"I wouldn't say that processed meals, ready meals and takeaways aren't relevant; it's just that over the past 40 years there have been 3 generations of people who have come out of school and and gone through their home life without ever being shown how to cook properly."
--Jamie Oliver
Summertime
is a great time for kids. Three months of playtime! Sometimes playtime comes with passive
learning, when kids don’t even know they are learning.
I recently
taught a workshop for elementary age kids at a public library called, "Becoming a Nutrition Detective". While everyone sampled
gluten-free crackers with the sun-dried tomato hummus made in the Growing
Healthy Kids Test Kitchen, the kids learned about reading food labels. It was a powerful lesson for not
just the kids but also for the parents who sat quietly around the perimeter of
the room.
Our message is clear:
- ALL kids need access to healthy foods.
- Eliminate added sugars (one clue: common sugars end in “-ose”.)
- Less ingredients is better than more.
- Identify foods and drinks with high fructose corn syrup and food dyes. Make the commitment not to consume them.
- Can you pronounce the ingredients? If not, don’t eat them.
- Buy vegetables from the farmers near where you live.
- Teach your children to cook.
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| Learning at the Library with Growing Healthy Kids |
Make
learning fun. Every day is an
opportunity to improve the life of a child.
Be the change you want to see in the world. Eat healthy foods.
In
gratitude,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder,
Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
