Heading into summer and the holiday season, it’s all about BBQs, picnics, and classroom parties. Platters are a great way to bring something healthy and tasty along when you’re asked to bring a plate to share.
On Friday the 29th of October the Crunch&Sip® team celebrated an exciting milestone, as St Simon Peter Catholic Primary School became the 500th school to join the program. Read more about the celebration here.
Whether you’re racing to school, or spending holiday time with the family, riding a bike provides the excitement of adventure as well as whole-body health benefits. Making physical activity family-friendly helps role model healthy behaviours for kids, which can make them more likely to continue to be active and healthy as they grow up
Turn your science lesson into a magical experiment. This Unicorn noodle recipe is a fun classroom or home activity that mixes science and cooking into one lesson.
This term we challenge you to crunch the rainbow for Crunch&Sip® by making a rainbow in your classroom. Eating different coloured fruits and vegetables provides lots of different vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Which is why crunching on a rainbow will help kids get the right balance of nutrients they need for a healthy body.
Spring is here which means it’s almost time for the annual Perth Royal Show to roll into town! With so many things to see and do, it’s a good idea to take some time to plan your visit before jumping in the car or on the train and setting off. Otherwise, this fun filled day out can end up costing you a lot more than just the tickets at the gate. To minimise the money spent (and the meltdowns) try some of our top tips for a healthy and happy day at the Show.
Sports carnivals are demanding for students and teachers alike. Reaching for healthy food can help to keep your concentration up all day, whether it’s for coordinating competition or for teaching in the classroom.
Sports drinks are consumed by around 14% of young people on any given week in Australia yet they offer no benefits to children participating in any type of exercise, and one bottle has the same amount of sugar as a can of coke. We dive into hydration for junior sports, why water is the best option for kids, and why we shouldn’t be sucked in by sugary sports drinks.
Let us help you repurpose those lunchbox rejects! We all know that sometimes the lunchbox comes home with a few bits and pieces left rattling around. Luckily the bits that get left behind don’t have to end up in the bin. Whether it’s a bruised banana, some chewy carrots, or a mushed-up muffin, we’ve got you covered with six simple ways to salvage the food that didn’t get eaten.
The school athletics carnival is a great time to promote healthy lifestyle messages to your school community. We encourage schools to enact a comprehensive approach to health promotion, focusing not just on the benefits of exercise but also the importance of other behaviours such as healthy eating and protecting skin from the sun.
If you are participating in Plastic Free July or would just like to reduce your single-use waste, then keep an eye out this month for some great tips and tricks you can use to reduce single-use plastic waste when food shopping, grabbing lunch on the go, and packing the lunchbox.
Want to know a few of our Crunch&Sip® trade secrets when it comes to packing the freshest, crunchiest and juiciest Crunch&Sip®? These winning tips can even be applied to the vegies and fruit you include in the lunchbox.
Now is a good time to dust off the thermos and start thinking about packing the lunchbox with some warm food for kids to enjoy across the day.
Why not mix it up this Easter by including just a few choccy eggs alongside some of these fun (and healthy!) alternatives.
Packing a nutritious lunch (that actually gets eaten) can feel like a challenge on busy mornings. Luckily, with a little bit of planning and preparation, you can whip up healthy and affordable sandwiches, wraps or rolls that are ready for the school bag in no time at all.
As we roll into the school year for 2021, it's time to start thinking about ways to make lunchbox packing easy and affordable - and keep those mornings stress free.
We know that WA families are trying to stay healthy and well. But the world around us doesn’t make this easy, especially when junk food industries are allowed to market their products to kids, and build their unhealthy outlets anywhere they want.
Crunch&Sip is the perfect way to fill hungry little tummies with a healthy snack of vegetables or fruit and to hydrate with water. Hungry kids can be grumpy kids so not only is Crunch&Sip an opportunity to eat extra serves of veg and fruit, it is also reported to improve concentration and behaviour. We have pulled together some tips to help you stay motivated and to continue Crunch&Sipping in your classroom.
While there may be some departmental policies or guidelines available to guide your school such as the Healthy Food and Drink Policy, schools are usually left to navigate the complex world of health and wellbeing on their own. See our tips to help you create a comprehensive health and wellbeing policy.
The summer holidays are nearly here! While we’re all ready to take a well-earned break, it’s important not to press pause on those healthy habits that you’ve worked hard to make part of your usual school routine. Keep your family safe and well through the hot summer months by continuing to be sun smart, packing lots of water, reaching for healthy snacks and keeping your food cool when it counts.
If you’re starting to panic just thinking about gift-giving, we’ve got some fun and interesting ideas for things you can make at home or in the classroom. These gifts are more thoughtful and more nourishing than a pack of bickies. They’re also a fun way to get the kids involved in the spirit of giving!
Enjoy the many benefits of cooking with your kids this Christmas for your chance to win! Crunch&Sip and the WA School Canteen Association (WASCA) are encouraging canteens, teaching staff, parents and children to get creative in the kitchen and enter our healthy Christmas snacks competition. Create healthy Christmas themed snacks for a chance to win some great prizes.
In October 2020, Packed with Goodness went bush! Well, not really bush – Regional Education Officer Aiden McDowell and Packed with Goodness Project Officer Jodie Harris visited the Midwest region of WA. We hit the road to visit towns around Geraldton and share our health messages and lunchbox goodness with the hardworking country communities. Read more about their adventures here.
Teaching kids to love their vegetables is a lot like teaching them to play a new sport. It takes plenty of patience, practice and perseverance. That's why we like to call it food coaching.
Dust off the cobwebs, throw on a witch’s hat and carve out the pumpkin - Halloween is just around the corner!
We did it WA! – A record number of Western Australian primary schools munched their way through September in The Great Vegie Crunch 2020. Throughout the month we saw nearly 31 000 WA primary school students from 133 schools simultaneously crunch on vegetables to measure record level of ‘crunchibels’, detected only by a specialised ‘crunch-o-meter’.
A staple in most households, crackers, and crispbreads are a reliable go-to for any parent needing to pack lunchboxes for the masses. With so many different varieties of crackers to choose from, how do you know you’re reaching for the best of the bunch?
Inspired by my most recent trip exploring the beautiful northern corner of WA, Crunch&Sip® is running a Crunch&Sip® on holiday social media competition. We would love to see photos from where ever you might be spending your school holidays this October and taking your Crunch&Sip® breaks.
With the school holidays fast approaching, you might be left wondering how you’ll entertain your family without the drawcard of a visit to the Royal Show. These extraordinary times call for an extraordinary approach, so this year, we’re bringing the Royal Show straight to your backyard.
At every turn of the trolley, we’re faced with food advertising, health claims, discounts, and promotions. To help you confidently judge your options at the supermarket we’ve put together this guide to navigating the aisles.
When it comes to packing Crunch&Sip, ‘fresh’ may not always be available or may be too expensive depending on where you live. So what are the alternatives?
Take a moment to refresh yourself, and your families, on the key points for crunching and sipping in the most hygienic way, and keep up the great work in your classroom.
Caring for children takes loads of energy, focus and resilience so prioritising your own health and looking out for your colleagues is an important part of keeping EVERYONE healthy and happy. To remind you of this we’ve put together some tips for looking after yourself at school.
During March a massive 20,328 Western Australian students from 824 classrooms challenged themselves to eat vegies every day for their Crunch&Sip breaks.
Whether it’s breakfast in bed, a delicious morning tea or dinner to remember, preparing a home-cooked feast for your mum to enjoy this Mother’s Day is a great way to show her how much you care.
We may not be packing the school bag and sending our children off to school for the day, however keeping up the habit of preparing a lunchbox each morning might just be the secret to ensuring those healthy school habits keep going at home. It will also help your day run a little more smoothly as you juggle conference calls and hungry hordes!
School holidays and weekends are being spent a little differently this Autumn so we’ve come up with 5 activities involving fruit and vegetables to keep children entertained in the comfort of your own home.
Learn how to make this simple healthy Hot cross bun recipe to share with your loved ones over the Easter holidays.
School kids still aren’t eating enough vegies, so next month WA students will be challenged to eat vegies every day as part of Crunch&Sip’s® March Munch initiative.
As we hit the hottest months of the year it’s the perfect time to talk about food safety. Whilst packing lunch from home is a cost effective option, when lunchboxes are not stored properly and kept cool there is a risk of food spoilage and potentially food poisoning.
A new year, a new class and a fresh start. Establishing classroom routines and rituals can include building healthy habits. Here are some tips on how to embed Crunch&Sip and SunSmart practices from the start of the year.
With the summer holidays just around the corner it’s time to start thinking about some fun and easy family activities that won’t break the bank. Why not get your kids helping in the kitchen and create some yummy festive snacks to enjoy with family and friends.
The annual Great Vegie Crunch took place from Monday 9 September to Friday 13 September at primary schools across the state
Well over 100 Western Australian schools will munch away during the upcoming Great Vegie Crunch which runs from Monday 9 September to Friday 13 September.
An incredible 13,600 students from 551 classrooms participated in this year’s annual March Munch event.
With approximately 47% of Australian children consuming sugary drinks every day, it’s time to start putting water back on the agenda.
On May 29, Malibu School in Safety Bay celebrated its annual Crunch&Sip and Walk to School activity day.
National and state data tells us that the consumption of vegetables is far below recommended levels with 5 out of 6 WA kids (84%) aged 4-11 years failing to meet recommendations. Eeek!
Crunch&Sip is excited to announce a new partnership with Healthway and Perth Glory.
No it wasn't an earthquake during the first week of September, it was the sound of 27,000 kids from across Western Australia crunching on fresh vegetables while participating in The Great Vegie Crunch event.
Lollies or ‘Pizza with the Principal’ as a reward for good behaviour. Class parties full of junk food. Chocolate fundraisers. Does your school contradict healthy eating habits that are taught in the classroom? Do you keep quiet about a nutrition issue for fear of rocking the boat?
Sugar. It’s sweet, sticky and helps the medicine go down, but did you know that more than two-thirds of Aussie kids eat more of it than they should?
Comet Bay Primary School in Secret Harbour has partnered with their local Woolworths to ensure all of their students have access to good food at school.