Unit 2 ~ Understanding Nutrition & Healthy Choices

Whether you cook from scratch or always eat out — you are constantly making CHOICES about what goes into your body. This unit is designed to help you understand what your body needs and doesn’t need to function well and to help you figure out how to make the best choices with good information.

Use the following sites to understand some key issues about nutrition:

1. create a list of nutrients — what each does for you — foods that have them naturally
2. create a list of things you should eat very little of — why they are bad — what foods to avoid
3. be able to classify any food into the proper group
4. know how big a single serving is!
5. how many calories you should be eating each day

Don’t read just to answer the questions — read to learn and understand!

Food Pyramid

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/food-pyramid/main.htm - detailed info on the food pyramid and how to use it

http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html - explains the pyramid and gives examples of the nutrients found in each food group

http://www.ring.com/health/food/food.htm - a quick overview of the pyramid and how to use it (scroll down to get the best info)

Serving Size

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/food-pyramid/main.htm - charts explaining what a serving is for each food group in the pyramid

http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html - good overview of food groups with examples of what counts as a serving in each group

http://www.ring.com/health/food/food.htm - contains lists and charts that help make sense of serving size in the different food groups

Assignment 1: 2 Food Pyramids

You will need some paper or even poster board for this assignment.

• First, use the websites above and make a poster of the food pyramid. Use items you cut out of magazines, print from the Internet or draw to represent each food group. In addition to listing how many servings, give some examples of how big a serving actually is.
• Second, pick a day and write down EVERYTHING you eat. If possible, save the label or wrapper. Draw another food pyramid and fit EVERYTHING you ate into the appropriate category. Again, use labels, pictures, or drawings to represent the food you ate. Use the guides above to determine how many servings you actually ate for each food group and include that in your Personal Pyramid.
• Finally, study both pyramids and analyze how you ate for that day. Write a one to two page paper that comments on your eating habits in terms of the pyramid suggestions. Use vocabulary and info from your reading in the paper. Synthesize your reading notes with the application project to explain what you know and how it applies to you.

Before moving on to the next assignments, take some time to learn how to use the labels that are on most foods you buy. You’ll need this info for assignments in Units 2, 3 and 4.

Food Labels

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-lab15.html - for the FDA’s quick guide to using the labels on food, especially the 5 of Daily Value information.

Assignment 2: Checklists

Using your notes from the readings above, create two checklists you or someone else could use to evaluate their eating habits.

• One list should be of important nutrients and foods. You may need to include examples of what to eat to get the nutrient. Create a place for the user to check off the food/nutrient when they consume it. Make a guide like "if you check off at least 7 of the 10 above, you ate fairly healthy today."
• Make another list of things to avoid or at least to have little of. Again, list foods as examples to make it easier to check off. Make a place for checking off when something "bad" is consumed and create another guide like "on any given day, you don’t want more than three checkmarks on this list."
• Print your lists. Use them both for two days, or get someone in your family to use them. Based on the experience, revise the lists to make them easy to use.
• Turn in the first list, the used list and the final copy list with your adjustments.

Total brand cereal advertises that you get 100% of your daily vitamins and minerals "in just one bowl." Do you notice labels on what you eat? Let’s practice by using some information easily found on the Internet — fast food nutritional info!

• McDonald’s: go to www.mcdonalds.com and select USA as your country. On the top menu, select "food and nutrition." All of the links here are useful but the "Bag a McMeal" is the easiest way to get the scoop on your favorite McDonald’s food.
• Burger King: go to www.burgerking.com and click on "nutrition" in the top menu bar. Follow the instructions to build a meal and see the facts.
• Jack in the Box: go to www.foodmaker.com and click on the "food" tab on the top menu. You can search for items or build a meal to learn the facts.
• Arby’s: go to www.arbys.com and click on "nutrition" on the left side menu to get nutrition info for their food items.
• TacoBell: go to www.tacobell.com and click on "nutrition guide" on the very top menu. Then use the "nutrition calculator" or the printable guide to investigate your favorite food’s nutritional value.

Assignment 3: Food Label Practice

Use three of the websites above, or locate nutritional info for another restaurant you like to visit. For each restaurant, do some research and answer the following questions:

1. What is the most UNhealthy meal you can eat here? Give the nutritional info for it.
2. What is the most Healthy meal you can eat here? Give the nutritional info for it.
3. Is it healthier to choose a chicken entre instead of a beef one at this restaurant? (What two items did you compare, what was the result?)
4. Pretend you have to eat all three meals at one of these restaurants. How close can you come to meeting your nutrient needs and staying under your limits of the bad stuff while eating the right amount of calories?
1. In other words, design the best combo of breakfast, lunch and dinner foods. Record the foods and all of the nutritional information for each meal. Add it all up and compare it to the pyramid and the checklists you made. Don’t forget to watch the calories.
2. You can share this meal plan and the results in a typed paper, on a poster, or in a PowerPoint.

Unit 3 FINAL ASSIGNMENT: Self Reflection

Hopefully you’ve taken this opportunity to think about what you eat and what you should eat, and how much of it you should eat for a serving. It might seem like a huge task to keep track of all of this stuff — but start small and make healthy habits so you don’t have to think about it!

This assignment will be a formal, two to three page essay that details what you learned about nutrition and how it applies to you and your eating habits. You’ll want to refer to the assignments you completed, vocabulary that shows your learning and websites that you or others might use to make healthier choices. Comment on things that surprised you, things you thought you knew or things it turned out you did know. Show off your knowledge and connect it to how you live.