LDC Recipe Competition For Victoria Early Childhood Services

From Monday 27th June, the Healthy Eating Advisory Service is organising a Long Day Care Recipe Competition. The top recipe in each category wins a fabulous prize! Categories include ‘Fun with fruit and veg’, ‘Connecting kitchen to the garden’, ‘Cheap and cheerful’ plus more! 

The Healthy Eating Advisory Service (HEAS) is running an exciting competition to find the best long day care recipes in the state.

Experiences with food create life-long habits, happy memories and inspiration to learn new things about the world. Your centre’s food and recipes help set the foundations of this journey!

HEAS is looking for recipes across several categories to celebrate the importance of nutritious food provision and education in helping to establish healthy food and drink habits in young children.

Categories include:

1. Fun with fruit and veg - Fruit or vegetable must be the hero of the recipe. Explain in 100 words or less how they feature in the recipe and provide at least one photo and/or video to support your entry.
2. Celebrating culture - Explain in 100 words or less how this recipe celebrates culture and diversity in your centre. Provide at least one photo and/or video to support your entry.
3. Connecting kitchen to garden - The meal must have at least one ingredient that was grown in your centre’s vegetable or herb garden. Describe in 100 words or less how this recipe connects the kitchen to the garden. Include the origin of all ingredients used in the recipe on the ingredients list.
4. Cheap and cheerful - The recipe cost (price per child per day) must be included in the submission. Explain in 100 words or less why this recipe supports your budget. Provide at least one photo and/or video to support your entry.
5. Cooking with kids - Explain in 200 words or less how this recipe/activity is built into the curriculum and the associated learning objectives. Provide at least two photos and/or one video to support your entry
   
6. Wastage warriors - Explain in 100 words or less how this recipe minimises food waste and/or is planet-friendly. Provide at least one photo and/or video to support your entry.

Note: 

Each entry must include photos or video of the meal along with the written recipe (including ingredients and method).
You may enter as many categories as you wish but each category will require a separate entry.

As a celebration of the wonderful recipes received, HEAS will be compiling a book of the most creative, nutritious and inspiring submissions.

Submission Requirments

• Nutritious Recipe - Each recipe must include ingredient/s from at least one of the following food groups: Grain (cereal foods), mostly wholemeal or wholegrain, Vegetables, Fruit, Lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts, seeds, and legumes/beans, Milk, yoghurt, cheese, and/or alternatives, Cream, sour cream, or butter are not substitutes for milk, yoghurt, and cheese, Cow's milk alternatives such as soy, rice, almond, or oat milk/ yoghurt must be fortified with at least 100mg of added calcium per 100mL. 
• Vegetarian/Vegan Meal - It must contain proteins such as eggs, legumes, milk, yoghurt, cheese, soy product (e.g., tofu), or nuts. A food containing iron, such as spinach, legumes, beans, peas, tofu, and eggs. A food containing vitamin c, such as capsicum, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, tomato, sweet potato, and green bean.
• Should not include discretionary foods - Including confectionery, chocolate, cream, ice cream, pastries, fatty processed meats such as sausages and kabana. 
• Recipe Origin -Submissions must demonstrate how your centre has adapted or creatively amended their recipe to reflect the relevant competition category. Please note that recipes that infringe on the copyright entitlements of a third party will not be accepted.
• Where submission requires a written component (e.g., ‘tell us in 100 words or less’) dot points are acceptable.

By entering, your centre could win one of the following prizes:

• Fun with fruit and veg – $400 Good Guys gift card
• Celebrating culture - $400 Koori Curriculum gift card
• Connecting kitchen to garden – Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation – Early Childhood Kitchen Garden Program classroom membership and Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids by Stephanie Alexander valued at $350 (sponsored by SAKGF)
• Cheap and cheerful – $400 Kitchen Warehouse gift card
• Cooking in the classroom – $250 Modern Teaching Aids voucher (sponsored by Modern Teaching Aids) + $150 Good Guys gift card
• Wastage warriors – $400 Bunnings Warehouse gift card

The competition is open from 27 June to 29 July. For more information including submission requirements, how to enter and competition Ts and Cs click here.

For more information, please read the following: Long Day Care Recipe Competition