The Food Crew Tales

About the Book

The tales of the Food Crew characters bring healthy eating to a new level of interest for children and adults alike! Wilf Watermelon finds out how he can learn to float, Gracie Grape discovers which Food Group she belongs to, and Olly Orange is so happy to finally find that, after all, there can be words that rhyme with his name. Caspar Carrot is delighted that all he needs is a bath to join the Leader of the Fruit and Vegetables, Fiva Day and also that he grew from a seed planted under the soil. Charlie Carb shows Paddy Potato that people need starchy foods to provide them with energy. The Food Crew stories have been designed to complement the training provided by Opti-me Limited (www.thefoodcrew.org.uk), Good Nutrition for Active Children. These will encourage children to experiment with new foods and are underpinned by the Balance of Good Health principles. Each book has a task embedded, such as using the watermelon fruit to make an iced lolly or smoothie and then placing the hollowed out shell into water to see it float, or rhyming words with Olly as there are no English words for “orange.” Children can identify with Gracie Grape as she is unsure which group she belongs to, but Fiva Day gives her lots of clues for her to work it out and join the friends. A wonderful introduction to good nutrition written in poetry and prose with integral positive health messages.

About the Author

Jenny Stretton FADipTSI, MSST is a sports therapist, medical educator, and assessor for the Football Association. She was sports therapist through the football leagues to Premiership, Level 4 Nutrition. Sje is a Member of Register of Exercise Professionals Level 3, Society of Sports Therapists, and Institute for Learning. Jenny’s working life for twenty plus years has been devoted to encouraging and enabling people to make healthy lifestyle choices. In her sports therapy roles, she has worked at all levels of football—on the touchline during her son’s career, for grassroots junior teams and tournaments, internationals, and the professional game. As she was very often asked for advice about optimum nutrition for sport, she felt compelled to develop a training course that provides this information in an easy, nationally recognized format. The innovative Good Nutrition for Active Children training course completes the package of training available to coaches, parents or guardians, and teachers to provide the best practices in their roles with children in their care, whilst also enabling CPD to be gained. In order to sustain this qualification, Jenny decided to provide follow up support for the children in the form of the website www.thefoodcrew.org.uk, which contains a range of downloadable materials. The Food Crew has been designed with characters for the children to learn about in line with the nationally recognized “Eatwell Plate” e.g., Charlie Carb, Polly Protein, Fiva Day, Daisy Dairy, and Frazer “Fast Food” Fox. This is seen to be an important addition to engage the children in a fun and interactive program along with the story books, providing long term support for sustainability of the advice taught on the course. Jenny’s passion for physical activity, nutrition, and ensuring the well-being of children is captured within the stories and the illustrations bring the characters to life in a natural and positive style.