By: Heather Knapp

 We are coming up on back to school time soon, and with that, we need to think about providing healthy food options and teaching children how to make healthy choices for lunches and snacks. This is a great lesson, not only for younger kids, but also for us adults! Many of you have probably seen the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “My Plate.” It is a visual tool to show the suggested amounts of protein, fruit, vegetables, grains, and dairy each day for the average person. The USDA describes it as a tool to help you grow your healthy eating style, and to build off of it throughout your lifetime. My Plate can help you learn how to:

·         Focus on variety, amount, and nutrition

·         Choose foods and beverages with less saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars

·         Start with small changes to build healthier eating styles

·         Support healthier eating for everyone

My Plate shows us how to plan healthy snacks and meals for multiple age groups, including ages 2-3 years, 4-8 years, 9-13 years, and 14+ years. There are different calorie recommendations for every person dependent on factors like age, weight, height, gender, and physical activity level. So there are many plan options for these different calorie levels. Each plan shows how many cups or ounces you should eat or drink of each food group each day, and even has a chart for you to track what you have eaten that day, and whether or not you met your target.

 So how can you teach yourself, and your children how to follow these plans?

·        Involve kids in preparing lunches or snacks

·         Have different options of healthy pre-proportioned snacks available

·         Teach kids where their food comes from

·         Be a role model, and don’t give up!

·         Try fun new healthy recipes

Check out the USDA’s website here for more details on serving sizes and suggestions. https://www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy-eating-style