Do you ever ask yourself “How do I encourage healthy eating?” I know I do.. And it’s something I’ve always been conscience of to try and promote in the classroom. But it’s not always that easy.
Having a balanced and healthy diet is one of the most important parts of our lives. But, did you know that by starting and promoting healthy lifestyles from childhood.. This has long term benefits through the child’s life too?
I think that one of the main positives to take away from this is that if we help to start and encourage healthy lifestyles with our children, then they are more likely to continue this on throughout the rest of their life.
What is Healthy Eating?
When we talk about healthy eating, we are talking about eating foods that provide all of the necessary nutrients that our bodies need. This includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats.
Healthy eating also means that we limit the intake of processed and sugary foods.. As well as foods that may be high in saturated and trans fat.
What are the Benefits of Healthy Eating?
There are so many benefits for healthy eating. Some of these benefits include;
- Maintaining a strong immune system.
- Preventing chronic diseases – heart disease/diabetes.
- Promoting overall well-being.
- Weight management.
- Boosts energy; because your body is receiving the essential vitamins and minerals it needs.
- Improved mood.
- Better digestion.
- Improved cognitive function.
- Better sleep.
- Stronger bones and teeth.
- Longer life expectancy.
Why Should We Encourage Healthy Eating in Children?
It’s really important to try and encourage healthy eating from a young age. When children have a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins.. They are having all of the necessary nutrients that their bodies need.
By starting healthy eating from young, we also help to establish hopefully a lifelong habit with our children for healthy eating. And it turn, this will help benefit their lives in all of the ways listed above.
How Can We Promote Healthy Eating at Home?
It can be overwhelming to sit down and try to think of how we can promote healthy eating at home.. So I’m going to give you a few ideas to take some of that stress off you.
- Have healthy foods on offer. Don’t pressurize your child(ren).. But have a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy foods on offer. One of my favorite ways to do this is to leave out a ‘picky plate’ of food where everyone can access it. Then it’s not so much pressure on your child(ren) to try something that might already be on their plate.
- Make food fun – create fun dishes and add color too!
- Involve your children when finding recipes online and making meal plans for the week.
- Try to avoid using food as a reward and/or punishment.
- See if you can find time to ensure that at least one meal a week consists of you all sitting down together as a family. Once you have this routine set, try to get it up to two meals a week etc.
- Limit the offering of non-healthy snacks, but provide plenty of healthy snacks.
- Portion control is huge. I am still someone who is working on portion control! But teaching this from a young age is really helpful.
- Try to limit sugary drinks. Low fat milk and water are great!
- Set a good example and be a role model by eating a balanced diet too.
- Be patient. It’s going to take time. But slow progress is still progress in the right direction!
How Can We Promote Healthy Eating at School?
There are a few ways that we, as educators, can also promote healthy eating in our classrooms and schools too. These include;
- Having a variety of different healthy food options in the school cafeteria and vending machines.
- Have lessons teaching about the benefits of healthy eating and a balanced diet.
- Try to encourage bringing healthy snacks/lunch to school. You can also provide snack carts that have healthy options.
- Organize fun school events like ‘Veggie Food Fair!’ ‘Local Food Fun!’ and have different fruits, vegetables etc. for students to try.
- Try to integration education surrounding nutrition into the curriculum.
- Create a school garden where your students can learn about growing their own food.. And learning where food comes from.
- Be a role model and have good, balanced eating habits, especially in front of your students.
Healthy Eating Lesson Ideas
Below I have put together a list of ideas that you can use for lessons/activities in your classroom or homeschool setting;
- Create a food group chart and teach about the foods that belong in each group.
- Taste test sessions for different fruits and vegetables. Expand by talking about their color, texture, taste, where do they come from?
- Sort foods into different categories.
- Build a food pyramid and have students talk about the importance of eating a balanced diet.
- Make healthy snacks in the classroom and show students how easy they are to make.
- Keep a food journal for a week to track foods and discuss balanced diets and gain ideas for new foods for others to try.
- Go on a scavenger hunt around a grocery store.
- Draw a picture of a balanced plate. Discuss how the meal is part of a balanced diet and the different food groups involved.
- Use healthy eating songs / videos. Youtube is great for this.
- Teach students how to read and interpret the different information on food labels.
- Healthy food book club.. Read books about healthy eating and have your students discuss the importance of making good food choices.
- Food group bingo games.
- Start a classroom garden. Have students help to grow different foods.. Expand by talking about where different foods come from.
Food Activities
Below I have linked some of my favorite activities for teaching about food in the classroom.
- Food Category Sorting
- Trying New Foods Social Narrative
- Yes / No Food Questions
- Food Word to Picture Matching
- Fruit v Vegetable Sorting Cards
I hope you found this blog post helpful. If so, please consider sharing it with your friends and colleagues on social media.
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Nikki
