I can’t believe we only have one more week of CHFFF lessons left! Lessons 3 and 4 flew by this week. Lesson 3, called Read it Before You Eat it, teaches kids what to look for on nutrition facts labels. With so many unfamiliar words and numbers on it, the labels can be overwhelming, but by focusing on three key elements the CHFFF program aims to simplify this process. We teach students to look at serving size and amounts of added sugar and total fat. The game we played to help the students “apply” the material they learn was a relay-style race where teams of kids tried to pick an assortment of food labels with the lowest amounts of sugar and fat. Overall the game went well and it was fun to see them challenge their teammates to correctly read the label. The students enjoyed helping out with the recipe, hummus with vegetables and pita, by taking turns mashing the chickpeas. I was really impressed that almost everyone wanted to try the hummus and many liked it!
Lesson 4 focused on “Making half your grains whole.” We passed around bags of different types of edible grains and discussed a diagram of the three parts of a whole grain. This lesson also drew upon the nutrition facts panel, encouraging the students to look for products with at least 2 grams of fiber and a whole grain as the first product. One success I noticed on this day was that one student initially did not want to try the day’s recipe, a vegetable pita-pocket. I was hesitant not to just place one on her desk anyway but I decided I didn’t want to force her. But after the other students began trying the pita pockets and sharing what they thought about it, the student asked me to make her a plate after all! It is really motivating when students want to try new foods, especially by seeing their peers enjoy it. I am excited to see what they think about next week’s recipes.