The importance of a well-balanced nutritious diet cannot be overemphasized. On the previous pages we discussed problems that affect our air, land, water plants, and animals. Once we have gone past that still are faced with making intelligent decisions about the food we can eat. Again we are investing in our future. Cultivating healthy diets will lead to healthy minds that will eventually make major decisions in this country.
The children in my class often complain about the quality of the school breakfasts and lunches. I suppose the school system is doing what they think is best given what they have to work with. But is it the best? High fat, high sugar, mostly white bleached, flour products with little fiber, but filing make up the meals served. A few relatively simple changes would make a world of difference. Whole wheat instead of refined white products is one change. A few more vegetarian based meals using beans and brown rice or eggplant parmesan may be a nice healthy change.
Home often affords even less nutritional guidance for some children. They go home after school where they have to fend for themselves. What’s easy, sweet or salty are the usual foods of choice for many children. Even though potato chips are made from potatoes they contain fatty oils and often too much salt. Substitutions that are agreeable even to children can be made inexpensively. High fats can be replaced with lower fats. Products with added sugars can be replaced with products with little or no added sugar. Foods made with refined white flour can be replaced by products made with whole wheat or other whole grains. Soft drinks including Kool-aid, Hi-C, Hawaiian Punch, and soda which contain much sugar, artificial flavors and colors can be replaced with 100% fruit juices or water.
The following are an example of just such substitutions.
High fat, sugar, salt, or oil
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Lower or no fat, added sugar, salt
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potato chips
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plain popcorn
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cheese twists
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cheese chunks from skim milk
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peanut brittle
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low salted peanuts
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hard candy
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raisins
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pretzel sticks
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carrot or celery sticks
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jellied candies
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apple slices
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(gummy bears,etc.)
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(dipped in peanut butter)
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soft drink
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100% fruit juice
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Now that we have established the alternatives to the junk food that is consumed let me emphasize that snacks have a place in young children’s diets. A place is marked out for each kind on the food pyramid. The good snacks would be listed under the under the fruits, vegetables, nuts, or grains. The not so good snacks would be listed under the fats, and oils. The food pyramid was developed to give people a sense of the levels of importance of foods in each respective food group. The bigger the chunk of the pyramid a food group occupies the more of that group we should consume on a daily basis. The smaller the chunk out the pyramid the less, if any of the items in that food group need to be consumed on a daily basis.
We will return to the food pyramid later in this unit but for now we will do a lesson on....
LESSON #3-Nutritious Snacks
Main Idea:
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You can eat healthy snacks and maintain optimum health.
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Objectives:
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Identify items that can be healthy snacks at home. Predict which snacks have more nutritional value.
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Time:
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35 minutes
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Materials:
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box of raisins, bag of lollipops, butter knife, wholewheat bread, peanut butter, polaner’s all fruit, list of nutritional value of snack foods, paper plates, carrot sticks, apple slices, potato chips, paper, pencil
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Procedure:
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1. Divide the class into three groups.
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2. Arrange the fruit slices and veggies on separate plates.
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3. Have all the students write down a list of all the different snacks they have when they go home from school.
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4. Each group will guess which foods they chose are more nutritious.
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5. Arrange the rest of the snacks on paper plates.
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6. For every snack each groups wrote down that is nutritious the entire group gets to choose a snack.
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7. Each child can spread p.butter on a slice of bread and make a happy face with raisins, apple slices,
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Conclusion:
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1. Why is it important to eat healthy snacks?
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2. Name 5 poor snacks and an alternative good snack.
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