Healthy Theme Days Ideas Theme days should be well planned and promoted heavily to ensure their success. Plan a calendar of promotions at the start of each year or term, and link in with the curriculum to reinforce nutrition messages taught in the classroom. Don’t underestimate the popularity of a special theme day - order enough food and have extra hands on deck. Sending home an order form for pre-orders is a good idea. Decorate the canteen to get everyone excited. Health Days Send a healthy message with healthy eating days - weekly or several per term!

Fruitilicious Fridays = offer new extra fruit snacks and fruit drinks. Fruit Friday = trial a new fruit each Friday. Very Vegetable Lasagne = trial a different vegetable each week. Fruit Loopy Day or Veg Out Day. Wrap and Roll Day. Funky Friday.

Cultural Events Explore the Orient (e.g. for Chinese New Year, January) = stir fried noodles

and vegetables in a noodle box with chopsticks, chicken and corn soup, steamed vegetable spring rolls, Nori Rolls, Vietnamese rice paper rolls. A Taste of Italy Day = serve healthy pizzas (pita bread + pizza sauce + healthy toppings such as

plenty of vegetables, lean meat + low fat cheese), vegetable pasta, garlic bread fingers (bread lightly brushed with olive oil & crushed garlic & toasted). Mexican Madness “Amigo Amigo” = get everyone to bring Mexican hats and serve tacos (with lean

beef & Mexican sauce), burritos, bean dishes, Mexicana toasted sandwich = baked beans + grated low fat cheese. Greek Day = offer Greek salad (cucumber + tomato + low fat fetta + olives (no pips) + dressing), dip

& foccacia pack (small piece of foccacia + hommus, tzatziki dips on a paper plate), souvlaki wrap = lean chicken/mince patties/sliced steak or lamb + salad + tzatziki served in pita bread. Multicultural Day (Cruising around the World) = offer a variety of different multicultural foods and

link with the curriculum (e.g. food studied in history).

Awareness Weeks National Heart Week (May) = offer red foods (Valentines section below). Healthy Bones Week (August) = offer dairy snacks, foods and drinks, e.g. cheese

cubes + pita bread, celery + cream cheese, dairy based smoothies, e.g. Building Bones Bananarama, encouraging plain milk, e.g. a “Drink Milk to make your Bones Strong” poster placed on the milk fridge. National Nutrition Week (October) = “Falling in Love with Food” theme for 2006. Fruit & Veg Week (October) = offer different fruits and vegetables each day.

Calendar of Events

Aussie Day (26th January) = serve green and yellow foods, decorate the canteen and link in with the curriculum when they cover Australia Day, e.g. Green & Gold Specials may include pita bread pizzas + tomato paste + green capsicum + low fat cheese, green apples, grapes, pineapple pieces with yoghurt, Aussie supporters pack (Lean beef patty and salad burger and a 100% Juice).

Valentines’ Day (14th February) = offer red/pink foods and meal deals e.g. “Heart

warming hamburger”, strawberry yoghurt and smoothies, red grapes, watermelon, Valentines’ Meal Deal = ham & salad roll + strawberry halves & yoghurt in a cup or square ice cream cone + strawberry smoothie + red flower.

Shrove Tuesday (date ranges from 3rd Feb – 9th Mar) = hold a special pancake breakfast or offer

sweet or savoury hot pancakes for lunch (use a healthy recipe!) e.g. sliced banana + cream cheese + honey, ham + tomato + low fat cheese.

School Clean Up Day (Friday before Clean Up Australia Day in March) = reduce packaging waste

and promote recycling in your canteen on this day to support the environment. Link with environmental lessons in the classroom. Ideas include: only serving foods with no packaging (e.g. veggie sticks + hommus or fruit salad served in square ice cream cones, asking students to bring their own cups for soup, serving more over-the-counter snacks using paper napkins as plates), encouraging all students to use recycling bins and dispose of their litter.

St Patrick’s Day (17th March) = serve green foods.

Anzac Day (25th March) = serve green and yellow foods.

Easter (April) = sell hard boiled eggs as snacks with shells decorated in food dye, Hot Cross Buns,

Bunny Bun (low fat fruit buns + cream cheese + sliced banana + honey).

Red Nose Day (last Friday in June) = serve red foods (eg. garnish foods with cherry tomato halves as “red noses.” Halloween (31st October) = decorate the canteen and serve pumpkin based recipes and “scary titled”

foods, e.g. pumpkin soup, pumpkin pita bread pizzas, scary eyeball soup (little button mushrooms floating in tomato soup).

Christmas = decorate the canteen. Offer festive foods, such as Christmas Lovers sandwich = lean ham

or turkey + roast vegetables + cranberry sauce, mini Christmas puddings (healthy fruit cake made as muffins).

Related fact sheets on the Go for your life website include: • Resources • Fun Descriptive Words • Catchy Names for Healthy Foods • Calendar of Events • Canteen Survey Slips.