Muriel Green Nursery – Nursery Kitchen
We have employed our own chef who cooks fresh food on site daily, following a three week menu. All meals are age appropriate, nutritionally balanced and delicious. Amendments to the menu are made for children who have allergies or intolerances. All food is served for to encourage the children to self-feed as research shows that the risk of choking is significantly lower when a child self-feeds. This means the risk is lowest when a child places food into their own mouth. To do that, a child must be able to pick up the food. Babies at 6 months of age cannot pick up small pieces of food, so the food needs to be big enough to be picked up by a palmar grasp. In addition to the palmer grasp, baby ‘s brain at 6 months recognizes big pieces of food in the mouth more easily than small. This is because babies have not yet formed a mental map of the mouth. Big pieces provide more sensory input and queue up reflexes for chewing better than small pieces. Once a baby has the fine motor skills to pick up smaller pieces of food (typically around 9+ months of age) we start serving smaller, bite-sized pieces of food.
If this all worries you, know this: food that’s un-chewed or too big or just gets too far back in the mouth triggers baby‘s gag reflex—this is a good thing!—a protective measure to help baby spit the food back out or work it forward for more chewing.
For children who are using purees we only serve Ella’s kitchen. Ella’s kitchen states they use the ‘best quality, ethically + sustainably sourced ingredients.’ Children are also served Ella’s kitchen snacks.
Weaning:
Muriel Green will work with you to understand how you are weaning your child and to share how we serve food at Nursery.
During your home visit we will ascertain whether you have been weaning your baby using purees or whether you have been follow the principles of baby led weaning. Baby-led weaning means offering your baby only finger foods and letting them feed themselves from the start, rather than spoon-feeding them puréed or mashed foods. You can offer a range of small, finger-sized pieces of food. We understand that some parents prefer baby-led weaning to spoon feeding, while others combine a bit of both.
There's no right or wrong way – the most important thing is that your baby eats a wide variety of food and gets all the nutrients they need. We will support with this.
Allergies and Special Diets :
We take allergy control very seriously at Muriel Green. Therefore, we ask that you provide the nursery directly with medical confirmation of any allergies to ensure that the correct food is ordered and our allergy matrix is kept up to date. We accommodate special diets (vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, etc.) and religious diets (halal, kosher, etc.). If you have a dietary preference please inform us when you start, and this will be catered for. We do not make adjustments for children’s likes and dislikes. Instead, they have the space to try everything on offer, and leave aside foods they don’t enjoy. Children are encouraged to try a range of food within the menu.
Breakfast
Breakfast Club is an optional part of our Wrap Around Care. Children eat a full spread of nourishing foods, including fruit, toast and cereals.
Lunch
Lunch Club is for children with us all day, and an optional part of Wrap Around Care for those with us for a half day.
Snacks
We give children regular, healthy snacks such as fruit and cheese sticks to keep their energy levels steady throughout the day.
Tea
After School Club is an optional part of our Wrap Around Care. Children help our practitioners prepare a light, nutritious tea which they eat together.
We have employed our own chef who cooks fresh food on site daily, following a three week menu. All meals are age appropriate, nutritionally balanced and delicious. Amendments to the menu are made for children who have allergies or intolerances. All food is served for to encourage the children to self-feed as research shows that the risk of choking is significantly lower when a child self-feeds. This means the risk is lowest when a child places food into their own mouth. To do that, a child must be able to pick up the food. Babies at 6 months of age cannot pick up small pieces of food, so the food needs to be big enough to be picked up by a palmar grasp. In addition to the palmer grasp, baby ‘s brain at 6 months recognizes big pieces of food in the mouth more easily than small. This is because babies have not yet formed a mental map of the mouth. Big pieces provide more sensory input and queue up reflexes for chewing better than small pieces. Once a baby has the fine motor skills to pick up smaller pieces of food (typically around 9+ months of age) we start serving smaller, bite-sized pieces of food.
If this all worries you, know this: food that’s un-chewed or too big or just gets too far back in the mouth triggers baby‘s gag reflex—this is a good thing!—a protective measure to help baby spit the food back out or work it forward for more chewing.
For children who are using purees we only serve Ella’s kitchen. Ella’s kitchen states they use the ‘best quality, ethically + sustainably sourced ingredients.’ Children are also served Ella’s kitchen snacks.
Weaning:
Muriel Green will work with you to understand how you are weaning your child and to share how we serve food at Nursery.
During your home visit we will ascertain whether you have been weaning your baby using purees or whether you have been follow the principles of baby led weaning. Baby-led weaning means offering your baby only finger foods and letting them feed themselves from the start, rather than spoon-feeding them puréed or mashed foods. You can offer a range of small, finger-sized pieces of food. We understand that some parents prefer baby-led weaning to spoon feeding, while others combine a bit of both.
There's no right or wrong way – the most important thing is that your baby eats a wide variety of food and gets all the nutrients they need. We will support with this.
Allergies and Special Diets :
We take allergy control very seriously at Muriel Green. Therefore, we ask that you provide the nursery directly with medical confirmation of any allergies to ensure that the correct food is ordered and our allergy matrix is kept up to date. We accommodate special diets (vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, etc.) and religious diets (halal, kosher, etc.). If you have a dietary preference please inform us when you start, and this will be catered for. We do not make adjustments for children’s likes and dislikes. Instead, they have the space to try everything on offer, and leave aside foods they don’t enjoy. Children are encouraged to try a range of food within the menu.