FOOD AND NUTRITION

Food and Nutrition at Farringtons is delivered at Key Stage 3 by a carousel system. Students spend approximately ten weeks in each of three different subjects across the year. Each ten week scheme of work will contain a mixture of practical cookery and accompanying theoretical aspects.

We believe it is very important that the girls learn about the relationship between nutrition, food choice and health. To concentrate more on these important issues we have moved out of Food Technology with its emphasis on the working of the food industry into Food and Nutrition, which we consider to be more appropriate.

Year 7 - Introduction to Food and Nutrition

In Year 7 students will carry out a series of tasks to develop their knowledge and understanding of the different equipment and ingredients used in the kitchen to produce good quality food.

They will learn new practical and organisation skills to enable them to be efficient and hygienic when handling food. They will also complete an interactive basic hygience course on the computer network and will receive a certificate once the final test is successfully passed.

Practical cookery will feature Apple Crumble, Risotto, Macaroni Cheese, Cottage Pie, Eves Pudding and Victoria Sandwich Cake.

Try our risotto recipe.

RISOTTO

Ingredients

250g sausages or chicken
1 tablespoon cooking oil
75g long grain rice
1 medium onion
100g mushrooms
50g green beans or peas
50g sweetcorn
375ml hot water
1 chicken stock cube
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Worcester sauce

Method

1. Gently fry the sausages or chicken in the oil until cooked. Put them onto a plate.
2. Wash the rice in a sieve under the cold tap, leave to drain.
3. Peel and chop the onion, slice the mushrooms.
4. Add the onion to the frying pan, fry for about 7 minutes, and stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
5. Add the rice and fry for 1 minute.
6. Add the mushrooms, beans or peas, sweetcorn, stock cube, water, Worcester sauce, and seasoning.
7. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat to simmer for about 12 minutes until the rice is tender and all the water is absorbed.
8. Cut up the sausages or chicken and stir into the risotto

YEAR 8 – HEALTHY EATING

In Year 8 students will examine what “Healthy Eating” means and how food choices can affect health. They will develop their knowledge of nutrition and study different nutrients and their functions. Through a series of practical tasks they will investigate dietary recommendations and learn how to adapt recipes to make them healthier.

Practical cookery will feature oat biscuits, bread rolls, pizza, fruit salad, reduced sugar cakes, reduced fat pasta dish.

How healthy are you?
Try our quiz
How near are you to achieving the Balance of Good Health?

The ‘Balance of Good Health’ is a new way of helping you to understand and enjoy healthy eating. But how do you know if your diet is healthy? Choose the answer which is nearest to what you usually eat.

Bread, Other Cereals & Potatoes Food Group
1. Do you have bread, toast or cereal for breakfast?
Every day 0
Sometimes 5
Rarely or don’t eat breakfast 10

2. Do you eat wholewheat or high fibre types of bread or cereal?
Usually 0
Sometimes 5
Rarely 10

3. Do you eat something from this food group with all meals?
Always 0
Sometimes 5
Rarely 10

4. Do you have these cooked in, or with, fat or oil (eg: roast potatoes, chips, fat on baked potato, fried rice)?
Usually 10
Sometimes 5
Rarely 0

Fruit & Vegetables Food Group
5. Do you eat fruit, including fresh, tinned, dried or juice?
Twice or more a day 0
Once a day 5
A few times a week 10

6. Do you have sugar or syrup or a sweet sauce with your fruit?
Usually 10
Sometimes 5
Rarely 0

7. Do you have salad or vegetables, including fresh, frozen or tinned?
Twice or more a day 0
Once a day 5
A few times a week 10

8. Do you have vegetables or salad with butter/margarine or fried, or in a rich sauce or dressing?
Usually 10
Sometimes 5
Rarely 0

Meat, Fish & Alternative Food Group
9. How often do you eat lentils, peas or beans (including tinned baked beans)?
Every day 0
3 times a week 5
Less than once a week 10

10. Do you eat fish, including white or oily, fresh, frozen or tinned?
More than twice a week 0
Once a week 5
Rarely 10

11. Do you have your fish fried or in batter?
Usually 10
Sometimes 5
Rarely 0

Milk & Dairy Food Group
12. Do you have a serving of dairy foods (eg: 1/3 pint milk, 1oz cheese, a yoghurt)?
Two or three times a day 0
Once per day 5
A few times a week 10

13. Do you choose low fat or skimmed types of these?
Always 0
Sometimes 5
Rarely 10

Foods containing Fat and/or Sugar Food Group
14. Do you eat foods high in fat and sugar, such as chocolate, cakes, biscuits and puddings?
Twice or more a day 10
Once a day 5
A few times a week 0

15. Do you eat sugary foods, such as sweets, and drink sugary soft drinks (eg: lemonade, squashes, canned drinks)?
Often 0
Sometimes 5
Rarely 10

How near are you to achieving the Balance of Good Health? Add up your total. See how your diet scores.

Less than 25
Excellent! Think about your overall lifestyle.

Less than 50
Good! The lower the score, the better! Do you think that you can improve anything else?

More than 100
You should improve your diet for your health’s sake. Look back at questions where you scored 10 and tackle one change at a time.

TRY THIS RECIPE AT HOME

OAT BISCUITS

Ingredients

50g margarine
50g sugar
1 tsp golden syrup
1 tsp water
50g porridge oats
50g self raising flour
Optional extras: chopped nuts, dried fruit, chopped glace cherries.

Method

1. Grease a baking tray and pre-heat the oven at 1700c
2. Gently melt the margarine, sugar and syrup in a saucepan.
3. Stir the oats and self raising flour into the melted mixture.
4. Place spoonfuls of the mixture well apart on the baking tray.
5. Flatten with the back of a fork.
6. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. They will still be soft at this stage.
7. Leave to cool on the baking tray until set enough to life off onto a cooling rack with a fish slice.

Year 9 - Around The World in One Carousel
In Year 9 students will ‘Travel’ the world investigating other cultures, foods and eating habits. They will research and find out more about the countries geography, climate, staple foods, customs and festivals. The world food supply is very inconsistent and students will investigate the reasons for this and how diet and health are affected.

They will carry out a range of practical cookery sessions to reflect the countries visited and to extend their practical cookery skills. The students will complete a project on a chosen country. Practical cookery will include Cheese and Herb Loaf, Creamy Carrot Soup, Individual Apple Tarts, Lasagne, Honey Cake, Goulash, Greek Salad, Shish Kebabs, Stuffed Peppers, Chapatis, Chicken Palak, Sweet and Sour Pork and Egg Fried Rice.

CHICKEN PALAK
This spicy chicken dish is cooked in a sauce with tomatoes and spinach.

50g ghee or butter or 4 tbs oil
225g fresh or frozen spinach
4 chicken pieces, skinned and defatted
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 green chilli, finely chopped
Or
¼ tsp each of ground ginger and chilli powder
1 large onion, peeled ad finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp salt
2 tsp each of cumin and coriander
1 medium can (about 400g) of chopped tomatoes


1. Wash the spinach well and chop finely.
2. In a large pan fry the chicken pieces in the fat until golden brown on each side.
3. Remove the chicken and fry the onion in the same pan until it browns. Add the spices garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin, coriander – and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in the fresh or frozen spinach, salt, and can of tomatoes. Add the chicken pieces.
5. Cover and cook on a low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add some water if the sauce begins to dry up.
6. Serve hot with rice, chapattis, and dhal.

Serves 4.

BANANA RAITA

Refreshing raitas made from yoghurt are served with spicy dishes and help ‘cool’ the meal. Raitas can be made from different vegetables such as potatoes, cucumber, and chick-peas.

1 banana, peeled and thinly sliced
150g natural yoghurt

Mix all the ingredients together and serve chilled.

FOOD AND NUTRITION GCSE

We are currently preparing to introduce Food and Nutrition GCSE in September 2007. This is a full course over two years.

The Food and Nutrition course is designed to enable students to investigate the relationship between nutrition, food choice and health. To examine the functions of ingredients, and the effect of the application of mechanical and heat energy. These aspects are studied within the context of urban, industrial and multicultural society.

The schemes of work will enable students to demonstrate their ability to:-

1. Knowledge and Understanding Recall and apply knowledge.

2. Investigations and Tasks. Plan and carry out investigations using ICT where appropriate, in which students:

• Identify issues and questions, assemble relevant information, and examine evidence and hypothesis;
• Select and use a range of appropriate practical skills competently;
• Gather, record, collate, analyse viewpoints, interpret and evaluate evidence;
• Make decisions, take action and evaluate investigations and tasks.
  

3. Quality of Written communication Students will be required to:

• Present relevant information in a form that suits its purpose;
• Ensure that text is legible and that spelling, punctuation and grammar are accurate, so that the meaning is clear.

Assessment

One written paper at Foundation and Higher Tier levels. 50% of total marks.

Coursework Project 50% of total marks. An investigation/task occupying approximately 30 hours which must include both written and practical elements.

Example: -

a) How can people with a busy lifestyle follow currently dietary advice?
b) How can basic recipes be modified to reflect current dietary advice?
c) Foods can be preserved in many ways at home or by food manufacturers. Investigate a range of ways of preserving foods. Include some comparisons between home-made and commerical equivalents.

SIXTH FORM FOOD AND WINE COURSE

We have a very popular Food and wine Course in the sixth Form at Farringtons. It is a one year course and covers a wide range of practical cookery, from basic skills and surviving at university to preparing a sophisticated dinner party. Every week the practical work undertaken is assessed and final marks awarded after moderation.

We achieved 100% pass rate with this course and four students passed with merit this year.