With high consumption of greasy and sugary foods among many young children, nourishment education is a dire need. The existing early dietary learning gap affects future health patterns in developing youth. To confront this issue, I initiated SmartEats, a nonprofit organization aimed at teaching young children about nutrition and healthy eating habits.
My inspiration for creating SmartEats comes from my mother who is a Nutritionist and has taught me the importance of education for meaningful change. She informed me that there were no clear guidelines on what elementary schools should teach regarding nutrition and healthy eating habits.
In order to make up for this shortfall, I wrote and published a workbook, “SmartEats,” that contains nutritional information for elementary school-aged children. The objective of this book is to enlighten children on nutrition, the five food groups and how healthy eating affects one’s well being. It has six chapters each with child friendly language and activities which are related to what is discussed in the chapter.
In the workbook, Chapter 1 covers the importance of nutrition as well as the five main food groups. To reinforce this, I used coloring worksheets so that the student can practice recognizing the different food groups. The second chapter delves into the five main food groups, emphasizing what carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals all do for the body, with a wordsearch at the end of the chapter.
The next chapter goes over balanced plates, or how to make sure that meals include everything they need from the five major food groups. There, the students make their own plates, then go over what they did well and what they could use more of, usually, they need more vegetables.
Chapter 4 goes over how to read ingredients lists and labels in order to learn what is and isn’t healthy as well as nutritious snacking. In this chapter, children have a grocery list, then go through different labels and see which ones are healthy and which ones are not. Next, chapter 5 introduces the concept of mindful eating, which stresses the importance of paying attention to both the things we eat and how we eat them. The activity here is an introduction to food diaries, which can help them track what they eat so that they can make better choices.
The last chapter covers the science of exercise and dehydration, focusing on the importance of staying hydrated and eating enough to accommodate active lifestyles. The activity here is creating and customizing a water bottle.
My vision for SmartEats extends far beyond publishing a workbook. I have reached out to local schools and other non-profit organizations to host my SmartEat workshops so that I can teach children how to make healthier choices in life. I have partnered with Brother Bill’s Helping Hand Foundation, an organization which offers essential services to families in need.
During my workshop, I distributed a copy of the SmartEats workbook to each child. As we went through the workbook collectively, I incorporated interactive activities including coloring activities, crossword puzzles and word searches so that they could grasp the concepts better. At the end of the workshop, I gave each student a bag filled with healthy nutritional snacks. Looking ahead, I hope to host more SmartEat workshops at Brother Bill’s to positively impact more children in my community.
SmartEats does not just teach kids about nutrition; it empowers them to take charge of their health, thus making it easier to lead disease-free lives in future. Through dedication and support from the community, SmartEats can bring about long-term change in the lives of many children throughout the nation by showing how education is key to a healthier future. For those interested in obtaining one of these workbooks, “SmartEats” is available on Amazon. Just one purchase can support our movement towards bringing nutritional information to children, instilling healthy food choices from a young age.
Let us join hands together in empowering the next generation towards improved healthiness and happiness among themselves.
