Wacky Wednesday: Getting Our Kids to Eat Healthy with Books

The subject of getting our kids to eat healthy, especially in the United States, has been on parents’ and educators’ minds for several decades. There are several teachers’ books that talk about nutrition and give lesson plan ideas. But what about books that talk directly to kids? These two above can be used with elementary students to discuss eating healthy foods and why it is important.

When I taught fourth grade in Otterville, MO, the National Dairy Council gave us two lab rats each year to do a short experiment on. We fed one rat nutritious food, and we fed the other rat junk food. We weighed them and observed their behaviors. The only difference between the two rats was the type of food they were getting. The results (in a very short time because we didn’t want the junk food rat to suffer) were amazing. The junk food rat was awake and wired during the day (rats are nocturnal). He did not gain weight or grow like the healthy food rat. It turns out that if all you eat is junk food, at a young age, you will not grow properly. The obesity problem comes because we are eating healthy food and junk food! Once we started giving the junk food rat healthy food too, the rat started gaining weight and catching up with the first rat.

A “Wacky Wednesday” idea I had while teaching this rat unit was having a healthy snack challenge. In fourth grade, we had a snack time every day. Kids would bring chips, candy, and cookies. With the healthy snack challenge, I decided to give them a sticker on a chart for each day they brought a healthy snack. For students who could not afford a snack, I worked out something with their parents ahead of time to provide a healthy snack for them. Before we started the healthy snack challenge, we had a healthy snack day where each student was assigned to bring a type of easy healthy snack so that students could see some examples of healthy snacks.

Since it is Wacky Wednesday and I’m talking about teaching kids about healthy eating, I also want to enter Samsung Appliances Blogging Sweepstakes to win a New Samsung French Door Refrigerator pictured here:

Isn’t it cool?????

Here’s the question I need to answer: (This is for you parents out there who are reading my blog!)
“With Our Busy Schedules, What Are Your 3 Valid Tips for Getting Dinner Ready in a Flash?”

1. Whenever I am having any type of meat, such as turkey burgers or grilled chicken sandwiches, I always make the patties and marinate the meat in the morning BEFORE I get to work or at lunchtime. Then when it is time for dinner, I just have to throw the meat on the grill.

2. Side dishes can take just as long as the regular meal. I always plan my side dishes in advance and make sure they are easy on a busy night. For example, if we are having baked potatoes and grapes as side dishes, I clean the grapes when I bring them home from the grocery store and put them in a bowl, so I don’t have to wash them that night before dinner. I also buy the baked potatoes in the plastic wrap that you can fix in the microwave. This takes 10 minutes instead of an hour or more. Although it is not cheaper, lettuce already washed and in the bag is WAY easier for salads.

3. Crock pot meals are the best for quick and easy dinners, but my husband doesn’t like me to leave the crock pot on when no one is home. So, I cook crock pot meals on the weekends, and then I divide them into containers where I can easily warm up the meal in a few minutes during the week.

If you want to enter this sweepstakes and put out your tips, please see this post for more information.