Q3: Growing Healthy Habits - Cultivating lifelong healthy habits requires encouragement and opportunities for practice - MUSC Children's Hospital
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Team Nutrition Q3 Toolkit
Q3: Growing Healthy Habits
Cultivating lifelong healthy habits requires
encouragement and opportunities for practice.
Dear Wellness Committee:
Welcome to the 2021-2022 First Quarter Team Nutrition Toolkit. The goal of this toolkit is to
provide easy to implement, nutrition messaging to support the wellness culture in your school.
The toolkit consists of a key message for the quarter, weekly announcements to build students’
knowledge and improve behaviors related to the quarterly message, suggested weekly nutrition
classroom activities, weekly social media messages, and a quarterly newsletter. Each
component of the toolkit builds on the key message for the quarter, enabling students to learn
how to incorporate the message into the school day and at home. Utilizing the toolkit, you can
claim the following School Wellness Checklist© points:
Weekly Announcements: Wellness Culture #1 – 1 point
Weekly Nutrition Classroom Activities: Nutrition #22 – 2 points
Weekly Social Media Messages: Wellness Culture #21 – 1 point
Quarterly Parent Newsletter: Wellness Culture #26 – 3 points
Don’t forget to register your school to become a USDA Team Nutrition school at
https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/node/add/school or update your schools’ Team Nutrition profile
at http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/schools/search. After registering your school, there are several
free resources to support your wellness initiatives (https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/team-
nutrition-resource-catalog). When you register as a Team Nutrition school, or update your
profile, AND utilize Team Nutrition materials you can claim 2 points on the School Wellness
Checklist© for Nutrition #4.
The nutrition message for the third quarter of the school year is Growing Healthy Habits. Cultivating
lifelong healthy habits requires encouragement and opportunities for practice. The main goal of this
toolkit is to help students identify areas of their daily routine where they can start to set
achievable health goals. Please use the resources below to improve the knowledge and
behavior of your students and community and claim points on your School Wellness
Checklist©. We look forward to seeing your schools’ culture of wellness grow!
In good health,
MUSC Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness Team
Weekly Nutrition Announcements
Claim 1 point on the School Wellness Checklist© for Wellness Culture #1
Week 1 – Sleep
Did you know that proper sleep and good nutrition go hand in hand? According to the Sleep
Foundation, lack of adequate sleep can lead to choosing caloric dense instead of nutrient dense
foods because they provide quick, but unsustainable, energy.
Week 2 – Breakfast
Think of a breakfast meal. Is it the usual egg, breakfast meat, bread on a plate type of deal? Or
maybe oatmeal or cereal? Start thinking outside the box with breakfast! A variety of options keep
you and kids interested! Who doesn’t love a good taco for breakfast?
Week 3 – Water
How have you been doing drinking enough water? Are you ready for some variety outside plain
water? Need to continue getting the kids excited about hydration? Good news! You can get
hydration from sources like flavored water, fruits & vegetables, and non-caffeinated teas. The
best way to know if you’re getting enough hydration is urine color. It may feel awkward to talk
about, but it should be a pale clear yellow.
Week 4 – Vegetables
A variety of vegetables can be just as important as the amount you eat. The different colors
provide different phytochemicals, aka the part of vegetables that provide the benefits. Diversity
matters in our produce!
Week 5 – Fruits
Fruit is a great sweetener! Try using it in place of added sugar throughout your day. Some
examples are:
• Banana and/or berries in oatmeal instead of brown sugar
• Sliced strawberries instead of jelly on a peanut butter &jelly sandwich
Week 6 – Basic Protein
It’s easy to get in a one-track mindset with protein. But there are a variety of options available to
spice up mealtime and keep healthy meal and snack times interesting! Try incorporating plant
proteins like beans, quinoa, and soy into your meals this week!
Week 7 - Whole Grains Incorporating whole grains into your day may be easier than you think! Fun fact: corn is a whole grain! Try whole grain corn tortillas, whole grain grits, and air popped corn. Week 8 – Added Sugar Not all sugar is unhealthy! When we say to limit sugar, we’re referring to the sugars added to foods not natural sugars found in foods like fruit and plain dairy. Week 9 – Exercise Exercise has more than just physical benefits, it also has mental benefits. The WHO recommends 1 hour of moderate to intense physical activity every day for adolescents. But, even light activity in childhood is linked to lower risk of depression later in life.
Weekly Nutrition Classroom Activities
Claim 2 points on the School Wellness Checklist© for Nutrition #21
Week 1 – Sleep
Instructions:
1. Ask students how they feel when they don’t get enough sleep. Tired, grumpy, sad, hard
to think?
2. Explain that sleep is important for them to feel their best. Being tired can impact their
entire day, and even make them crave unhealthy foods.
3. Ask if anyone’s bedtime routine has changed since you discussed them last quarter.
Week 2 – Breakfast
Instructions:
1. Ask students if they've ever had tacos for
breakfast. Depending on the responses, giggles,
etc., explain that breakfast can include all sorts
of foods. We don’t have to stick to traditional
options like pancakes, muffins, oatmeal, etc.
2. Ask if they remember how many foods
groups should be included in breakfast. (The
answer is 3).
3. Explain a breakfast taco includes can easily
include 3 or more food groups: whole grain
corn or wheat tortilla, protein from eggs,
vegetables from salsa, dairy from cheese.
4. As you name the taco ingredients, have
them name the food group for you.
Week 3 – Water
Instructions
1. Tell students that this week’s topic may make them giggle but it’s going to help them know
when they need to be drinking more water.
2. Explain that while it’s a silly topic, their urine color is the best way to tell if they’re drinking
enough water.
3. Show this chart or have construction paper to hold up as an example. Explain that a very pale
yellow (like lemonade) means they are drinking enough. If it’s darker than that they need more
fluids.
Week 4 – Vegetables
Instructions:
1. Tell students that vegetables are undercover superheroes, and each color of vegetable
has a different superpower.
2. The superpowers do different things to keep our bodies healthy and in tip top shape.
3. Ask students to write down all the vegetables they’ve eaten recently. Add up how many
colors the class has consumed.
4. Challenge students to try a different color of fruit or vegetable every day this coming
week.
Week 5 – Fruits
Instructions:
1. Ask students how many different colors of vegetables they were able to try the past week.
2. Tell them that fruits are superheroes just like vegetables, the only difference is fruits are
sweeter than vegetables.
3. Explain that because fruit is so sweet, we can add it to things instead of sugar. Examples are
oatmeal, cereal, peanut butter sandwiches.
4. Ask students to come up with 1 meal that they could add fruit to. Challenge them to think
outside the box.
Week 6 – Basic Proteins
Instructions:
1. Ask students to write down as many non-animal proteins as they can.
2. Have them share what they came up with.
3. Go over that while meat is a great source of protein, it can also be found in beans, tofu,
grains, and nuts.
4. Tell them that these plant sources of protein also can provide fiber, which is another
nutrient important in keeping them healthy.
Week 7 – Whole Grains
Instructions:
1. Play this video for students.
https://fit.sanfordhealth.org/resources/what-whole-grains-do-for-
your-body-video
2. Any questions from the students?
Week 8 – Added Sugar
Instructions:
1. Ask students to recall all the hidden places added
sugars can hide (cereals, ketchup, juices, sweets).
Specifically review foods that are found in the school
cafeteria.
2. Challenge students to get creative and build a
snack that incorporates 2 food groups, and with no
added sugars. Reference the lesson from Week 5 on
fruit to give them a hint.
Week 9 – Exercise
Instructions:
1. Ask students if they’ve been getting an hour of exercise each day? Ask how they feel after
exercising?
2. Explain that exercise is important for healthy bodies and also important for having a good mood.
3. Challenge them to get moving every day after school. It doesn’t have to be intense activity or
sports, it can be walking their dog or even doing some yoga as a family in the evening.
Weekly Social Media Nutrition Messaging
Claim 1 points on the School Wellness Checklist© for Wellness Culture #21
Week 1 – Sleep
Did you know that proper sleep and good nutrition go hand in hand? According to the Sleep Foundation,
lack of adequate sleep can lead to choosing caloric dense instead of nutrient dense foods because they
provide quick, but unsustainable, energy.
Check out how your food choices and sleep habits are related here:
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/nutrition
Week 2 – Breakfast
Think of a breakfast meal. Is it the usual egg, breakfast meat, bread on a plate type of deal? Or maybe
oatmeal or cereal? Start thinking outside the box with breakfast! A variety of options keep you and kids
interested! Who doesn’t love a good taco for breakfast? Check out these traditional and creative breakfast
ideas! https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/breakfast.htmlWeek 3 – Water How have you been doing lately on drinking enough water? Are you ready for some variety outside plain water? Good news! You can get hydration from other sources like flavored water, fruits & vegetables, and non-caffeinated teas. The best way to know if you’re getting enough hydration is urine color. It may feel awkward to talk about, but it should be a pale clear yellow. Check out this link for more information on non-water options for hydration: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325958#summary
Week 4 – Vegetables
A variety of vegetables can be just as important as the amount you eat. The different colors provide
different phytochemicals, aka the part of vegetables that provide the benefits. Diversity matters in our
produce! Click this link to read more about what the specific colors in produce do:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/fill-up-on-phytochemicals
Week 5 – Fruit
Fruit is a great sweetener! Try using it in place of added sugar throughout your day. Some examples are:
• Banana and/or berries in oatmeal instead of brown sugar
• Sliced strawberries instead of jelly on a peanut butter &jelly sandwich
• You can find more uses for fruits here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/help-
around-the-kitchen/how-to-use-up-leftover-fruitWeek 6 – Basic Protein It’s easy to get in a one-track mindset with protein. But there are a variety of options available to spice up mealtime and keep healthy meal and snack times interesting! Try incorporating plant proteins like beans, quinoa, and soy into your meals this week! For more ideas on protein sources and the estimate of protein your child needs, check out this link: https://www.verywellfamily.com/protein-rich-foods-2633936 Week 7– Whole Grains Incorporating whole grains into your day may be easier than you think! Fun fact: corn is a whole grain! Try whole grain corn tortillas, whole grain grits, and air popped corn. For tasty whole grain recipe ideas, click here: https://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes
Week 8 – Added Sugar Not all sugar is unhealthy! When we say to limit sugar, we’re referring to the sugars added to foods not natural sugars found in foods like fruit and dairy. This infographic from the AHA provides some great tips on limiting added sugars from your diet. For more tips, read here: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy- living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/tips-for-cutting-down-on-sugar
Week 9 – Exercise Exercise has more than just physical benefits, it also has mental benefits. The WHO recommends 1 hour of moderate to intense physical activity every day for adolescents. But, even light activity in childhood is linked to lower risk of depression later in life. For more information on the benefits of exercise on mental health, read here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/well/family/the-benefits-of-exercise-for- childrens-mental-health.html
Team Nutrition Quarterly Newsletter
Growing Healthy Habits
In Quarter 3, we emphasized diversity in food choices, and thinking outside the box with our
meals (hello breakfast tacos!). To keep with our quarterly theme of “Growing Healthy Habits”,
enjoy these quick tips on simple swaps you can make to help your student continue growing in
health!
Swap This For This Benefits
Jams, Syrups & Jellies Fruits (Can be fresh, frozen, Less Added Sugar & More Fiber
canned in 100% juice)
Evening Screen Time Walking, Biking, Active Indoor Increased Physical Activity
Activity
Soda Flavored Sparkling Water, Less Added Sugars
Flavored Waters, 100% Juices
Drive-Thru Meals Frozen Meals Prepped Ahead Less Sodium, Saturated Fats,
and Empty Calories
Side of Fries Side Salad or Vegetables/Fruit More Vitamins, Minerals, &
Antioxidants, Less Saturated Fat
& Sodium
Ranch Dip for Vegetables Hummus Dip More Protein, Vitamins,
Minerals
Pre-Made Trail Mix Homemade Trail Mix Greater Customization, Less
Added SugarsYou can also read
