Poor diet has been associated with the development of many of the chronic diseases in the United States, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Hands-on nutrition activities help children develop healthy eating habits and can complement other learning, for example math, science, language, social development, cooperation, and respect for culture. For example, create smiling faces using rice cakes and cheese, or make frozen banana sticks or applesauce. Introduce new foods in small portions to encourage children to taste their creations. Integrate learning activities Use seed catalogs and real vegetables to examine the edible parts of various plants, or conduct a taste-test on a variety of raw and cooked vegetables.
Children can then discuss the nutritional value of each vegetable.
Children can also work together to make vegetable soup and create labels for their own soup cans. Choose the cultural heritage of one or more children as a theme for a day s meals and snacks. Discuss at mealtimes how factors such as climate help shape food habits. Make it fun by shaping the dough into different animal shapes. This type of outing will put children in touch with local surroundings and create an awareness of how food is grown and sold in places other than a supermarket.