With their aprons tied and chef hats on, the children of St Nicholas Early Education Centre, Newcastle West chopped up fruit and vegetables for a healthy start to National Nutrition Week.

In a move to promote healthy eating, centre cook and mentor Carl Clarabut has been teaching the little chefs how to wash, prepare and cut their fruit and vegetables, and the benefits to eating them.

“We get them in chef hats with their aprons and knives and set up tables to talk about where fruit and vegetables come from. Where they grow and why it’s good for them,” he said.

“Then we prepare the fruit for example, wash it, cut it, peel it – which gets them using fine motor skills,” he said.

“We might make healthy muffins where the kids mix the bowl and then I will cook them and we’ll have a chat about what the ingredients are while we eat them.”

Mr Clarabut said it allows the children to have a conversation around healthy eating habits.

“If children see people having pizza, burgers, Pepsi and Coke – they think that is normal and healthy.

“It’s important for kids to know that water and fruit is part of a stable diet and it helps you grow. I tell them ‘if you want to be good at school and grow, eating burgers isn’t going to help you. You need to have a nutritious diet.’ So, it’s important to start that early,” he said.

As part of nutrition week, St Nicholas’ Centre Cook Team have developed a cook book inspired by meals they serve at their respective St Nick’s centres.

Families can download the cookbook and carry on introducing healthy and balanced meals to their children.

National Nutrition Week is an annual awareness campaign by Nutrition Australia and runs from October 14 to 20.