Lesson guides

Part of the Licence to Cook cooking entitlement is a minimum of 3

hours of learning about diet and nutrition, wise food shopping and
hygiene and safety – supported by face-to-face lesson suggestions,
i.e. at least 1 hour for each learning area.

A range of activities are suggested for each of the three learning

areas. This provides you with flexibility to select the most
appropriate activities to fit your circumstances, students and time
available. All activities are supported with plans and support
resources. You may decide to skip, minimise, expand or add-to any
of the suggested activities – the choice is yours.

Activities
Diet and Nutrition
The eatwell plate
The 8 tips
Healthy eating in action

Wise food shopping

Going shopping
Money matters
Influences

Hygiene and safety

Personal hygiene
Storing food
Cooking safely

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Learning area: Diet and nutrition
Activities
1. The eatwell plate (20-30 minutes)
This activity is about introducing or refreshing pupil’s knowledge of
the eatwell plate (formerly known as the Balance of Good Health
model). The eatwell plate shows the balance and variety of
different foods that make a healthy, balanced diet.

Use the Eatwell plate PowerPoint presentation to introduce the

model.

Review its 5 food groups:

Fruit and vegetables;
Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods;
Milk and dairy foods;
Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of
protein;
Foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar.

Talk about each of the food group. Ask the students:

What foods belong to each group?
Which group should you eat at least 5 portions a day?
Which groups should we eat in the largest amounts?
Which group is important for healthy teeth and bones?
Which group should we eat in the smallest amount?

Explain that the Eatwell plate:

is a pictorial representation of a healthy diet, shown as a
plate;
shows the balance of foods that make up a healthy diet over
a day or more;
does not have to meet at every meal time;
can be used by most people, no matter their background.
Pregnant women and very young children can also use it, but
also need to consider over requirements.

Show that the Eatwell plate can be seen as a pie-chart. It shows the
proportion of different foods that make up a healthy diet over a
period of time.

a) Know your plate (15-20 minutes)

Use the Know your plate worksheet to get students to label their
own Eatwell plate with the correct food group names. Then ask
them to draw or write 5 examples of foods, for each food group, on
their plate.

Resources: you will need copies of the Know your plate worksheet,
pencils and pens.

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b) Practical tips (20 minutes)
Use the Practical tips worksheet to get students to suggest ways in
which foods from the different food groups can be incorporated into
a healthy balanced diet. You may wish for students to work in pairs.
If you have time, allow students to share their thoughts to the
class.

Resources: you will need copies of the Practical tips worksheet,

pencils or pens.

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2. The 8 tips (20-30 minutes)
This activity is about introducing or refreshing pupil’s knowledge of
the 8 tips for making healthier choices.

Use the 8 Tips PowerPoint presentation to introduce the tips.

Review the 8 tips:

1) Base your meals on starchy foods.
2) Eat lots of fruit and vegetables.
3) Eat more fish – including a portion of oily fish each week.
4) Cut down on saturated fat and sugar.
5) Try to eat less salt – no more than 6g a day for adults.
6) Get active and try to be a healthy weight.
7) Drink plenty of water.
8) Don’t skip breakfast.

Go through each tip. Ask the students:

Name 3 different types of starchy foods.
How much is a portion?
How many portions of fish a week should we eat?
What type of fat should we be cutting down?
Why can sugary foods be unhealthy between meals?
How much salt should an adult have a day?
How can we all be more active?
How many glasses of fluid should we drink per day?
Why is breakfast important?

You could get students to write down the answers to these

questions, or answer verbally.

a) Make a pledge (20-30 minutes)

Get students to make a pledge to show how they could incorporate
the 8 tips into their own diets. This could be presented as a poster
or PowerPoint. You might like to use the Make a pledge worksheet
as a guide for students.

Resources: you may need copies of the Make a pledge worksheet,

pens or pencils. If students are creating PowerPoint presentations,
then ICT facilities will be required.

b) Read all about it (20-30 minutes)

Working in pairs, ask students to develop a one-page A4 leaflet
about the 8 tips for either primary school children or older people.
They will need to think about how they explain the 8 tips and the
examples that they use.

Resources: paper, pens and pencils

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3. Healthy eating in action (20-30 minutes)
This activity is about students using their knowledge of the Eatwell
plate, and the 8 Tips, to plan a healthy diet.

Organise the students into small groups. Share out the Making a
meal of it cards. Ask students to look at their meal card and
suggest practical ways in which it could be healthier.

Remind students to think about:

Encouraging lots of fruit and vegetables – at least 5 A DAY;
Basing meals on starch foods;
Eating more fish;
Cutting down on fat, sugar and salt;
Drinking plenty of water and other fluids;
Not skipping breakfast.

Students may also need to consider:

adding or removing ingredients;
increasing or decreasing the amount of a particular
ingredient or food;
using a different cooking technique, e.g. grilling is healthier
than frying.

Get students to talk to the class about their decisions. What do

other students think? Could other changes be made?

Links to tutorials
Diet and nutrition: students can review the information discussed in
these face-to-face activities in their own time. The information is
differentiated.

Sources of further information

5 A DAY www.5aday.nhs.uk
British Dietetic Association www.bda.uk.com
British Nutrition Foundation www.nutrition.org.uk
EatWell plate www.eatwell.gov.uk
Food Standards Agency www.food.gov.uk
Salt www.salt.gov.uk

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Learning area: Wise food shopping
Activities
1. Going shopping
This activity is about introducing or refreshing students’ knowledge
and understanding of the different factors that need to be taken
into account when shopping for food.

a) Factors (15-20 minutes)

Ask students what factors they think affect what food they buy. You
may wish students to work together first to write a list. If so, ask
some students for suggestions.

Resources: you will need paper and pens/pencils.

Factors will include:

who are you cooking for;
the occasion, e.g. a simple lunch or dinner with friends;
the time you have, as well as your skills, kitchen and
equipment;
how much money you have;
the food you already have, e.g. dried pasta in the cupboard;
where you can go shopping.

Explore each of these factors in more detail, using the Going

Shopping PowerPoint presentation as a guide.

b) Making a smart choice (15-20 minutes)

When shopping, students might be faced with lots of different
similar foods and will need to make a choice. How would they make
that choice? Would they buy the most expensive item, because
they believe it will be the best? Deciding what to buy means that
they need to make a choice - a simple way is to compare foods.

Ask students how they would make a choice between similar foods.
What would they consider? How would they compare?

You could use the following prompts:

I’m on a budget - cost;
I need enough to feed my family - pack size;
I’m worried about by weight – nutrition (e.g. fat content);
I want to impress by mates – brand (premium, economy);
I’m worried about the environment – country (reducing food
miles);
I like a bargain - special offers.

Get students to list and explain how they would make a choice
between similar foods, based on the discussion. What factors affect
food choice? How would they make a smart choice?

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Resources: paper and pens/pencils.

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2. Money matters (20 minutes)
This activity is about students employing budgeting skills to make
good decisions about food based on cost.

Explain to students that the amount of money you have can

influence what you can afford to buy and where you can shop.
Therefore, it is always a good idea to set aside a sum of money for
food, either for a day, week or month.

Use the Money matters PowerPoint presentation to explore this

area in more detail.

Talk about:
planning in advance and writing a shopping list;
cooking from scratch can be cheaper than take-aways;
buying in bulk can save money;
substituting expensive ingredients with cheaper varieties;
looking out for bargains while shopping;
saving left-overs for other meals.

What other ways to save money, or be a wise food shopper, can the
students suggest?
You could get students to write down the answers to these
questions, or answer verbally.

a) Saving money (10-15 minutes)

Get students to compile a Top Ten list of tips about saving money
in relation to food. They need to consider before, during and after
they shop.

b) Counting the pennies (20-30 minutes)

Set the students the challenge of using an on-line food shopping
web-site to calculate and compare the costs of buying food dishes
ready-made and making them from scratch. You may wish to use
the Licence to Cook recipes as a starting place to set the challenge.

3. Influences (20-30 minutes)

This activity is about students working together to identify and
explore the different advertising and marketing influences that
exist to influence the food we buy and eat.

In small groups, set students the challenge of producing a montage

highlighting these influences. They may need to consider TV
advertising, magazines and newspapers, the internet, Podcasts,
mobile phones, special offers, street advertising and bus stops.

Ask them to also consider what advertising they believe works or

has made them change their mind. It might be that this is because
it is seen as trendy, new, novel, innovative or just different. Get the
students to suggest the reasons for their actions.

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Resources: scissors, pens/pencils, paper and a range of food
packaging, magazines and newspapers.

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Links to tutorials
Wise food shopping: students can review the information discussed
in these face-to-face activities in their own time. The information is
differentiated.

Sources of further information

BNF Life Skills www.nutrition.org.uk/lifeskills
National Consumer Council www.ncc.org.uk/
Food labelling www.food.gov.uk/foodlabelling
www.whatsinsideguide.com

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Learning area: Hygiene and safety
Activities
1. Personal hygiene (20-30 minutes)
This activity is about the importance of personal hygiene to prevent
risk of food poisoning.

Students should understand that before you start preparing or

cooking food, there are a number of steps that you need to take to
ensure that you are hygienic and safe.

Ask the students whether they can name any personal hygiene
rules.

Use the Personal Hygiene PowerPoint presentation to introduce this

area.

Ensure that you highlight:

tying back long hair;
rolling up long sleeves;
wearing an apron;
removing jewellery;
covering cuts or boils;
making sure you do not cough or sneeze over food;
washing hands.

a) Get students to select 2-3 hygiene issues and describe why

these are important and how people can be encouraged to follow
them while cooking.

2. Storing food (20-30 minutes)

This activity is about how food labels provide important information
about how to store a food safely and by when to eat it. This
information is vital as it helps to prevent food poisoning.

Use the Storing food PowerPoint presentation to highlight:

the different types of date-marks;
storage instructions;
where different foods are stored in the kitchen, particularly
the fridge.

You may wish to have a range of different type of food packaging

on display so that students can identify different date marks and
storage instructions.

a) Where about?
Use the Where about? worksheet to get students to indicate where
they would store a range of different food types.

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Resources: you will need copies of the Where about? worksheet,
pencils or pens.

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3. Cooking safely (20-30 minutes)
This activity is about how to prepare and cook food safely in order
to prevent risk of food poisoning.

Start the activity by posing students a question about cooking

safely. For example you could say:
“What do we mean by preparing and cooking food safely?”
“We do we need to do practically in the kitchen to prepare
and cook food safely?”

Write the suggestions on the board. You may wish to use the
Cooking safely PowerPoint to help with the questioning.

The PowerPoint looks at:

preparing ingredients carefully, e.g. wash fresh fruit and
vegetables before use;
clearing-up and cleaning;
cooking food until it is piping hot;
chilling food quickly;
covering food properly.
using any leftovers within 2 days.

a) Using copies of the Licence to Cook recipes, or other recipes you

may have, get students to identify all the possible stages where
there might be a hygiene or safety risk, e.g. storing, chilling,
covering. Then get the students to suggest a way in which these
risks can be managed. Students could use the Recipe risk
worksheet.

Links to tutorials
Hygiene and safety: students can review the information discussed
in these face-to-face activities in their own time. The information is
differentiated.

Sources of further information

FSA www.food.gov.uk
Food Link www.foodlink.org.uk

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