Healthy Food Choices Fuel Healthy Kids

Talk with students about the idea that food is fuel for their bodies. “Food” refers to what you eat and what you drink. The lessons in this unit use a stoplight as a tool to help students think about their food choices:

• Eat More: Green-light foods have the most nutrition for energy and growth, so eat them often! Examples: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, milk, and water.
• Eat Some: Yellow-light foods do not keep you fueled up the way green-light foods do, so eat them sometimes. Examples: canned or dried fruit, veggies with sauces, white bread or pasta, peanut butter, and juice.
• Eat Less: Red-light foods are the least nutritious. It's okay to have a red-light food once in a while. Stop and think about your choice and eat the red-light foods least often. Examples: chips, candy, fried foods, cakes, donuts, and soda. 

It's important that kids understand that some foods provide you with more nutrition than others. Check out the Eat More Eat Some Eat Less Food Chart for examples. For more information about the nutritional benefits of foods and different food groups, read Food is Fuel. 

Ask kids to think back to when they played Red Light, Green Light in Lesson 2. Kids can turn and talk about their experiences and what they learned from playing.

To use this with your students click here.

Use Games to Teach Healthy Food Options

Replay the stoplight game from Lesson 2. This time, rather than a color, the slideshow presents food choices. Students respond with green light/eat more, yellow light/eat some, and red light/eat less actions.

Help Kids Make Healthy Food Choices

Summarize this topic's key concepts:

• Eat More: Green-light foods have the most nutrition for energy and growth, so eat them often! Examples: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, milk, and water.
• Eat Some: Yellow-light foods do not keep you fueled up the way green-light foods do, so eat them sometimes. Examples: canned or dried fruit, veggies with sauces, flavored white bread or pasta, peanut butter, and juice.
• Eat Less: Red-light foods are the least nutritious It's okay to have a red-light food once in a while. Stop and think about your choice and eat the red-light foods least often. Examples: chips, candy, fried foods, cakes, donuts, and soda. 

Check for understanding: What is a nutritious food you can choose today?

Activities to Teach Healthy Food Choices

Students apply what they have learned about food choices and create a green plate day.

Use the Eat More, Eat Some, Eat Less food chart to complete the MyPlate Meal printable.

Today we played a game to help us think about nutritious food choices. Can you name five nutritious food choices? How about 10?