper towels until ready to use.
9. If not using at once, cover with paper towels to prevent the pikelets from drying
out.
Quick tip
 Margarine spread- Add 1 tsp of margarine spread to the pan each time you
cook 5 pikelets

 Consistency of mixture- If allowed to stand for one hour or more the mixture
will become quite thick and you will need to stir in a little extra milk. The correct
consistency of the uncooked mixture should be that of thick pouring custard.

4. Sweet and creamy rice
This is rather like porridge, but is also suitable to serve as a snack or dessert. In
winter, serve piping hot drizzled with honey. In summer, serve chilled and topped with
sliced fresh fruit or fruit canned in its own juice (peaches, apricots or pineapple are
excellent).
Cooking time 35 minutes
Rice 2 cups 4 cups 6 cups
Water 2 cups 1 L 3 L
Sugar (omit sugar
½ cup 1 cup 1 ½ cup
or use Splenda)
Vanilla essence
(optional)
1 tsp 2 tsp 3 tsp
Method
1. Put the rice in a large saucepan and add the water. Bring to the boil, stirring
once or twice.
2. Reduce the heat and cook gently for 3 minutes.
3. Add the milk and stir over a medium-high heat until the mixture returns to the
boil.
4. Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently until the rice is tender and creamy
(about 35 minutes), stirring every now and then to ensure the rice does not
stick on the bottom of the pan. Add a little extra milk if the mixture becomes too
thick.
5. Stir in the sugar and, if using it, the vanilla.
6. Serve at once or cool and then chill in the refrigerator.

5. Fruity Currant Pikelets
serve. Serve hot or cold with margarine spread.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
flour
Brown sugar 1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp
Currants ½ cup 1 cup 1 ½ cups
Eggs, beaten 1 2 3
Margarine spread
or a canola spray
for cooking
Method
1. Combine flour, sugar and currants
2. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and gradually stir in the eggs and milk
3. Allow the mixture to stand for a few minutes so the flour absorbs some of the
milk and the mixture thickens slightly
4. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat (200 degrees is using an electric
frying pan)
5. Brush 1tsp margarine spread over the pan to coat it evenly
(about 1 ½ minutes)
7. Turn the pikelet over and cook for a further 2 minutes on other side
8. Put the cooked pikelet on paper towels until ready to use
out.
Quick tip
Margarine spread- add 1tsp margarine spread to the pan each time you cook five
pikelets

Consistency of mixture- If allowed to stand for one hour or more the mixture will
become quite thick and you will need to stir in a little extra milk. The correct
consistency of the uncooked mixture should be that of pouring custard.

6. Banana Pikelets
serve. Serve hot or cold with margarine spread, or top with sliced banana and drizzle
with a little warmed honey.
Bananas mashed 1 2 3
Brown sugar 1 tbsp 2 tbsp ¼ cup
Vanilla essence ½ tsp 1 tsp 1 ½ tsp
flour
Margarine spread
or a canola spray
for cooking
Method
1. Mash the bananas. Combine with the sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla, then stir in
the flour
2. Allow the mixture to stand for a few minutes so the flour absorbs some of the
milk and the mixture thickens slightly
3. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Brush 1tsp margarine spread over
the pan to coat it evenly
(about 1 ½ minutes)
5. Turn the pikelet over and cook for a further 2 minutes on other side
6. Put the cooked pikelet on paper towels until ready to use
out.
Quick tips
 Mashing bananas- when mashing several bananas use a potato masher
 Margarine spread- add 1tsp margarine spread to the pan each time you cook
five pikelets

 Consistency of mixture- If allowed to stand for one hour or more the mixture will
become quite thick and you will need to stir in a little extra milk. The correct
consistency of the uncooked mixture should be that of pouring custard.

7. Bliss Balls
These are tasty little treats that are surprisingly satisfying. There’s also a bonus; they
don’t need cooking.
Preparation time: 15-30 minutes Cooking time: No cooking needed
Ingredients Serves 10 Serves 20 Serves 30 Serves 40 Serves 50
Bananas
2 (360g) 4 (720g) 6 (1kg) 8 (1.4kg) 10 (1.8kg)
peeled
Sultanas 1 ½ cups
(260g)
3 cups
(525g)
4 cups
(700g)
5 cups
(875g)
6 cups
(1kg)
Dried
apricots,
chopped
1 ½ cups
(200g)
2 ½ cups
(400g)
4 cups
(600g)
5 ½ cups
(800g)
6 cups
(1kg)
Puffed rice 1 ½ cups 3 cups 4 ½ cups 6 cups 8 cups
Quick cooking
½ cup
1 cup
1 ½ cups
2 cups
oats
(75g)
(150g)
(225g)
(300g)
2 ½ cups
(375g)
Desiccated
coconut
½ cup
(50g)
1 cup
(95g)
1 ½ cups
(140g)
2 cups
(190g)
2 ½ cups
(230g)
Method
1. Using the potato masher, mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl
2. Add the sultanas and the dried apricots. Using a large, strong wooden spoon,
combine thoroughly. Stir in the puffed rice, then add the quick cooking oats
3. Combine until a moist dough like consistency has been reached (the texture
should resemble uncooked Christmas cake)
4. If possible, allow to stand for 5 minutes to allow it to thicken
5. Spread the coconut out in a shallow, wide bowl
6. Put disposable gloves on and use your hands to shape and roll heaped
tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls
7. Roll the balls in coconut and put on a serving plate
8. Serve at once or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Alternatively transfer to a freezer storage container and freeze for several
weeks
Quick tip
 Apricots chopped and ready- You can buy apricots already chopped in 200g
bags. They are also cheaper than the large ones.

8. Baked Veggie Bruschetta
This is a tasty snack to warm up the kids in the cooler months
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Olive oil 2 tbsp 1/3 cup ½ cup 2/3 cup ¾ cup
Garlic cloves,
crushed
2 3 5 6 7
Breadstick,
sliced
1 2 3 4 5
Zucchini,
sliced
1 2 3 4 5
cont...
Basil pesto
(see recipe in
this section)
or purchased
pesto
2 ½ tbsp 1/3 cup ½ cup 2/3 cup ¾ cup
Tomatoes,
sliced
2 4 6 8 10
Reduced fat
cheese
slices, cut
into quarters
10 20 30 40 50
Method
1. Preheat oven to 210 degrees C
2. Combine the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush
each slice of bread with the mixture
3. Arrange the bread on the baking trays

4. Place the zucchini in a mixing bowl, add the pesto and toss to coat the zucchini
evenly with the pesto
5. Arrange the zucchini and tomato slices on the bread
6. Top with the cheese and cook until the cheese has melted and the vegetables
are tender, about 15 minutes
7. Serve immediately
Quick tip
 Convenience- You may prefer to use ready minced garlic, available at
supermarkets. Two cloves of fresh minced garlic are equivalent to about ½ tsp
ready-minced garlic
 Variety- Try using different vegetables for the topping, such as sliced button
mushrooms
 For variation, use monounsaturated or polyunsaturated cooking oils. Some
suitable choices include; sunflower, safflower and canola oil.
WARNING: This recipe contains nuts. Ensure none of the children at your school
have a nut allergy before preparing.

9. Sweet corn and zucchini muffins
These make a tasty snack served hot straight from the oven, they are also a great
addition to a healthy lunch box.
Ingredients Serves 12 Serves 24 Serves 36 Serves 48
Light olive oil
spray
Sweet corn
kernels (see
Quick tip)
1 ½ cups 3 cups 4 ½ cups 6 cups
Zucchini,
grated
1 2 3 4
Spring
onions,
chopped
4 stalks 8 stalks 1 bunch 1 ½ bunches
Olive or
canola oil
2 tbsp 1/3 cup ½ cup ¾ cup
Eggs, beaten 1 2 3 4
Reduced fat
1 cup 2 cups 3 cups 4 cups
cheese
Low fat milk 1 ¼ cups 2 ½ cups 3 ¾ cups 1.25L
Sweet chilli
1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp 4 tbsp
sauce
Wholemeal
self raising
flour
2 cups 4 cups 6 cups 8 cups
Coriander ¼ tsp 1/3 tsp ½ tsp ¾ tsp

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 210 degrees C. Spray the muffin pans with the light olive
oil spray
2. Combine the sweet corn, zucchini, spring onions, oil, egg, cheese, milk and
sweet chilli sauce. Stir in the flour and coriander, until JUST combined (do not
over mix as this will make the muffins tough)
3. Spoon the mixture into prepared muffin pans
4. Bake in the preheated over until risen, cooked through and golden brown, 15-
20 minutes. Serve hot or cold
Quick tip
 Corn- you can use fresh, frozen or canned and drained (no added salt or salt
reduced varieties) sweet corn. 1kg of sweet corn kernels weighs about 130g
 Variety- For variety you fan replace the zucchini with chopped capsicums

10. Basil Pesto
Freshly prepared pesto is an aromatic treat that adds pep to many dishes. In the wet
season, when fresh basil is plentiful, you can make plenty of basil for very little cost.
If you make a large batch you can pop it into small freezer containers and freeze it for
later when fresh basil is unavailable, expensive or when you are too busy to make it.
Freshly made pesto has an unmistakable vibrant flavour. However, for speed and
convenience, it’s also a good idea to seek out a tasty, ready-made pesto at your local
supermarket or deli
Preparation time: 10-12 minutes
Ingredients Makes about 1 cup
Basil 1 bunch
Extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup
Garlic cloves, chopped 4-6
Pepper ¼ tsp
Pine nuts or hazelnuts 1 tbsp
Method
1. Using a blender, chop the basil leaves
2. Add the oil and blend the mixture, using a scraper to scrape the leaves from the
sides of the bowl and onto the chopping blades
3. Add the garlic, pepper and nuts and continue blending until you reach the
desired (paste-like) consistency
4. If not using at once, transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator for 1
week or store in the freezer for up to 2 months
WARNING: This recipe contains nuts. Ensure none of the children at your school
have a nut allergy before preparing.

11. Icy Fruit Delights
Children enjoy making and eating these- they are quick and easy to prepare and very
refreshing in hot weather.
Cooking Time: No cooking needed
Ingredients Serves 2 Serves 4 Serves 6
100% orange juice 1 cup 2 cup 3 cup
Banana ¼ banana ½ banana ¾ banana
Sliced pineapple (if
½ slice 1 slice 1 ½ slice
canned, use one in
natural juices)
Passionfruit pulp ½ tsp 1 tsp 1 ½ tsp
Method:
1. Peel the banana and cut into thin slices
2. Cut the pineapple into thin slices
3. Spoon the pineapple, banana and passionfruit pulp into the plastic cups
4. Pour ½ cup orange juice into each cup (to serve 2)
5. Place an icy pole stick in the centre of each cup
6. Put the cups in the freezer and freeze for 5 hours or more
7. Remove the frozen icy-pole from the cups and serve
Quick Tip
 Citrus fruits- Citrus fruits include oranges, lemons, grapefruits, mandarins,
tangerines and limes. These fruits have a thick outer skin and a fleshy inner
portion divided into juicy segments.
 Storing canned foods- Once you have opened a can of food put any
remaining food in a clean, sealed container. Do not store it in the can.

12. Mediterranean Roll-Ups
A type of middle-eastern salad roll, these are quick and easy to make and really
delicious to eat, this recipe allows for half a roll-up per serve.
Preparation time: 12-15 minutes
Cooking time: No cooking needed
Iceberg lettuce leaves 2 leaves 4 leaves 6 leaves
Carrot ¼ carrot ½ carrot ¾ carrot
Tomato ½ tomato 1 tomato 1 ½ tomatoes
Spring Onion ¼ spring onion ½ spring onion ¾ spring onion
Mountain bread 2 sheets 4 sheets 6 sheets
Hummus 3 tbsp 6 tbsp 9 tbsp
Pepper to taste
Method:
1. Wash the lettuce, carrot, tomato and onion and pat dry with paper towels
2. Roll the lettuce leaves up firmly
3. Using a medium sized knife, but the rolled lettuce leaves into thin slices
4. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the carrot and grate on the coarse side of the
grater. Chop the tomato into little squares and the spring onion into thin slices
5. Combine lettuce, carrot, tomato and onion. Add pepper to taste
6. Spread the sheets of mountain bread out onto a clean work surface or
chopping board
7. Using a bread and butter knife, spread the hummus evenly over the mountain
bread. Spoon the salad evenly over the hummus
8. Roll up the bread firmly, then cut each roll in half
9. Serve at once, or wrap in cling wrap and store in the refrigerator for several
hours (do not store for too long or the rolls will become soggy)
Quick Tip
 Mountain bread- Mountain bread is available from larger supermarkets and
delicatessens. Rectangular in shape, it is thin, unleavened bread especially
suitable for making wraps and roll ups like these. You usually get eight sheets
per packet.

13. Stuffed Jacket Potatoes
Cooking time: Microwave oven- 30minutes; Conventional oven- 1hour, 15 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 large potatoes scrubbed
Suggested fillings:
 Frozen peas (steamed or microwave)
 Sweet corn (canned, fresh or frozen), steamed or microwave
 Mixture of diced tomatoes, white onion and lean ham
 Bolognaise pasta sauce, warmed
 Spicy salsa, warmed
 Baked beans, warmed
Toppings:
 Reduced fat cheese, grated
 Light sour cream
 Reduced fat plain yoghurt
Method:
1. Pierce the potato several times
2. To cook the potatoes in a microwave oven, place them on a microwave oven
proof dish, Cook on high until tender (15-20 minutes), OR cook the potatoes in
an oven. Place on an oven tray and back at 180 degrees C until tender (about 1
hour)
3. Cut the potatoes in half. Scoop out the flesh from the centre, leaving a 1cm
shell. Place the potato flesh in a bowl and mash with the potato masher or fork
4. Add the filling ingredients and mix to combine. Spoon the filling into the potato
shells
5. To finish cooking the potatoes in a microwave oven, put them back on the
microwave oven proof dish. Cook on high for 5-10 minutes. OR to finish
cooking the potatoes in a conventional oven, put them back on the baking tray
and bake at 180 degrees C until heated through and golden brown (about 15
minutes)
6. Top with your favourite toppings

14. Fried Rice
Preparation Time: 10-12 minutes
Capsicum 1 2 3
Spring Onions 2 4 6
Cabbage leaves 4 8 12
Bean shoots 125g 250g 375g
Peanut oil (see
1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp
warning below)
Egg or lean ham 1 egg or 2 slices
ham
2 eggs or 4
slices ham
3 eggs or 6
slices ham
Cooked rice 3 cups 6 cups 9 cups
Reduced salt soy
1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp
sauce
Sesame oil Few drops Few drops Few drops
Pepper to taste
Method:
1. Wash the capsicum, spring onions, cabbage and bean shoots and pat dry with
paper towels
2. Using a small knife, cut the capsicum into small squares and put in the mixing
bowl
3. Using a small knife, cut the root end off the spring onions
4. Slice the spring onions, including most of the green tops
5. Using the medium sized knife, cut the cabbage into thin slices
6. If using egg, break into the cup or small mixing bowl and beat lightly with a fork
a. Heat two tsp of oil in the frying pan and add the beaten egg
b. Cook until the egg has set, then remove from pan, cut into strips and set
aside
7. Add the remaining oil to the pan, and using a wooden spoon, stir-fry the
capsicum, spring onions, cabbage and bean shoots until almost tender (about 5
minutes)

8. Gradually stir in the rice and cook until heated through and piping hot (12-15
minutes)
9. Stir in the egg (or ham), soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper. Serve at once
Warning: This recipe contained peanut oil. Canola oil can be used as an alternative if
anyone has a nut allergy.
Quick Tip-
 Chinese cabbage- Chinese cabbage is a good alternative to regular cabbage.
Its leaves are less compact than regular cabbage so you will need to use two to
three times more than regular cabbage. Chinese cabbage is also known as
Wong Gna Bok.
 Sesame Oil- In Asian cooking, sesame oil is used as a condiment rather than
cooking oil. It is used sparingly as it has a strong flavour. Add just before
serving.

15. Bonza Beef Burgers
Preparation Time: 12-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes
Meat Patties
Carrot ¼ ½ ¾
Parsley Large sprig 2 Large sprigs 3 large sprigs
Onion ¼ ½ ¾
Lean beef mince 300g 600g 900g
Egg 1 2 3
Reduced salt tomato
2 tsp 4 tsp 6 tsp
paste
Black pepper To taste To taste To taste
Quick- cooking oats ½ cup 1 cup 1 ½ cup
Sunflower oil 1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp
Hamburgers
Tomato 1 tomato 2 3
Lettuce leaves 2 leaves 4 leaves 6 leaves
Wholemeal Rolls 4 8 12
Mayonnaise 4 tsp 8 tsp 12 tsp
Tomato sauce or
To taste To taste To taste
sweet chilli sauce
Method:
To make the meat patties
1. Wash the carrot, and pat dry. Grate the carrot and put in the mixing bowl
2. Finely chop the parsley and onion and add to the carrot
3. Add the minced beef, tomato paste, egg and pepper and mix well with a widen
spoon
4. Mix in enough oats to bring the mixture to a dough like consistency

5. Using your hands, shape the mixture into four rounds and then flatten into
patties
6. Heat frying pan or barbeque over a medium high heat
7. Add the oil and cook the patties until golden brown on one side
8. Turn the patties over with the egg lifter and cook on the other side until golden
brown and cooked through.
To make the hamburgers
1. Wash the tomato and lettuce and pat dry with paper towels
2. Slice the tomato and shred the lettuce
3. Cut the bread rolls in half and spread with the mayonnaise
4. Place one meat patty on each roll, then top with a little tomato sauce or sweet
chilli sauce
5. Top with the tomato, lettuce and the other half of the bread roll. Serve
immediately

Kitchen Garden, Cooking with Kids, 2006.
Stephanie Alexander, Penguin Books,
Victoria.
Eat Smart Play Smart, A Manual for Out of
School Hours Care, 2004-2008. National
Heart Foundation of Australia, Melbourne.
Food Challenges, 2005. Sanitarium
Nutrition Service, NSW.
Deadly Tucker, 1998. Department of
Health, WA. Copies of this recipe book
can be purchased via
http://www.healthyfuture.health.wa.gov.au/
Health_topics/ASTI-FOOD/ASTI_FC-order.
pdf
The NT Hunting for Health Challenge,
2005.
http://www.health.nt.gov.au/Publications/Fo
od_and_Nutrition/index.aspx
Thumbs Up! Resources, Jimmy Little
Foundation 2011
http://www.thumbsup.org.au/

Getting to know your ingredients
Ideas for ingredients that go well together –
Why not experiment yourself!
Mung bean sprouts and radish goes well in salads, as garnish and to complement Asian
dishes
Rocket goes well with things like eggplant, sweet peppers, beetroots, onions, garlic, green
beans, asparagus, artichokes, carrots, prawns, squid, yabbies, poultry, eggs, herrings,
smoked fish, ham, and cheese
Coriander goes well with prawns, garlic, chillies, pork, beef, cucumber, avocados, fish, ginger,
coconut, noodles, mint, parsley, chicken, yoghurt
Basil complements tomatoes, olive oil, fresh white cheese, lamb, eggplants, potatoes, pine
nuts, parmesan cheese, walnuts, zucchini, sardines, prawns, rock lobster, and scallops
French beans go well with olive oil, garlic, almonds, parmesan cheese, ham, prawns, parsley,
chives, onion, potatoes, mushrooms, beetroot, bacon, walnuts, fetta cheese, olives, mint,
coriander, bean sprouts, and radish
Tomatoes go well with olive oil, pepper, basil, vinegar, onions, garlic, toast, cheese,
cucumber, chives, parsley, eggs, yoghurt, shellfish, and fish
Zucchini can be used with olive oil, parsley, oregano, mint, basil, garlic, lemons, tomatoes,
eggplants, onions, eggs, rice, wine vinegar, yoghurt, parmesan cheese, walnuts, pine nuts,
anchovies, coriander
Eggplant is nice with olive oil, olives, tomatoes, garlic, coriander, parsley, mint, oregano,
yoghurt, zucchini, lemons, lamb, tuna, capers, sultanas, cheese, basil, eggs
Cucumbers go well with yoghurt, chives, parsley, paprika, cumin, garlic, coriander, mint, dill,
peas, lemons, olive oil, cider vinegar, salmon, trout, chicken, soft white cheese, spring onions,
strawberries, fish, pears, tomatoes, fetta cheese, olives, ginger
---
*Based on Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion, 1996, Penguin Books, Victoria

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