Food
It could be cheese, chips or chocolate, everybody has their favourite food!
Food tastes good and gives us energy to learn and play.
Find answers to questions such as:
- What are the different food types?
- What types of food are good for our health?
- Where does our food comes from?
- How do I get ready to cook?
- What tools do I use to prepare food?
Science
What are the main food groups?
There are five food groups:
- Fruit and vegetables
- Carbohydrates
- Proteins
- Dairy
- Fats and oils
Find out about the five food groups in this video.
THE GREAT SPOON Ladies and gentlemen, knives and forks…Tonight… We quiz!
EVERYONE CHEERS
THE GREAT SPOON There are five food groups. Each of you belong to one of these groups! In order to find out which group you belong to we shall quiz like we have never quizzed before! If you think the riddle is about you then, shout “ME!” and name the type of food you think you are.
EGG Me!
THE GREAT SPOON We haven’t started yet, Egg. OK so riddle one…
“Butter me, toast me, enjoy me for my vitamin B”
BREAD Me! Carbohydrates!
THE GREAT SPOON Correct Bread! You make a tasty toasty breakfast or a yummy sandwich lunch. And you’re a carbohydrate so you keep energy levels up. Please go and your fellow carbohydrates.
CARBOHYDRATES CHEER
THE GREAT SPOON Riddle two…
“I’m a calcium king who can be melted and grated!”
STRAWBERRY Me! Fruits and vegetables!
THE GREAT SPOON Oooh incorrect, Strawberry. Any other guesses?
CHEESE Me! Dairy!
THE GREAT SPOON Correct! Well done, Cheese! Calcium in dairy helps keep bones strong! Go and see your fellow dairy friends.
DAIRY CHEERS
THE GREAT SPOON Riddle three…
“I can be one of your five a day. I’m stuffed to my green tips with vitamin C and iron. I look like a tree but luckily I don’t taste like one!”
EGG Broccoli, you look a bit like a tree.
BROCCOLI Me! Fruit and vegetables!
THE GREAT SPOON Spot on! Nice one, Broccoli. Fruit and vegetables are stuffed with vitamins and fibre that keep the digestive system working. Go and take a seat with the other fruit and veg!
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES CHEER
THE GREAT SPOON Riddle four…
“Spread me, bake with me, keep me in the fridge. Once upon a time my main ingredient was inside a cow!”
BEANS Beans!
THE GREAT SPOON Ummmm, no, Beans. You’re a protein…and you’ve never been inside a cow…
BEANS Beans…
BUTTER Me! Butter! Fats and oils!
THE GREAT SPOON Correct! Fats and oils store energy, keep people warm and protect organs like their hearts and lungs. But they’re best enjoyed in small portions! Pull up a seat with the other fats and Oils.
FATS AND OILS CHEER
THE GREAT SPOON Time for our last riddle:
“Cracking me is good to get the gold goo inside! Scramble me or boil me and gobble up my nutrients.”
BEANS Beans…
EGG Me! Me! Protein!
THE GREAT SPOON Correct! It is your time to shine, Egg. Eggs, beans and other proteins help build and repair bones, muscles, skin, and even blood! Congratul–
EGG CRACKS
EGG Sorry… I got overexcited.
THE GREAT SPOON Not to worry wee one.
PROTEINs CHEER
THE GREAT SPOON So, a healthy diet has lots of fruits and vegetables like broccoli. It has plenty of carbohydrates like bread potatoes, or pasta.
Some portions of protein should be eaten everyday - like eggs, meat or fish…or beans! And also it is important to eat some dairy - milk, cheese, or yoghurt. Or grab an alternative, like soy milk or oat milk.
It’s healthy to have a small amount of fat and oil. And a bit of sugar. Not too much though or your body might not work as well as it should!
Wow! What a delicious and colourful crew! You all look good enough to eat!
The food we eat should give us the energy and nutrients we need to keep our bodies healthy and to grow.
Each one of the five food groups is important:
| Food group | Example | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit and vegetables | apples, bananas, broccoli | contain vitamins and fibre to keep our bodies working, help our immune system and digestive system |
| Carbohydrates | pasta, bread and rice | give us energy |
| Proteins | meat, beans, eggs | build muscles and help our bodies to grow and repair |
| Dairy | milk, cheese, yoghurt | contain calcium for strong teeth and bones (many dairy-free alternatives have calcium added to them too) |
| Fats and oils | olive oil and butter | give us energy and help absorb certain vitamins |
Eat yourself healthy
Bitesize KS1: The World Around Us - All about me
Food as fuel
Bitesize 1st level: Physical education - Nutrition
Food at different life stages
Bitesize 1st level: Health and wellbeing - Food and health
Geography
Where does our food come from?
Have you ever wondered where your food comes from?
The food we eat has usually been on an incredible journey before reaching our plates.
Here in the UK, some of our food comes from farms. This includes foods such as:
- Apples
- Milk
- Chicken
- Eggs
Not all food can grow in the United Kingdom because of the weather so lots of foods come from other countries. For example, bananas are grown in warmer countries like Costa Rica.
What’s your favourite food? Apples? Peas? Or maybe porridge? But do you know where they all come from?
We can buy all of these from shops, but do you know where they actually come from before they reach the shops? Almost everything we eat is from plants or animals.
Vegetables and fruits come from plants and are grown on the land, in the soil.
Some grow underground, like carrots.
Some grow on top of the soil with their roots below the ground, like pumpkins.
Some grow on bushes, like blackberries.
And some grow on vines, like tomatoes.
And some grow on trees, like apples.
A lot of our fruits and vegetables are grown on farms, and they are known as crops. Crops are plants that are grown by farmers in large amounts.
Some farmers grow vegetable crops in fields, such as cabbages. And others grow fruit, like plums.
Many farms grow grains, such as wheat, which we use to make flour and bread.
Other farms in the UK raise livestock. This means they don’t grow crops; they look after animals instead.
Different animals provide us with different types of meat.
Beef from cattle, pork from pigs and chicken from… well, chickens!
Cows, goats and sheep produce milk too.
This can be used to make butter, cream, cheese and yoghurt. These are all known as dairy products and they are produced on a dairy farm.
And hens produce most of the eggs that we eat. Eggs can also be used in lots of different recipes, like pancakes.
We’ve seen lots of food that comes from the land, but food can also come from the sea, rivers and lakes. This includes fish, such as salmon and shellfish, like prawns.
Fish and shellfish can be caught in the wild or farmed in special underwater farms. And we can also eat things that grow underwater, like seaweed.
So, next time you have a meal, think about where it may have come from. Plant or animal, land or water.
Farm to plate
Bitesize KS1: Health and wellbeing - food and health
Where does food come from?
Bitesize 1st level: The World Around Us - Food and farming
Food processing
Bitesize 1st level: Health and wellbeing - Food and health
Food and the environment
Some of our food has been on longer journeys than others. This can have an effect on the environment - the world around us.
Watch these videos to find out more about food and the environment and see if you can what you've discovered in the fun quizzes.
Food miles and the environment
Bitesize 1st level: Health and wellbeing - Food and health
Seasonal food
Bitesize 1st level: Health and wellbeing - Food and health
Food waste
Bitesize 1st level: Health and wellbeing - Food and health
Activity: Food journey
Pick one of your favourite foods and draw a picture that shows its food journey from the start to your plate!
- Did it start on a farm?
- Has it been processed in a factory?
- Which shop did you buy it from?
Design and Technology
Learning to cook can be fun and is a useful skill. It is important to be careful as there are hot pans, boiling water and sharp objects.
Make sure that you are with an adult when making food.
Getting ready to cook
Bitesize KS1: Design Technology - Cooking and nutrition
Choosing kitchen tools
Bitesize KS1: Design Technology - Cooking and nutrition
Art
Food presentation
It is important to make food look tasty otherwise nobody would want to eat it.
Chefs make food look delicious by arranging it nicely on the plate, and some even make food sculptures!
At a bakery, cakes and biscuits are decorated with fruit, cream, chocolate, and icing to make them look delicious.
For birthdays or weddings, cake makers can make fun cakes in special shapes like animals or even cars!
Activity: Design a cake
Imagine it is somebody you know's birthday. It could be someone in your family or a friend.
Draw a cake that you would like to make for them. Think about their hobbies, their favourite books and TV shows and their favourites foods.
Activity: Potato printing
Andy Warhol was a Pop artist known for making art about everyday objects including food.
One of his famous pictures is a print of a soup can, repeated in rows, just like you would see in a supermarket.
You can make repeat patterns with potatoes.
Make sure there is an adult to help you
You will need:
- Potato
- Knife
- Poster paints
- Paper
- Paper plate
Instructions:
- Cut a potato in half.
- Cut a shape such as a square or a star into the potato.
- Squeeze different colours of poster paint onto a paper plate.
- Dip the potato into the paint.
- Press the potato onto a sheet of paper.
- Repeat to create a pattern.
Andy Warhol and pop art
Bitesize KS2: Art and Design - Printmaking
Food for festivals and celebrations
People eat different types of food in different countries. Food is also often used in celebrations or festivals.
Can you think of any foods that you eat on a special day?
Image caption, At Christmas we eat turkey, gingerbread men and Christmas pudding.
1 of 4
In Sikh culture, food is served at the Gurdwara where people worship.
Video that explores some ways Sikhs show care in the community.
Palkin: Hi, I’m Palkin, and I’m Sikh.
Our gurdwara is an important place for Sikhs to come and pray together.
We help others at the gurdwara but Sikhs also help and serve in the community, at schools, parks or anywhere!
Helping others is very important for Sikhs. We call it ‘seva’ which means ‘selfless service’, helping others without wanting anything in return.
That means we try to work to make the world a better place for everyone.
Every gurdwara has a kitchen where we prepare langar, a free vegetarian meal for our community.
We serve the food every day, and everyone is welcome to come and eat langar. It doesn’t matter if you’re Sikh or not!
Everyone sits together on the floor to eat to show that we are all equal.
And all Sikhs volunteer to cook and clean because serving others is a way of serving God.
I really like that I can help prepare langar in the kitchen!
And because not everyone can come to the gurdwara, we also take meals to local foodbanks and other places that need it.
I’m really glad we have the gurdwara and can help so many people!
Recipe: How to make Chinese dumplings
Bitesize 1st level: Mandarin - make your own
BBC Food: Baking with children
BBC Food
Easy recipes for kids
BBC Food
Learn more
Healthy eating vocabulary
Bitesize Primary KS1: English - Vocabulary
What does a plant need to grow?
Bitesize KS1: The World Around Us - Food and farming
What are seeds?
Bitesize KS1: The World Around Us - Food and farming
Where next?
Primary Topic Packs
Discover topics, events and project packs for children in KS1 and KS2.
