Healthy Diet is an activity related to good nutrition. Today, we encourage you to talk with your child about a healthy diet, i.e. one that is consistent with the food pyramid. If you’re interested, here’s a suggestion of how to lead a discussion at home about what it is like to have not 5 but 2 meals a day (and based almost exclusively on 2 food products only).
It’s been ten years since I spent over 100 days conducting field research on the lives of the poorest children in a village in Uttar Pradesh, India. I studied, among other things, the impact of proper nutrition on education in schools. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but there was a so-called ‘Midday Meal Scheme’ introduced in India a dozen or so years ago, based on which mandatory lunches are provided to students in every Indian school. As a result of this programme, children from the poorest families have better chances of receiving at least one healthy and nutritious meal a day, full of vegetables and fruit. While doing this task, I went back in time 10 years and recalled all of this.
WE WILL NEED
- crayons, markers or paints (for the colouring pages with vegetables and fruit)
- or
- colourful magazines with images of vegetables, fruit, cereals, etc., that you can cut out
- scissors
- glue
- printer (to print the pdf file)
Before you begin, explain the food pyramid to your child (on the last page in the ‘downloadable template’); discuss items included at the bottom of the pyramid – that is, the products which should occupy the most space on our plates.
Next, show the printouts of the Downloadable template or the magazines with images of vegetables and fruit you’ve prepared beforehand. Together with your child cut whichever vegetables, fruit and other dairy and cereal products you desire.
When you’re done, colour the images and create your dream healthy menu for the day together: breakfast, snack, dinner, tea-time snack and supper.
You can lead the discussion in such a way that one of the dishes on the menu is exactly the same as what you’ve prepared for the next meal. It will be great fun for the kids to know that they themselves have invented a healthy meal.
