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February 8, 2011

The Food Pyramid ~ Great for Kids!

Last year around this time of year at Farm Day, Bryce had his first look at the Food Pyramid Chart.  He was totally enamored by it and still is.  I'm not sure if it's because of all the colors that illustrate the different food groups or the percentage part of the chart.  What ever the reason, I'm glad he's so interested in it.

Image found at Google Image

We keep a copy of the chart on our fridge and the kids love to examine the meals and snacks they eat and figure out where on the chart each belongs.

Apparently more than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, with the new release of the updated 7th edition Dietary Guidelines for Americans, stronger emphasis is being placed on reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity.

I thought it would be a good time to print out a new copy of the Food Pyramid chart to replace the copy on our fridge {it's a little different looking} and to go over the food groups again with both Bryce and Paige.  Bryce has pretty much got the food pyramid down, but  he SO likes to 'teach' his younger sister things and thought this would be a perfect opportunity for some homeschooling time.

I also found a few interactive and printable charts to go along with the food pyramid like the MyPyramid coloring chart , the MyPyramid Worksheet, a close look at the MyPyramid chart, some neat MyPyramid classroom lessons for your homeschooling needs and 10 tips for being a healthy eating role model.

Feel free to share this post with any families who you think may be interested in these printable materials.



3 comments:

  1. When my girls (now 11 and 13) were little, I posted the food pyramid on the fridge.
    When we got to those testy years when one would want to eat only noodles and no veggies, I'd tell her to go check the chart.
    My general approach was: This isn't me talking, it's the rules--go see.
    It worked great for the most part. They didn't argue a whole lot, because these were the rules.
    Anyway, when oldest daughter got to first grade, her teacher was amazed she knew every bit of it by heart. (She'd only had it engrained since she was 3!)

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  2. One of the recommendations is to increase milk and dairy products because Americans are not getting enough. This is especially important in light of Oprah's recent show on the vegan lifestyle that doesn't even allow the use of dairy.

    As a nurse I have cared for so many people with fractured hips, many of whom die within a year because of bone loss. The treatments we have for osteoporosis cannot really make up for the failure to form good healthy bones for children and teens. Finally with fuel up to play 60 there seems to be more mainstream attention for the need to get adequate milk in our children. One issue I still see is in a move to improve health sometimes people leave out the milk thinking it is too high in fat and/or calories. It is not because it is nutrient dense and because you can still get your 3 or 4 servings a day and be within the guidelines on fat.

    Another concern I have is that some people don't realize you need a certain amount of fat in the diet, in part because some of our vitamins are fat soluble. There was a situation here in America where Drs started seeing adolescent girls with ricketts because their fat was so low, they were not absorbing necessary fat soluble vitamins.

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