A decision to ditch the pies and ‘fizzy' is paying dividends for one primary school as pupils queue up for healthy and nutritious alternatives.

Te Kura o Matapihi Primary School serves up fresh, green lunches for its pupils three days a week after the school board decided to rid the canteen of all foods high in sugar and fat two years ago.

Te Kura o Matapihi Primary School kaiawhina Arahina Dickson and Bay of Plenty District Health Board health promoter Steve Cameron test out a new healthy recipe.

Staff member Arahina Dickson was employed to organise and cook the meals, and is today learning new recipes from Bay of Plenty District Health Board health promoter Steve Cameron.

On the menu is a quick and easy Moroccan meatball dish with a vegetable sauce.

Steve visits Arahina every few months with new tips and ideas, and says it is a great initiative by the school.

'When we first started they [the plates] were coming back with vegetables but because there is heaps of spices and flavours in there the kids have been eating all the vegetables now,” he says.

'Hina [Arahina] has learned so many skills through the time I have been involved that she comes up with ideas of her own.”

Moana FM announcers Pat Spellman and Takiri Butler, Bay of Plenty Women's Sevens players also helped out in the kitchen today, keen to support the initiative.

School principal Tui Rolleston says the initiative is not a money-making venture but any funds from the healthy options are placed back into the school's fundraising budget.

'It's always easier sometimes to say ‘Nah we will get a pie and stuff'. But it's about providing a service to our kids so they have healthy options.”

At $3 per meal, the nutritious option costs the same as a coke and pie.

Tui says about half the school's 110 pupils are keen on the ‘homestyle' cooking.

She says the teachers are rapt with the healthy direction and many of them line up for what Arahina creates each week.

The meals are served on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week.

Arahina takes orders from the pupils and teachers, shops for the groceries, and whips up the meals, which consist of 70 per cent vegetables.

Arahina admits initially it took some time to bring the children around to the idea, but with Steve's help a number of recipes are now permanent favourites.