BNF Healthy Eating Week The five challenges

What are the challenges?

Have breakfast What is the challenge? Have breakfast every day – go for wholegrain or higher fibre foods, include a drink and at least one of your 5 A DAY! Why? Breakfast helps get the day off to a good start by providing some of the energy and nutrients we need to be healthy. Having breakfast may help you do better at school! Super challenge! Have a different wholegrain or other higher fibre food at breakfast, plus at least one of your 5 A DAY, every day for a week!

What makes a healthy breakfast? Choose wholegrain or higher fibre foods, e.g. wholemeal bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals Have at least one of your 5 A DAY (e.g. chopped banana). Always include a drink. Water and lower fat milk are good choices. You could include dairy foods as they help to keep bones and teeth healthy. You could include a source of protein (e.g. eggs).

Have 5 A DAY What is the challenge? Have at least five portions of vegetables and fruit every day – choose a variety! Why? Vegetables and fruit provide vitamins and minerals which help us stay healthy. They contain fibre which helps keep our digestive system healthy. Eating plenty of vegetables and fruit can help reduce the risk of developing health problems in the future. Super challenge! Have five different colour vegetables and fruit as part of your 5 A DAY, every day, for a week!

What counts? Fresh, frozen, canned, dried and juiced types of fruit and vegetables all count! A portion of fruit and vegetables is roughly what fits into the palm of your hand. Dried fruit (e.g. raisins) and beans or pulses (e.g. kidney beans) only count once each day. (Eat dried fruit at mealtimes, rather then as a snack, to reduce the impact on teeth.) You can have up to 150ml of vegetable/fruit juice or smoothie each day.

Drink plenty What is the challenge? Have at least 6-8 unsweetened drinks every day – water is a great choice! Why do we need to drink plenty? The body is about 60% water and this is needed for many roles in the body. One role is to control our temperature. We lose water when we sweat, breathe and use the toilet, so it is important we drink plenty. If we do not drink enough, we can become dehydrated. This can cause headaches, tiredness and make it harder to concentrate. Super challenge! Come up with three new flavours of infused water using vegetables, fruit and/or herbs – be creative!

What counts? Water is the best option for a drink. Water, lower fat milks and unsweetened fruit juices or smoothies are all healthier choices. Fruit juice and/or smoothies should be limited to a combined total of 150ml per day. We should have at least 6-8 drinks each day. When it is hot or if we are active, we will need to drink more.

Get active What is the challenge? Get active for at least 60 minutes every day – move more! Why? Being active helps keep your heart healthy and strengths muscles and bones. Being active can help you to stay a healthy weight. Taking part in different physical activities can help us make new friends and learn how to be part of a team. Being active can help us relax and stay happy! Super challenge! Make sure you are active for 60 minutes every day for a week. Write a plan for how you will achieve at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every day!

What counts? Activities that count towards your 60 minutes are those that: feel warmer; breathe harder; makes your heart beat faster. As well as being active, we need to move more!

Sleep Well What is the challenge? Get the sleep you need every night – get into a good night bedtime routine! Why? Regularly having a lack of sleep can affect your health. A lack of sleep can make you at greater risk of getting colds and infections and may also have a negative effect on your mood. A lack of sleep can also increase your risk of developing some diseases and can make it harder to communicate, think creatively and remember which are all skills which help us learn. Super challenge! Based on the recommended amount of sleep for your age range, write a sleep plan to help you get the sleep you need every night for a week!

What are the recommendations? Most adults need 7-9 hours of good quality sleep a night! Age Recommended sleep 3-5 years 11-12 hours at night and up to 45 minutes in the day for 3 year olds 5-11 years 9½-11 hours at night 11-16 years 9-9½ hours at night