Each day, our creative and innovative Centre Cooks prepare a wide variety of nutritious meals and purees for the children and babies in our centres.
Each meal is healthy and delicious, and aligned with children's daily nutritional needs. They also ensure any individual cultural or dietary requirements are being met too.
Our Centre Cooks are committed to making healthy habits fun. They love to take time to involve the children in meal preparation and healthy food education, plus they hold regular cooking classes!
Note: A small number of our centres do not provide meals, however the Centre Manager will let you know when you meet the team prior to enrolment.
"Early life nutrition is crucial for brain development, supporting critical processes such as cell proliferation, neurotransmitter metabolism, and synaptic plasticity, which influence both immediate cognitive abilities and long-term mental health outcomes."
Cambridge University Press, 2022
Every season we release an exciting new six week menu which includes nutritionally balanced meals that meet each food group recommendation. The menu features in season fruits and vegetables, as well as proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats, essential for growing bodies and minds. You can see the menu your centre is offering displayed on the wall at the centre. Below is what an sample menu looks like.
This season, you will notice our menu features lots of fresh fruit, including oranges. Oranges are excellent for young children due to their high nutritional value and numerous health benefits. They are rich in Vitamin C, which is crucial for strengthening the immune system, helping children fight off colds and infections. They also contain lots of fibre to support digestion and regulate blood sugar, beneficial to maintaining energy levels. Oranges also have a high water content, helping to keep children hydrated, which is especially important during active play.
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Did you know that 90% of a child's brain development occurs before they turn five years old? This staggering fact underscores the importance of early childhood as a crucial period for cognitive growth and development. During these formative years, the brain undergoes rapid changes, forming neural connections at an astounding rate. Proper nutrition plays a pivotal role in supporting this critical developmental phase. This is why at Milestones Early Learning, we are committed to providing children with nutritiously balanced meals, prepared fresh daily.
From birth to age five, a child’s brain grows more than at any other time in their life. This period is characterized by the formation of trillions of synapses, which are essential for learning and cognitive function. By age two, a child's brain is already 80% of its adult size, and by age five, it reaches 90% of its adult volume (Cambridge).
Proper nutrition in early childhood not only supports physical growth but also significantly influences cognitive abilities and behavioural outcomes. Deficiencies in essential nutrients can lead to impaired cognitive development, attention issues, and long-term health problems. For example, iron deficiency in infancy is linked to long-term cognitive deficits and socio-emotional challenges (Cambridge).
Ensuring that children receive adequate nutrition during their early years has lasting benefits. Studies show that children with proper nutritional support tend to perform better academically, have higher IQs, and exhibit improved social skills later in life. Additionally, good nutrition helps prevent chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, which can indirectly affect cognitive function and overall brain health.
The first five years of life are a critical window for brain development, with nutrition playing a fundamental role in shaping a child’s cognitive abilities and overall health. At Milestones we prioritise providing a balanced diet rich in essential nutrients, to support children's brain development and set the foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.
