Topic hub: Everything for teaching about the Eatwell Guide
If you are looking for ‘all things Eatwell Guide’, you’re in the right place!
In this Topic hub, we have pulled together a collection of our best Eatwell Guide teaching resources to support learners from aged 3 to 14 years, to build and apply their healthy eating knowledge and skills.
Fun fact! Our Eatwell Guide resources are the most downloaded on the Food - a fact of life website. Our Eatwell Guide food group videos, alone, have been watched over 200,000 times!
About The Eatwell Guide
The Eatwell Guide is a policy tool used to define government recommendations on eating healthily and achieving a balanced diet. You can find out more about how The Eatwell Guide was developed on the GOV.UK website.
The Eatwell Guide message in a nutshell
The Eatwell Guide is the UK healthy eating model. It divides the foods and drinks we consume into five main groups. The groups are different sizes, which shows the proportions in which different types of foods are needed to achieve a well-balanced and healthy diet. For example, it shows us that just over a third of what we eat should come from the Fruit and vegetables group.
The proportions shown are representative of food consumption over the period of a day or even a week, not necessarily each mealtime.
We should choose a variety of different foods from each of the groups to help us get the wide range of nutrients our body needs to stay healthy and work properly.
Did you know… an assessment of the Eatwell Guide, conducted by the Carbon Trust, indicated that eating a diet in line with The Eatwell Guide has a significantly lower environmental impact than the current UK diet?
Following The Eatwell Guide is good for us, and the planet!
Take a look at all the resources below to help you and your learners explore The Eatwell Guide!
Background information for you
- The Eatwell Guide information
A straightforward guide to what you need to know to teach about The Eatwell Guide. - Eatwell Guide food list
A list of foods that belong in each food group.
The classroom basics for display and discussion
Posters
- The Eatwell Guide (basic)
A simplified Eatwell Guide poster for young children. - The Eatwell Guide poster
A standard poster of The Eatwell Guide. - The Eatwell Guide worksheet
An outline of the Eatwell Guide which can be used by individuals to practice sorting foods, or foods in meals and dishes, into the correct Eatwell Guide food groups. - Blank Eatwell Guide
A colour poster of the standard Eatwell Guide model, but without any food images. Useful for small groups of learners to sort food images into the correct food groups.
Cards and food images
- The Eatwell Guide food cards
Individual food images from the official Eatwell Guide model for sorting into the correct food groups (for use with the Blank Eatwell Guide.) - Food selection
A reduced selection of Eatwell Guide food images for use with a group of five younger learners. The sheet contains five strips of five foods. Separate the strips of foods and give one strip to each learner. Working together, the group can each cut out their own five foods and then collectively stick them on a copy of The Eatwell Guide worksheet. - Five food group cards
An individual image of each food group to support discussions focused on one food group at a time.
Presentations
Presentations for each age phase for teaching around The Eatwell Guide.
- The Eatwell Guide presentation (5-7 years)
A simple introduction to the five Eatwell Guide food groups. - Meals and snacks (7-11 years)
A presentation looking at how ingredients in different meals and snacks fit into the Eatwell Guide food groups (contributing to a well-balanced, healthy diet). - The Eatwell Guide presentation (11-14 years)
A more in-depth presentation around The Eatwell guide for secondary aged learners.
Digital resources
Interactive game
- The Eatwell Challenge
An interactive drag and drop activity involving placing foods in the correct food groups.
Quizzes
- Healthy eating quizzes
A selection of digital and paper-based quizzes for secondary school aged learners, around The Eatwell Guide and general healthy eating themes.
Videos
- Eatwell Guide videos
A set of short videos, aimed at learners in secondary school, covering The Eatwell Guide, food groups and healthy eating themes.
Nutritional analysis tool
- Explore Food
A free nutrition calculator to analyse recipes and diets, guidance for its use and supporting activities. Recommended for secondary school or upper primary school aged learners.
Games
- The Eatwell Guide board game
A simple game for four young learners. Give each learner a copy of the board. Cut out one set of The Eatwell game food cards. Shuffle the cards and place them face down in the middle of the table. Instruct the learners to take turns to take a card, if they are able to place it on their boards, they can keep it, if not, it must be returned to the bottom of the pile. The first player to fill their board wins the game. The winner can then help another player until all the boards are filled.
- The Eatwell Guide race
A game for the whole class! Split the class into two groups. Divide the Eatwell Guide food cards between the two groups. Ask each group to stand in a line with the first player in the line standing a few meters from a wall. On the wall, attach the two Blank Eatwell Guide posters, one opposite each line of players. On your instruction, one at a time, the players should go to the Blank Eatwell Guide and attach their food card in the correct place. They should then return to their line and the next person can go and place their card. The first group to attach all their cards, correctly, to the Blank Eatwell Guide is the winner! You could play this game in the school hall or outside so the distance between the players and the Blank Eatwell Guide can be increased, allowing them to run to place their card!
Activity sheets
- Food and drink diary
A worksheet to help learners keep a two day food diary and then review what they have consumed against the Eatwell Guide. - What's it made from?
A worksheet to support learners to map the foods found in different dishes and meals against the Eatwell Guide food groups. - The Eatwell Guide circle map
A worksheet to help secondary school learners demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of The Eatwell Guide.
Recipes
A small sample of Food – a fact of life recipes that include, or can be adapted to include, foods from all The Eatwell Guide food groups. Great for when teaching about The Eatwell Guide and how meals and dishes contribute to health eating:
You can find all the Food – a fact of life recipes, here.
The Eatwell Guide website areas for all ages
For all the Food - a fact of life Eatwell Guide resources, and details about how to use them, take a look at The Eatwell Guide area for the age phase you teach:
The Eatwell Guide for you
- The Eatwell Guide food group factsheets
One page information sheets (from the British Nutrition Foundation) about each food group, including examples of foods in the group, how to include them in your diet, and the health benefits.
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