Fueling Up!
Objectives
* To provide students with information to help them develop healthy eating habits.
* To encourage students to be aware of the calories they consume and where the calories come from.
Introduce the activity by asking students how many if them check the nutrition labels on foods they eat. Explain that today they are going to examine a nutrition label to help them better understand how to read one and what they can learn from it.
Answers
1. 20 calories
2. monounsaturated or
"good" fat
3. four calories
4. Yes, it is low in calories and contains the good kind of fat.
Follow-up Activities
1. Give students practice in comparing and selecting snacks. Copy the following chart on the chalkboard. Then ask students to point out the healthiest snacks and explain why they selected the ones they did. Remind students that they should note the calories per serving and the number of grams of fat per serving.
2. Divide the class into three groups to research and report on proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Each group should share with classmates:
- why we need these nutrients.
- the different kinds proteins (animal-plant), carbohydrates (simple-complex), and fats (saturated-unsaturated).
- the foods they come from.
3. Often students have a difficult time visualizing serving sizes. Have them create a reference chart to help them remember. Dictate or place on the chalkboard the following sizes and comparisons for students to write down. Encourage students to also come up with their own comparison sizes. To get them started, ask students what item might be used in place of a baseball.
Baseball = 1/2 cup ice-cream, frozen yogurt, medium piece of fruit.
Golf ball/large egg = 1/4 cup dried fruit such as raisins.
Deck of cards/cassette tape = 3 oz. meat or poultry.
Rounded handful = 1 oz. of snack food.
Nine volt battery = 1 1/2 oz. cheese.
Four dice = 1 oz. cheese.
Computer mouse = medium potato
Ping-Pong ball = 2 tablespoons peanut butter.
Tennis ball = 1 cup pasta or 1 cup chopped raw veggies or fruit.
CD = 1 pancake.
Man's handful = 1 serving of chips.
